Method and apparatus for representing and navigating search results

Abstract

A method and apparatus for representing and navigating search results from a database on a computer system. A graphical user interface is generated to receive user input including a data source to search for information and a query indicating information which is desired from the data source. The user input is transmitted to the data source, the search is performed and information responsive to the query resulting from the search is received from the data source. The search results include characteristics of the responsive information. The responsive information is clustered into a plurality groups based on selected characteristic information and the user may select at least one group of the responsive information to be displayed.

1. A computer program product for representing and navigating search results on a client computer system, wherein the search results are transmitted to the client computer system from a data source, the computer program product comprising:
 a set of client program instructions including: 
 first program instructions being operable to receive user input, the user input including 
 a data source to search for information and a query indicating information which is desired from the data source;  
 
 second program instructions being operable to transmit the user input to the data source and to receive information responsive to the query from the data source, 
 wherein the responsive information includes multidimensional characteristic information about the responsive information;  
 
 third program instructions being operable to separate the responsive information into a plurality of groups based on one or more categories of said multidimensional characteristic information;  
 third program instructions, being further operable to separate the responsive information into a plurality of subgroups based on selected multidimensional characteristic information; and  
 fourth program instructions being operable to allow the user to select at least one group of the responsive information.  
 
 
     
     
       2. The computer program product, as set forth in  claim 1 , further comprising:
 fifth program instructions for generating a graphical user interface, the graphical user interface including a first display portion showing the plurality of groups of multidimensional characteristic information available for the user to select.  
 
     
     
       3. The computer program product, as set forth in  claim 2 , wherein the responsive information includes a list of documents containing information related to the query, and wherein the graphical user interface further includes a second display portion showing the list of documents in the responsive information. 
     
     
       4. The computer program product, as set forth in  claim 3 , wherein the documents displayed belong to the at least one group selected by the user. 
     
     
       5. The computer program product, as set forth in  claim 3 , wherein the fifth program instructions are faker  operable to receive user input indicating a document in the list of documents, the fifth program instructions being further operable to initiate a display of the indicated document. 
     
     
       6. The computer program product, as set forth in  claim 3 , wherein the fifth program instructions are fixer  operable to receive user input indicating a group of the documents, the fifth program instructions being further operable to re-arrange the order in which the list of documents in the second display portion are displayed based on the group selected by the user. 
     
     
       7. The computer program product, as set forth in  claim 2 , wherein the first display portion further shows a graphical representation of the plurality of subgroups. 
     
     
       8. The computer program product, as set forth in  claim 2 , wherein the first display portion further shows the plurality of subgroups, the first display portion including color coded portions for differentiating the subgroups. 
     
     
       9. The computer program product, as set forth in  claim 8 , wherein the graphical user interface further includes a second display portion showing a list of documents in the responsive information, the second display portion including color coded portions associated with the list of documents corresponding to the color coded portions in the first display portion. 
     
     
       10. The computer program product, as set forth in  claim 2 , further comprising program instructions for displaying additional information based on the at least one group of the responsive information selected by the user. 
     
     
       11. The computer program product, as set forth in  claim 1 , wherein the third program instructions separate the responsive information into a plurality of subgroups based on one or more ranges of the selected multidimensional characteristic information. 
     
     
       12. The computer program product, as set forth in  claim 11 , wherein the first display portion includes a stratum showing the subgroups of the responsive information, the fifth program instructions being further operable to; :
 receive user input comprising selection of at least one subgroup; and  
 display additional information based on at least one subgroup selected by the user, wherein 
 the additional information displayed includes another stratum showing a further subgroup of the responsive information.  
 
 
     
     
       13. The computer program product, as set forth in  claim 12 , wherein the graphical user interface further includes a second display portion showing at least a portion of the responsive information, the fifth program instructions being further operable to update the responsive information in the second display portion based on the at least one subgroup selected by the user. 
     
     
       14. The computer program product, as set forth in  claim 1 , further comprising:
 server program instructions operable to transmit data between the client computer system and the data source.  
 
     
     
       15. The computer program product, as set forth in  claim 14 , wherein the data includes the user input. 
     
     
       16. The computer program product, as set forth in  claim 14 , wherein the data includes the responsive information. 
     
     
       17. The computer program product, as set forth in  claim 14 , wherein the server program instructions include the third program instructions. 
     
