Patent Document

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION  
         [0001]    1. Technical Field  
           [0002]    The present invention is directed to a method and apparatus for managing bookmark folders. More specifically, the present invention is directed to a method and apparatus for managing folders of bookmarks.  
           [0003]    2. Description of Related Art  
           [0004]    As is well known by now, the World Wide Web (WWW) or Internet is a system of servers that support documents formatted in Hyper Text Markup Language (HTML). HTML supports links to documents as well as to graphics, audio and video files. Links are references to documents from within other documents. Links allow a user to easily jump from one document or Web page to another with just a click of a mouse. Thus, a link is a very useful Internet navigational tool.  
           [0005]    Another useful Internet navigational tool is a bookmark. A bookmark is a feature that is available in most Web browsers (A web browser is a software application used to locate Web sites and display web pages) that allows a user to save addresses or URLs (abbreviation for Uniform Resource locators) of web pages into a folder (i.e., a bookmark folder) for later retrieval.  
           [0006]    When a user accesses a Web page that may later be revisited, the user may bookmark the page. If after revisiting the Web page, the user, through a link in the Web page, accesses another Web page that deals with the interested subject matter, the user may also bookmark that Web page. However, if the user concludes that the second Web page is of more relevance to the subject matter than the first, the user may not want to retain the first bookmark.  
           [0007]    Presently, when this situation occurs, the user has to manually delete the first bookmark. If not, the user will have two bookmarks that may have the same or confusing title.  
           [0008]    Hence, what is needed is a method and apparatus that allow one bookmark to automatically supersede or replace another.  
         SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION  
         [0009]    The present invention provides a method, system and apparatus for managing a bookmark folder. In an embodiment of the invention, when a user accesses a Web page using an embedded link from a displayed bookmarked Web page, the user may, if so desires, replace the bookmarked Web page by simply bookmarking the accessed Web page. The replacement is done automatically.  
           [0010]    In another embodiment of the invention, when a user wants to bookmark a Web page, the URL of the Web page is compared with the URLs of all bookmarked Web pages. If the URL of one of the bookmarked Web pages is similar with the URL of the Web page to be bookmarked, the user may, again if so desires, replace the bookmarked Web page by the bookmark of the new page. Similarity may be determined by user sdjustable rules, such as subject matter or differences in URL branches.  
       
    
    
     BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS  
       [0011]    The novel features believed characteristic of the invention are set forth in the appended claims. The invention itself, however, as well as a preferred mode of use, further objectives and advantages thereof, will best be understood by reference to the following detailed description of an illustrative embodiment when read in conjunction with the accompanying drawings, wherein:  
         [0012]    [0012]FIG. 1 is an exemplary block diagram illustrating a distributed data processing system according to the present invention.  
         [0013]    [0013]FIG. 2 is an exemplary block diagram of a server apparatus according to the present invention.  
         [0014]    [0014]FIG. 3 is an exemplary block diagram of a client apparatus according to the present invention.  
         [0015]    [0015]FIG. 4 is a flow diagram of an embodiment of the invention.  
         [0016]    [0016]FIG. 5 is a flow diagram of another embodiment of the invention.  
     
