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.

What is claimed is: 
     
       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 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;   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 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 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 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 wherein the server program instructions include the third program instructions. 
     
     
       48. A method, comprising:
 receiving a query from a client device;   in response to receiving the query from the client device, searching one or more databases for results of the query;   receiving the results of the query from the one or more databases;   clustering the results of the query into a plurality of groups based at least in part on a plurality of categories of multidimensional characteristics associated with the results of the query;   clustering the results of the query into a plurality of subgroups based at least in part on a plurality of ranges of the categories of multidimensional characteristics; and   transmitting the clustered results to the client device configured to process the clustered results.   
     
     
       49. A method as claimed in claim 48, wherein said clustering comprises grouping together similar records in the results of the query. 
     
     
       50. A method as claimed in claim 48, wherein said clustering comprises grouping together records in the results of the query based on characteristic information in the query. 
     
     
       51. A method as claimed in claim 48, wherein said clustering comprises dividing the results of the query into mutually exclusive groups such that members of a group are as closely related as possible to other members of the group, and members the group are as unrelated as possible to members of other groups. 
     
     
       52. A method as claimed in claim 48, wherein said clustering comprising one or more of K-means clustering, self-organizing feature mapping, neural gas clustering, or complexity optimized vector quantization, or combinations thereof. 
     
     
       53. A method as claimed in claim 48, wherein the results of the query comprise one or more of record size, record rank, record date of post, record language, record uniform resource locator, or cluster in which one or more records are grouped by said clustering, or combinations thereof. 
     
     
       54. A method as claimed in claim 48, wherein said clustering is capable of resulting in one or more groups of records having similar attributes for one or more categories of information. 
     
     
       55. A method as claimed in claim 48, wherein said clustering comprises determining one or more groups into which records of the results of the query may be grouped based at least in part on one or more heuristics, one or more parameters, or combinations thereof. 
     
     
       56. A method as claimed in claim 48, wherein said clustering comprises determining one or more groups into which records of the results of the query may be grouped based at least in part on a combination of two or more categories of information of the records of the results of the query. 
     
     
       57. A method as claimed in claim 48, wherein said clustering comprises determining one or more groups into which records of the results of the query may be grouped, and further comprising determining one or more sub-groups into which results of the query may be grouped based on records in the one or more sub-groups having similar attributes. 
     
     
       58. A method as claimed in claim 48, further comprising formatting the clustered results of the query via tags capable of allowing the client program to display the clustered results via organization of records in the results of the query by one or more groups, or by one or more sub-groups, or combinations thereof. 
     
     
       59. A method as claimed in claim 48, further comprising formatting the clustered results of the query via metadata capable of allowing the client program to display the clustered results via organization of records in the results of the query by one or more groups, or by one or more sub-groups, or combinations thereof. 
     
     
       60. A method as claimed in claim 48, further comprising formatting the clustered results of the query via bytecode capable of allowing the client program to display the clustered results via organization of records in the results of the query by one or more groups, or by one or more sub-groups, or combinations thereof. 
     
     
       61. A server 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 from a client device;   in response to receiving the query from the client device, search one or more databases for results of the query;   receive the results of the query from the one or more databases;   cluster the results of the query into a plurality of groups based at least in part on a plurality of categories of multidimensional characteristics associated with the results of the query;   cluster the results of the query into a plurality of subgroups based at least in part on a plurality of ranges of the categories of multidimensional characteristics; and   transmit the clustered results to the client device configured to process the clustered results.   
     
     
       62. A server system as claimed in claim 61, wherein the memory further comprising program instructions that are executable by the processor to cluster by grouping together similar records in the results of the query. 
     
     
       63. A server system as claimed in claim 61, wherein the memory further comprising program instructions that are executable by the processor to cluster by grouping together records in the results of the query based on characteristic information in the query. 
     
     
       64. A server system as claimed in claim 61, wherein the memory further comprising program instructions that are executable by the processor to cluster by dividing the results of the query into mutually exclusive groups such that members of a group are as closely related as possible to other members of the group, and members the group are as unrelated as possible to members of other groups. 
     
     
       65. A server system as claimed in claim 61, wherein the memory further comprising program instructions that are executable by the processor to cluster by one or more of K-means clustering, self-organizing feature mapping, neural gas clustering, or complexity optimized vector quantization, or combinations thereof. 
     