     
       18. A method for representing and navigating search results on a client computer system, the method comprising:
 receiving user input in the client computer system, the user input including a data source to search for information and a query indicating information which is desired form  from the data source;  
 transmit the user input from the client computer system to the data source;  
 searching the data source for information responsive to the query, ; 
 receiving information responsive to the query from the data source, wherein the responsive information includes, multidimensional characteristic information about the documents  responsive information;  
 separating the responsive information into a plurality of groups based on one or more categories of said multidimensional characteristic information, ; 
 further separating the responsive information into a plurality of subgroups based on selected multidimensional characteristic information; and  
 providing means to allow the user to select at least one group of the responsive information.  
 
     
     
       19. The method, as set forth in  claim 18 , further comprising:
 generating a graphical user interface including generating a first display portion showing the plurality of groups of multidimensional characteristic information available for the user to select.  
 
     
     
       20. The method, as set forth in  claim 19 , wherein the responsive information includes a list of documents containing information related to the query, and wherein the graphical user interface further includes a second display portion showing the list of documents in the responsive information. 
     
     
       21. The method, as set forth in  claim 20 , wherein the documents displayed belong to the at least one group selected by the user. 
     
     
       22. The method, as set forth in  claim 20 , further comprising receiving user input indicating a document in the list of documents, and displaying the indicated document. 
     
     
       23. The method, as set forth in  claim 20 , further comprising receiving user input indicating a group of the documents, and re-arranging the order in which the list of documents in the second display portion are displayed based on the group selected by the user. 
     
     
       24. The method, as set forth in  claim 19 , wherein the first display portion further shows a graphical representation of the plurality of subgroups. 
     
     
       25. The method, as set forth in  claim 19 , further comprising displaying the plurality of subgroups in the first display portion, and color coding the display of the plurality of the subgroups in the first display portion for differentiating the subgroups. 
     
     
       26. The method, as set forth in  claim 25 , wherein generating the graphical user interface further includes generating a second display portion showing a list of documents in the responsive information, the second display portion including color coded portions associated with the list of documents corresponding to the color coded portions in the first display portion. 
     
     
       27. The method, as set forth in  claim 19 , further comprising displaying additional information based on the at least one group of the responsive information selected by the user. 
     
     
       28. The method, as set forth in  claim 18 , wherein said responsive information is separated into said plurality of subgroups based on one or more ranges of the selected multidimensional characteristic information. 
     
     
       29. The method, as set forth in  claim 28 , wherein the first display portion includes a stratum showing the subgroups of the responsive information, the method further comprising:
 receiving user input comprising selection of at least one subgroup; and  
 displaying additional information based on at least one subgroup selected by the user, wherein 
 the additional information displayed includes another stratum showing a further subgroup of the responsive information.  
 
 
     
     
       30. The method, as set forth in  claim 29 , wherein the graphical user interface further includes a second display portion showing at least a portion of the responsive information, the method further including updating the responsive information in the second display portion based on the at least one subgroup selected by the user. 
     
     
       31. A system for representing and navigating search results, the system comprising:
 at least one data source;  
 a client computer system;  
 a set of client program instructions executable on the client computer system, the client program instructions including: 
 first program instructions being operable to receive user input, the user input including a query indicating information which is desired from the at least one data source,  
 second program instructions being operable to transmit the user input to the at least one data source and to receive information responsive to the query from the at least one data source, wherein the responsive information includes multidimensional characteristic information about the responsive information;  
 third program instructions being operable to separate the responsive information into a plurality of groups based on one or more categories of said multidimensional characteristic information;  
 third program instructions being further operable to separate the responsive information into a plurality of subgroups based on selected multidimensional characteristic information; and  
 fourth program instructions being operable to allow the user to select at least one group of the responsive information.  
 
 
     
     
       32. The system, as set forth in  claim 31 , further comprising:
 fifth program instructions for generating a graphical user interface, the graphical user interface including a first display portion showing the plurality of groups of multidimensional characteristic information available for the user to select.  
 
     
     
       33. The system, as set forth in  claim 32 , wherein the responsive information includes a list of documents containing information related to the query, and wherein The  the graphical user interface further includes a second display portion showing the list of documents in the responsive information. 
     
     
       34. The system, as set forth in  claim 33 , wherein the documents displayed belong to the at least one group selected by the user. 
     
     
       35. The system, as set forth in  claim 33 , wherein the fifth program instructions are further operable to receive user input indicating a document in the list of documents, the fifth program instructions being further operable to initiate a display of the indicated document. 
     
     
       36. The system, as set forth in  claim 33 , wherein The  the fifth program instructions are further operable to receive user input indicating a group of the documents, the fifth program instructions being further operable to rearrange the order in which the list of documents in the second display portion are displayed based on the group selected by the user. 
     
     
       37. The system, as set forth in  claim 32 , wherein the first display portion further shows a graphical representation of the plurality of subgroups. 
     
