Patent ID: 7519578

Claim:
A computer-implemented method for a search framework to provide search functionality to a web server across at least two search providers, the search framework being interposed between the web server and each of the search providers, said method comprising in the search framework: registering a first search method for performing searches on a first of said at least two search providers; registering a second search method for performing searches on a second of said at least two search providers; registering a first response format for receiving search results from said first search provider; registering a second response format for receiving search results from said second search provider; detecting a search request from a client browser to the web server for a search on a selected search provider from among said first search provider and said second search provider, said selected search provider corresponding to a corresponding search method from among said first search method and said second search method; in response to said detected request, instantiating a search context associated with the search request, the search context exposing a search method corresponding to the selected search provider and selected from among said first search method and said second search method, creating at least one web page and sending the at least one web page to the client browser, the at least one web page comprising a code behind object, the code behind object generating code that calls the method exposed in the search context; and responding to a call from the web server to said methods exposed in said search context by performing said search on the selected search provider utilizing said corresponding search method, receiving a search result from the selected search provider in a response format corresponding to said selected search provider, and providing said received search result to the web server in a ubiquitous format, the ubiquitous format being generic with regard to any of the first and second search providers and the corresponding formats thereof.