     
       66. A server system as claimed in claim 61, wherein the results of the query comprise one or more of record size, record rank, record date of post, record language, record uniform resource locator, or cluster in which one or more records are grouped by said clustering, or combinations thereof. 
     
     
       67. A server system as claimed in claim 61, wherein the memory further comprising program instructions that are executable by the processor to cluster to result in one or more groups of records having similar attributes for one or more categories of information. 
     
     
       68. A server system as claimed in claim 61, wherein the memory further comprising program instructions that are executable by the processor to cluster by determining one or more groups into which records of the results of the query may be grouped based at least in part on one or more heuristics, one or more parameters, or combinations thereof. 
     
     
       69. A server system as claimed in claim 61, wherein the memory further comprising program instructions that are executable by the processor to cluster by determining one or more groups into which records of the results of the query may be grouped based at least in part on a combination of two or more categories of information of the records of the results of the query. 
     
     
       70. A server system as claimed in claim 61, wherein the memory further comprising program instructions that are executable by the processor to cluster by determining one or more groups into which records of the results of the query may be grouped, and further by determining one or more sub-groups into which results of the query may be grouped based on records in the one or more sub-groups having similar attributes. 
     
     
       71. A server system as claimed in claim 61, wherein the memory further comprising program instructions that are executable by the processor to format the clustered results of the query via tags capable of allowing the client program to display the clustered results via organization of records in the results of the query by one or more groups, or by one or more sub-groups, or combinations thereof. 
     
     
       72. A server system as claimed in claim 61, wherein the memory further comprising program instructions that are executable by the processor to format the clustered results of the query via metadata capable of allowing the client program to display the clustered results via organization of records in the results of the query by one or more groups, or by one or more sub-groups, or combinations thereof. 
     
     
       73. A server system as claimed in claim 61, wherein the memory further comprising program instructions that are executable by the processor to format the clustered results of the query via bytecode capable of allowing the client program to display the clustered results via organization of records in the results of the query by one or more groups, or by one or more sub-groups, or combinations thereof. 
     
     
       74. A computer readable storage medium comprising program instructions, wherein the program instructions are executable to:
 receive a query from a client device;   in response to receiving the query from the client device, search one or more databases for results of the query;   receive the results of the query from the one or more databases;   cluster the results of the query into a plurality of groups based at least in part on a plurality of categories of multidimensional characteristics associated with the results of the query;   cluster the results of the query into a plurality of subgroups based at least in part on a plurality of ranges of the categories of multidimensional characteristics; and   transmit the clustered results to the client device configured to process the clustered results.   
     
     
       75. The computer readable storage medium as claimed in claim 74, further comprising program instructions that are executable to cluster by grouping together similar records in the results of the query. 
     
     
       76. The computer readable storage medium as claimed in claim 74, further comprising program instructions that are executable to cluster by grouping together records in the results of the query based on characteristic information in the query. 
     
     
       77. The computer readable storage medium as claimed in claim 74, further comprising program instructions that are executable to divide the results of the query into mutually exclusive groups such that members of a group are as closely related as possible to other members of the group, and members the group are as unrelated as possible to members of other groups. 
     
     
       78. The computer readable storage medium as claimed in claim 74, further comprising program instructions that are executable to cluster by one or more of K-means clustering, self-organizing feature mapping, neural gas clustering, or complexity optimized vector quantization, or combinations thereof. 
     
     
       79. The computer readable storage medium as claimed in claim 74, wherein the results of the query comprise one or more of record size, record rank, record date of post, record language, record uniform resource locator, or cluster in which one or more records are grouped by said clustering, or combinations thereof. 
     
     
       80. The computer readable storage medium as claimed in claim 74, further comprising program instructions that are executable to cause one or more groups of records having similar attributes for one or more categories of information. 
     
     
       81. The computer readable storage medium as claimed in claim 74, further comprising program instructions that are executable to cluster by determining one or more groups into which records of the results of the query may be grouped based at least in part on one or more heuristics, one or more parameters, or combinations thereof. 
     
     
       82. The computer readable storage medium as claimed in claim 74, further comprising program instructions that are executable to cluster by determining one or more groups into which records of the results of the query may be grouped based at least in part on a combination of two or more categories of information of the records of the results of the query. 
     
     
       83. The computer readable storage medium as claimed in claim 74, further comprising program instructions that are executable to cluster by determining one or more groups into which records of the results of the query may be grouped, and further by determining one or more subgroups into which results of the query may be grouped based on records in the one or more sub-groups having similar attributes. 
     