     
       38. The system, as set forth in  claim 32 , wherein the first display portion further shows the plurality of subgroups, the first display portion including color coded portions for differentiating the subgroups. 
     
     
       39. The system, as set forth in  claim 38 , wherein the graphical user interface further includes a second display portion showing a list of documents in the responsive information, the second display portion including color coded portions associated with the list of documents corresponding to the color coded portions in the first display portion. 
     
     
       40. The system, as set forth in  claim 32 , further comprising program instructions for displaying additional information based on the at least one group of the responsive information selected by the user. 
     
     
       41. The system, as set forth in claim n   31 , wherein the third program instructions separate the responsive information into a plurality of subgroups based on one or more ranges of the selected multidimensional characteristic information. 
     
     
       42. The system, as set forth in  claim 41 , wherein the first display portion includes a stratum showing the subgroups of the responsive information, the fifth program instructions being further operable to:
 receive user input comprising selection of at least one subgroup, and  
 display additional information based on at least one subgroup selected by the user, wherein 
 the additional information displayed includes another stratum showing a further subgroup of the responsive information.  
 
 
     
     
       43. The system, as set forth in  claim 42 , wherein the graphical user interface further includes a second display portion showing at least a portion of the responsive information, the fifth program instructions being further operable to update the responsive information in the second display portion based on the at least one subgroup selected by the user. 
     
     
       44. The system, as set forth in  claim 31 , further comprising:
 at least one server computer system including server program instructions operable to Transmit  transmit data between the client computer system and the data source.  
 
     
     
       45. The system, as set forth in  claim 44 , wherein the data includes the user input. 
     
     
       46. The system, as set forth in  claim 44 , wherein the data includes the responsive information. 
     
     
       47. The system, as set forth in claim  44 , wherein the server program instructions include the third program instructions. 
     
     
       48. A method, comprising:
   receiving a query indicating a request for information from at least one data source;        sending information to a server to initiate a search operation of the at least one data source based at least in part on the query;        receiving information responsive to the query based on the search operation;        separating the responsive information into one or more groups based at least in part on multidimensional characteristic information associated with the responsive information;        receiving a selection of one or more of the groups; and        in response to receiving the selection, separating the responsive information into one or more subgroups based at least in part on the multidimensional characteristic information.     
     
     
       49. A method as claimed in  claim 48 , further comprising:
   displaying a graphical representation of at least a portion of the multidimensional characteristic information of the one or more groups.     
     
     
       50. A method as claimed in  claim 48 , wherein the responsive information includes a list of documents containing information related to the query, the method further comprising:
   displaying a graphical representation of at least a portion of the list of documents.     
     
     
       51. A method as claimed in  claim 48 , wherein the responsive information includes a list of documents containing information related to the query, the method further comprising:
   displaying a graphical representation of at least a portion of the list of documents that belong to at least one selected group of documents.     
     
     
       52. A method as claimed in  claim 48 , wherein the responsive information includes a list of documents containing information related to the query, the method further comprising:
   displaying a graphical representation of at least a portion of the list of documents, and displaying at least one document selected from the list of documents.     
     
     
       53. A method as claimed in  claim 48 , wherein the responsive information includes a list of documents containing information related to the query, the method further comprising:
   displaying a graphical representation of at least a portion of the list of documents, and        arranging an order in which the list of documents is displayed based on a selected group of documents.     
     
     
       54. A method as claimed in  claim 48 , further comprising:
   displaying a graphical representation of the at least one or more subgroups.     
     
     
       55. A method as claimed in  claim 48 , further comprising:
   displaying a graphical representation of the at least one or more subgroups, and        color coding the display of the at least one or more subgroups for differentiating the subgroups.     
     
     
       56. A method as claimed in  claim 48 , further comprising:
   displaying a graphical representation of the at least one or more subgroups;        color coding the graphical representation of the at least one or more subgroups for differentiating the subgroups; and        displaying a list of documents of the responsive information having color coded portions corresponding to the color coding of the graphical representation of the at least one or more subgroups.     
     
     
       57. A method as claimed in  claim 48 , further comprising:
   displaying additional information based at least in part on the at least one group of the responsive information of the selection of at least one or more of the groups.     
     
     
       58. A method as claimed in  claim 48 , further comprising:
   separating the responsive information into a plurality of subgroups based at least in part on a plurality of ranges of the multidimensional characteristic information.     
     
     
       59. A method as claimed in  claim 48 , further comprising:
   displaying a stratum showing the subgroups of the responsive information;        receiving a selection of at least one subgroup;        displaying additional information based on the selection; and        displaying a further stratum showing a further subgroup of the responsive information.     
     