    
     DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENT  
       [0017]    With reference now to the figures, FIG. 1 depicts a pictorial representation of a network of data processing systems in which the present invention may be implemented. Network data processing system  100  is a network of computers in which the present invention may be implemented. Network data processing system  100  contains a network  102 , which is the medium used to provide communications links between various devices and computers connected together within network data processing system  100 . Network  102  may include connections, such as wire, wireless communication links, or fiber optic cables.  
         [0018]    In the depicted example, server  104  is connected to network  102  along with storage unit  106 . In addition, clients  108 ,  110 , and  112  are connected to network  102 . These clients  108 ,  110 , and  112  may be, for example, personal computers or network computers. In the depicted example, server  104  provides data, such as boot files, operating system images, and applications to clients  108 ,  110  and  112 . Clients  108 ,  110  and  112  are clients to server  104 . Network data processing system  100  may include additional servers, clients, and other devices not shown. In the depicted example, network data processing system  100  is the Internet with network  102  representing a worldwide collection of networks and gateways that use the TCP/IP suite of protocols to communicate with one another. At the heart of the Internet is a backbone of high-speed data communication lines between major nodes or host computers, consisting of thousands of commercial, government, educational and other computer systems that route data and messages. Of course, network data processing system  100  also may be implemented as a number of different types of networks, such as for example, an intranet, a local area network (LAN), or a wide area network (WAN). FIG. 1 is intended as an example, and not as an architectural limitation for the present invention.  
         [0019]    Referring to FIG. 2, a block diagram of a data processing system that may be implemented as a server, such as server  104  in FIG. 1, is depicted in accordance with a preferred embodiment of the present invention. Data processing system  200  may be a symmetric multiprocessor (SMP) system including a plurality of processors  202  and  204  connected to system bus  206 . Alternatively, a single processor system may be employed. Also connected to system bus  206  is memory controller/cache  208 , which provides an interface to local memory  209 . I/O bus bridge  210  is connected to system bus  206  and provides an interface to I/O bus  212 . Memory controller/cache  208  and I/O bus bridge  210  may be integrated as depicted.  
         [0020]    Peripheral component interconnect (PCI) bus bridge  214  connected to I/O bus  212  provides an interface to PCI local bus  216 . A number of modems may be connected to PCI local bus  216 . Typical PCI bus implementations will support four PCI expansion slots or add-in connectors. Communications links to network computers  108 ,  110  and  112  in FIG. 1 may be provided through modem  218  and network adapter  220  connected to PCI local bus  216  through add-in boards. Additional PCI bus bridges  222  and  224  provide interfaces for additional PCI local buses  226  and  228 , from which additional modems or network adapters may be supported. In this manner, data processing system  200  allows connections to multiple network computers. A memory-mapped graphics adapter  230  and hard disk  232  may also be connected to I/O bus  212  as depicted, either directly or indirectly.  
         [0021]    Those of ordinary skill in the art will appreciate that the hardware depicted in FIG. 2 may vary. For example, other peripheral devices, such as optical disk drives and the like, also may be used in addition to or in place of the hardware depicted. The depicted example is not meant to imply architectural limitations with respect to the present invention.  
         [0022]    The data processing system depicted in FIG. 2 may be, for example, an IBM e-Server pSeries system, a product of International Business Machines Corporation in Armonk, N.Y., running the Advanced Interactive Executive (AIX) operating system or LINUX operating system.  
         [0023]    With reference now to FIG. 3, a block diagram illustrating a data processing system is depicted in which the present invention may be implemented. Data processing system  300  is an example of a client computer. Data processing system  300  employs a peripheral component interconnect (PCI) local bus architecture. Although the depicted example employs a PCI bus, other bus architectures such as Accelerated Graphics Port (AGP) and Industry Standard Architecture (ISA) may be used. Processor  302  and main memory  304  are connected to PCI local bus  306  through PCI bridge  308 . PCI bridge  308  also may include an integrated memory controller and cache memory for processor  302 . Additional connections to PCI local bus  306  may be made through direct component interconnection or through add-in boards. In the depicted example, local area network (LAN) adapter  310 , SCSI host bus adapter  312 , and expansion bus interface  314  are connected to PCI local bus  306  by direct component connection. In contrast, audio adapter  316 , graphics adapter  318 , and audio/video adapter  319  are connected to PCI local bus  306  by add-in boards inserted into expansion slots. Expansion bus interface  314  provides a connection for a keyboard and mouse adapter  320 , modem  322 , and additional memory  324 . Small computer system interface (SCSI) host bus adapter  312  provides a connection for hard disk drive  326 , tape drive  328 , and CD-ROM drive  330 . Typical PCI local bus implementations will support three or four PCI expansion slots or add-in connectors.  
         [0024]    An operating system runs on processor  302  and is used to coordinate and provide control of various components within data processing system  300  in FIG. 3. The operating system may be a commercially available operating system, such as Windows 2000, which is available from Microsoft Corporation. An object oriented programming system such as Java may run in conjunction with the operating system and provide calls to the operating system from Java programs or applications executing on data processing system  300 . “Java” is a trademark of Sun Microsystems, Inc. Instructions for the operating system, the object-oriented operating system, and applications or programs are located on storage devices, such as hard disk drive  326 , and may be loaded into main memory  304  for execution by processor  302 .  
         [0025]    Those of ordinary skill in the art will appreciate that the hardware in FIG. 3 may vary depending on the implementation. Other internal hardware or peripheral devices, such as flash ROM (or equivalent nonvolatile memory) or optical disk drives and the like, may be used in addition to or in place of the hardware depicted in FIG. 3. Also, the processes of the present invention may be applied to a multiprocessor data processing system.  
