Multi-Prefix Query Optimizations

Abstract

The present invention includes systems and methods for retrieving information via a flexible and consistent targeted search model that employs interactive dynamic menu information retrieval techniques that provide context-specific functionality tailored to particular information channels, as well as to records within or across such channels, and other known state information. Users are presented with a consistent search interface among multiple tiers across and within a large domain of information sources, and need not learn different or special search syntax. A thin-client server-controlled architecture enables users of resource-constrained mobile communications devices to locate targeted information more quickly by entering fewer keystrokes and performing fewer query iterations and web page refreshes, which in turn reduces required network bandwidth.

1 . An information retrieval system including a non-transitory computer-accessible storage medium for conducting, and caching results of user queries of a database of content items across a plurality of channels, each channel representing a category of content items within the database, the system comprising:
 (a) a search module that retrieves from an index, for each character of a user query term entered by a user into a mobile device, a plurality of potential matching words from the index, each of the plurality of potential matching words containing a set of characters matching at least a portion of the characters of the user query term; and   (b) a result delivery module that:
 (i) generates a result list by intersecting lists of potential matching words from the index, 
 (ii) organizes the result list based on at least one positional ranking factor, 
 (iii) presents the results list to the user in a window on the mobile device, at least one entry in the result list being user selectable, and 
 (iiv) conditionally caching the result list in storage, based upon a comparison of the value of the query function to a predefined threshold, 
   (d) whereby the processing time for a subsequent user query is decreased by retrieving the cached result list from storage.