     
       60. A method as claimed in  claim 48 , further comprising:
   displaying at least a portion of the responsive information; and        updating said displaying based at least in part on the selection.     
     
     
       61. A method as claimed in  claim 48 , further comprising:
   receiving a plurality of queries requesting information from the at least one data source;        sending information to the server to initiate search operations based at least in part on the queries; and        receiving personalized advertisement from the server based on information associated with the queries.     
     
     
       62. A computer- implemented method as claimed in    claim 48   ,      wherein said separating the responsive information into one or more groups comprises clustering the responsive information into one or more groups, wherein said clustering comprises separating the responsive information into mutually exclusive groups.     
     
     
       63. A computer readable storage medium comprising program instructions, wherein the program instructions are executable to:
   receive a query indicating a request for information from at least one data source;        initiate a search operation for information from the at least one data source responsive at least in part to the query;        receive information based on the search operation, the information including responsive information and multidimensional characteristic information associated with the responsive information;        separate the responsive information into one or more groups based at least in part on the multidimensional characteristic information;        receive a selection of one or more of the groups based at least in part on the multidimensional characteristic information; and        in response to receiving the selection, separate the responsive information into one or more subgroups based at least in part on the multidimensional characteristic information associated with the selected one or more groups.     
     
     
       64. The computer readable storage medium as claimed in  claim 63 , further comprising program instructions that are executable to:
   display a graphical representation of at least a portion of the multidimensional characteristic information of the one or more groups.     
     
     
       65. The computer readable storage medium as claimed in  claim 63 , wherein the responsive information includes a list of documents containing information related to the query, wherein the computer readable storage medium further comprising program instructions that are executable to:
   display a graphical representation of at least a portion of the list of documents.     
     
     
       66. The computer readable storage medium as claimed in  claim 63 , wherein the responsive information includes a list of documents containing information related to the query, wherein the computer readable storage medium further comprising program instructions that are executable to:
   display a graphical representation of at least a portion of the list of documents that belong to at least one selected group of documents.     
     
     
       67. The computer readable storage medium as claimed in  claim 63 , wherein the responsive information includes a list of documents containing information related to the query, wherein the computer readable storage medium further comprising program instructions that are executable to:
   display a graphical representation of at least a portion of the list of documents, and displaying at least one document selected from the list of documents.     
     
     
       68. The computer readable storage medium as claimed in  claim 63 , wherein the responsive information includes a list of documents containing information related to the query, wherein the computer readable storage medium further comprising program instructions that are executable to:
   display a graphical representation of at least a portion of the list of documents; and        arrange an order in which the list of documents is displayed based at least in part on a selected group of documents.     
     
     
       69. The computer readable storage medium as claimed in  claim 63 , wherein the computer readable storage medium further comprising program instructions that are executable to:
   display a graphical representation of the at least one or more subgroups.     
     
     
       70. The computer readable storage medium as claimed in  claim 63 , wherein the computer readable storage medium further comprising program instructions that are executable to:
   display a graphical representation of the at least one or more subgroups, and        color code the display of the at least one or more subgroups for differentiating the subgroups.     
     
     
       71. The computer readable storage medium as claimed in  claim 63 , wherein the computer readable storage medium further comprising program instructions that are executable to:
   display a graphical representation of the at least one or more subgroups, and        color code the graphical representation of the at least one or more subgroups for differentiating the subgroups, and display a list of documents of the responsive information having color coded portions corresponding to the color coding of the graphical representation of the at least one or more subgroups.     
     
     
       72. The computer readable storage medium as claimed in  claim 63 , wherein the computer readable storage medium further comprising program instructions that are executable to:
   display additional information based at least in part on the at least one group of the responsive information of the selection of at least one or more of the groups.     
     
     
       73. The computer readable storage medium as claimed in  claim 63 , wherein the computer readable storage medium further comprising program instructions that are executable to:
   separate the responsive information into at least one or more subgroups based at least in part on one or more ranges of selected multidimensional characteristic information.     
     
     
       74. The computer readable storage medium as claimed in  claim 63 , wherein the computer readable storage medium further comprising program instructions that are executable to:
   display a stratum showing the subgroups of the responsive information;        receive a selection of at least one subgroup;        display additional information based at least in part on the selection; and        display a further stratum showing a further subgroup of the responsive information.     
     
     
       75. The computer readable storage medium as claimed in  claim 63 , wherein the computer readable storage medium further comprising program instructions that are executable to:
   display at least a portion of the responsive information; and        update said displaying based at least in part on the selection.     
     