         [0026]    As another example, data processing system  300  may be a stand-alone system configured to be bootable without relying on some type of network communication interface, whether or not data processing system  300  comprises some type of network communication interface. As a further example, data processing system  300  may be a Personal Digital Assistant (PDA) device, which is configured with ROM and/or flash ROM in order to provide non-volatile memory for storing operating system files and/or user-generated data.  
         [0027]    The depicted example in FIG. 3 and above-described examples are not meant to imply architectural limitations. For example, data processing system  300  may also be a notebook computer or hand held computer in addition to taking the form of a PDA. Data processing system  300  also may be a kiosk or a Web appliance.  
         [0028]    The present invention provides an apparatus and method that allow one bookmark to replace another. The invention may be local to client systems  108 ,  110  and  112  of FIG. 1 or to the server  104  or to both the server  104  and clients  108 ,  110  and  112 . Consequently, the present invention may reside on any data storage medium (i.e., floppy disk, compact disk, hard disk, ROM, RAM, etc.) used by a computer system.  
         [0029]    To better understand the invention, an example will be provided. Suppose a user accesses an instruction or tutorial manual over the Internet and bookmarks its URL. In addition, suppose the tutorial is organized by topics having each its own URL. Suppose further that after reading a few topics, the user decides to resume the reading of the tutorial at a later time. The user may then want to bookmark the topic where reading is to resume. If not, when the user is ready to resume reading, the user may have to access the tutorial at the location previously bookmarked (in this example, it would be at the beginning of the tutorial).  
         [0030]    Web browsers have a feature that indicates to users previously visited URLs. Ordinarily, the previously visited URLs are of a different color than the ones that have not previously been visited. Consequently, the Table of Contents listing the different topics may be used to access the next topic to be read (the list of topics, in this case, is usually a list of links). Therefore, accessing the tutorial from the beginning may not be too burdensome.  
         [0031]    However, if a user accidentally went to a previously unread topic and upon realizing the mistake went to the intended topic, the topic accidentally accessed will be marked as read. Furthermore, the feature that indicates previously visited topics is time-definite. Thus, if the user takes too long to re-access the tutorial for the continued reading, the feature may have timed out and all topics may be shown as unread. Moreover, it is quite common for several related Web pages to have the same or very confusing bookmark titles, albeit pointing to different URLs. For all the above reasons, the user may have to access a few already read topics before finding the last topic read.  
         [0032]    Consequently, a user may each time choose to bookmark the location where reading is to resume. But, if the user does not delete previous related bookmarks and if the user accesses and bookmarks related Web pages frequently, the bookmark folder may quickly become very unmanageable.  
         [0033]    The present invention provides a tool to quickly and effortlessly manage the bookmark folder. Note that the method of bookmarking a Web page will not be herein explained since it is well known in the field. The invention will be disclosed in conjunction with FIGS. 4 and 5.  
         [0034]    [0034]FIG. 4 is a flow diagram illustrating a process used by the invention. When a user accesses a Web page through a bookmarked URL, the process of the invention starts (step  400 ). A test is continuously being made as to whether the user accesses a link from the displayed Web page (step  405 ). Note that, the test may be continually being made as the user jumps from one Web page to another, so long as the presently displayed Web page emanated from a succession of links from a previously displayed bookmarked Web page.  
         [0035]    If the user decides to bookmark the link (step  410 ), the user will be prompted as to whether the previously bookmarked URL is to be replaced by the URL of the link (steps  415  and  420 ). If so, the URL of the link will be bookmarked and the previously bookmarked URL deleted (step  430 ). If not, the URL of the link will be bookmarked without deleting the previously bookmarked URL (step  425 ).  
         [0036]    [0036]FIG. 5 illustrates another embodiment of the invention. In FIG. 5, the process will start as soon as the Web browser is accessed (step  500 ). A check is then continuously made as to whether the user wants to bookmark a Web page (step  505 ). If so, the invention compares all URLs of presently bookmarked pages for similarities with the URL of the new Web page to be bookmarked (step  510 ). In this case, a bookmarked URL is similar to a URL to be bookmarked, if they differ by one branch. For example, if a bookmarked URL is: www.gtk.org/tutorial/ch-introduction.html and the URL to be bookmarked is: www.gtk/tutorial/ch-gettingstarted.html, they differ by one branch. Note that the invention may be designed to regard URLs of two Web pages as similar if they differ by N branches, where N is an integer. Alternatively, the invention may be designed to compare root URLs or root plus N branched URLs for similarity, again N is an integer. In this example, www.gtk.org is a root URL. Furthermore, the invention may be designed to use only top level bookmarks (i.e., no subfolder bookmarks) or bookmarks all the way down to the Nth level for the comparison, here too, N is an integer.  
         [0037]    In any case, if the URL of the Web page to be bookmarked is not similar to an existing URL of a bookmarked page, the URL of the Web page will be bookmarked (steps  515  and  520 ). If there is a similarity with an existing bookmarked URL, the user is prompted as to whether the new URL is to replace the bookmarked URL. If so, the URL is bookmarked and the existing bookmarked URL is deleted (steps  525 ,  530  and  535 ). If the user chooses not to replace the existing bookmarked URL by the new URL, the new URL is simply bookmarked without deleting the previously bookmarked URL (steps  525 ,  530  and  520 ).  
         [0038]    In the case where a root URL is compared with the URL of the Web page to be bookmarked, before actually bookmarking the new URL, a check may also be done to determine whether the title of the new Web page is identical to the title of an already bookmarked Web page. If so, the new URL may possibly replace the URL of the already bookmarked page.  
         [0039]    The description of the present invention has been presented for purposes of illustration and description, and is not intended to be exhaustive or limited to the invention in the form disclosed. Many modifications and variations will be apparent to those of ordinary skill in the art. For example, more than one background search may be performed with the invention. The embodiment was chosen and described in order to best explain the principles of the invention, the practical application, and to enable others of ordinary skill in the art to understand the invention for various embodiments with various modifications as are suited to the particular use contemplated.

Technology Category: 3