     
       84. The computer readable storage medium as claimed in claim 74, further comprising program instructions that are executable to format the clustered results of the query via tags capable of allowing the client program to display the clustered results via organization of records in the results of the query by one or more groups, or by one or more sub-groups, or combinations thereof. 
     
     
       85. The computer readable storage medium as claimed in claim 74, further comprising program instructions that are executable to format the clustered results of the query via metadata capable of allowing the client program to display the clustered results via organization of records in the results of the query by one or more groups, or by one or more sub-groups, or combinations thereof. 
     
     
       86. The computer readable storage medium as claimed in claim 74, further comprising program instructions that are executable to format the clustered results of the query via bytecode capable of allowing the client program to display the clustered results via organization of records in the results of the query by one or more groups, or by one or more sub-groups, or combinations thereof. 
     
     
       87. A method, comprising:
 receiving queries from one or more client devices;   in response to receiving the queries from the one or more client devices, searching one or more databases for results of the queries;   receiving the results of the queries from the one or more databases;   clustering the results of the queries into groups and subgroups based at least in part on multidimensional characteristics associated with the results of the query;   transmitting the clustered results to the one or more client devices configured to process the clustered results; and   providing personalized advertisements to the one or more client devices based on information associated with the received queries.   
     
     
       88. A method as claimed in claim 87, further comprising selecting advertisements that are personalized to a user of each client device based on topic information associated with the received query. 
     
     
       89. A method as claimed in claim 87, further comprising:
 receiving advertisement preference information in addition to the query from each client device; and   selecting personalized advertisements to provide to each client device based on the received advertisement preference information.   
     
     
       90. 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 queries from one or more client devices;   in response to receiving the queries from the one or more client devices, search one or more databases for results of the queries;   receive the results of the queries from the one or more databases;   cluster the results of the queries into groups and subgroups based at least in part on multidimensional characteristics associated with the results of the query;   transmit the clustered results to the one or more client devices configured to process the clustered results; and   provide personalized advertisements to the one or more client devices based on information associated with the received queries.   
     
     
       91. A computer system as claimed in claim 90, wherein the memory further comprising program instructions that are executable by the processor to select advertisements that are personalized to a user of each client device based on topic information associated with the received query. 
     
     
       92. A computer system as claimed in claim 90, wherein the memory further comprising program instructions that are executable by the processor to:
 receive advertisement preference information in addition to the query from each client device; and   select personalized advertisements to provide to each client device based on the received advertisement preference information.   
     
     
       93. A computer readable storage medium comprising program instructions, wherein the program instructions are executable to:
 receive queries from one or more client devices;   in response to receiving the queries from the one or more client devices, search one or more databases for results of the queries;   receive the results of the queries from the one or more databases;   cluster the results of the queries into groups and subgroups based at least in part on multidimensional characteristics associated with the results of the query;   transmit the clustered results to the one or more client devices configured to process the clustered results; and   provide personalized advertisements to the one or more client devices based on information associated with the received queries.   
     
     
       94. The computer readable storage medium as claimed in claim 93, further comprising program instructions that are executable to select advertisements that are personalized to a user of each client device based on topic information associated with the received query. 
     
     
       95. The computer readable storage medium as claimed in claim 93, further comprising program instructions that are executable to:
 receive advertisement preference information in addition to the query from each client device; and   select personalized advertisements to provide to each client device based on the received advertisement preference information.   
     
     
       96. A system, comprising:
 means for receiving a query from a client device;   means for searching one or more databases for results of the query, in response to receiving the query from the client device;   means for receiving the results of the query from the one or more databases;   means for clustering the results of the query into a plurality of groups based at least in part on a plurality of categories of multidimensional characteristics associated with the results of the query;   means for clustering the results of the query into a plurality of subgroups based at least in part on a plurality of ranges of the categories of multidimensional characteristics; and   means for transmitting the clustered results to the client device configured to process the clustered results.   
     
     
       97. A method, comprising:
 providing a query for searching one or more database for results of the query;   receiving clustered results in response to said providing the query, wherein the clustered results are clustered into a plurality of groups based at least in part on a plurality of categories of multidimensional characteristics associated with the results of the query, and wherein the clustered results are further clustered into a plurality of subgroups based at least in part on a plurality of ranges of the categories of multidimensional characteristics; and   processing the clustered results.