     
       76. A computer readable storage medium as claimed in  claim 63 , wherein in separating the responsive information into one or more groups, the program instructions are executable to cluster the responsive information into one or more groups, wherein said clustering comprises separating the responsive information into mutually exclusive groups. 
     
     
       77. A computer system, comprising:
   a processor; and        a memory coupled to the processor, wherein the memory comprises program instructions that are executable by the processor to:      receive a query indicating a request for information from at least one data source;        send information to a server to initiate a search operation of the at least one data source based at least in part on the query;        receive information responsive to the query based on the search operation;        separate the responsive information into one or more groups based at least in part on multidimensional characteristic information associated with the responsive information;        receive a selection of one or more of the groups; and        in response to receiving the selection, separate the responsive information into one or more subgroups based at least in part on the multidimensional characteristic information.       
     
     
       78. A computer system as claimed in  claim 77 , wherein in separating the responsive information into one or more groups, the program instructions are executable to cluster the responsive information into one or more groups, wherein said clustering comprises separating the responsive information into mutually exclusive groups. 
     
     
       79. A computer- implemented method, comprising:      receiving a query indicating a request for information from at least one data source;        sending information to a server to initiate a search operation of the at least one data source based at least in part to the query;        receiving information responsive to the query based on the search operation;        separating the responsive information into one or more groups and subgroups based at least in part on a plurality of categories and subcategories of the multidimensional characteristic information;        displaying a graphical representation of the categories of multidimensional characteristic information associated with the one or more groups in a first display portion;        in response to receiving a selection of one or more of the categories;      displaying a graphical representation of at least a subset of the responsive information in a second display portion sorted based on the selected one or more categories; and        displaying a graphical representation of the subcategories of multidimensional characteristic information associated with the one or more subgroups in the first display portion.       
     
     
       80. A method as claimed in  claim 79 , further comprising, in response to receiving a selection of one or more of the subcategories, displaying a graphical representation of at least a subset of the responsive information in a second display portion sorted based on the selected one or more subcategories. 
     
     
       81. A computer system, comprising:
   a processor; and        a memory coupled to the processor, wherein the memory comprises program instructions that are executable by the processor to:      receive a query indicating a request for information from at least one data source;        send information to a server to initiate a search operation of the at least one data source based at least in part to the query;        receive information responsive to the query based on the search operation;        separate the responsive information into one or more groups and subgroups based at least in part on a plurality of categories and subcategories of the multidimensional characteristic information;        display a graphical representation of the categories of multidimensional characteristic information associated with the one or more groups in a first display portion;        in response to receiving a selection of one or more of the categories;      display a graphical representation of at least a subset of the responsive information in a second display portion sorted based on the selected one or more categories; and        display a graphical representation of the subcategories of multidimensional characteristic information associated with the one or more subgroups in the first display portion.         
     
     
       82. A computer system as claimed in  claim 81 , wherein the memory further comprising program instructions that are executable by the processor to:
   in response to receiving a selection of one or more of the subcategories, display a graphical representation of at least a subset of the responsive information in a second display portion sorted based on the selected one or more subcategories.     
     
     
       83. A computer readable storage medium comprising program instructions, wherein the program instructions are executable to:
   receive a query indicating a request for information from at least one data source;        send information to a server to initiate a search operation of the at least one data source based at least in part to the query;        receive information responsive to the query based on the search operation;        separate the responsive information into one or more groups and subgroups based at least in part on a plurality of categories and subcategories of the multidimensional characteristic information;        display a graphical representation of the categories of multidimensional characteristic information associated with the one or more groups in a first display portion;        in response to receiving a selection of one or more of the categories;      display a graphical representation of at least a subset of the responsive information in a second display portion sorted based on the selected one or more categories; and        display a graphical representation of the subcategories of multidimensional characteristic information associated with the one or more subgroups in the first display portion.       
     
     
       84. The computer readable storage medium as claimed in  claim 83 , further comprising program instructions that are executable to:
   in response to receiving a selection of one or more of the subcategories, display a graphical representation of at least a subset of the responsive information in a second display portion sorted based on the selected one or more subcategories.     
     
     
       85. A computer readable storage medium comprising program instructions, wherein the program instructions are executable to:
   receive a query indicating a request for information from at least one data source;        send information to a server to initiate a search operation of the at least one data source based at least in part on the query;        receive information responsive to the query based on the search operation;        separate the responsive information into one or more groups based at least in part on multidimensional characteristic information associated with the responsive information;        receive a selection of one or more of the groups; and        in response to the selection, separate the responsive information into one or more subgroups based at least in part on the multidimensional characteristic information.