UC Case No. 2004-656
SUMMARY
Researchers in the Computer Science Department at UCLA have developed a method for searching hidden web content that has previously been difficult to gather for the end user.
BACKGROUND
Current internet search engines are limited in their ability to search through web-based databases that are only accessible by directly querying them. Typical search engines like Google use a crawling system to search web content. This means that the search engine recursively explores webpage links to discover more links from subsequent webpages until a condition is met. Although other search engines and algorithms can query these databases, they do not actually download the database content that the end user wants. The ability to download this hidden web content can have high value for companies like personalized web searching, creation of web directories, integration of hidden content in e-commerce stores, and providing key information to make business decisions.
INNOVATION
Researchers in the Computer Science Department at UCLA have developed a method for searching hidden web content that has previously been difficult to gather for the end user. They have designed a system for searching the internet that is able to interact with web-based databases by automatically generating queries for their search pages. Compared to other web-based databases searches, this invention will be able to download the content of the databases as opposed to just getting a summary of the databases or identifying their structure. It can also use its previous queries or searches to generate a query that will return the most relevant content.
POTENTIAL APPLICATIONS
ADVANTAGES