Methods, computing devices, and media for obtaining access data

Abstract

The present disclosure provides a method, a computing device and a computer readable storage medium for obtaining access data. The method comprises, at a front-end device: determining an event type associated with access data to be obtained; setting a burying point mode among a plurality of burying point modes based on the event type; obtaining the access data according to the burying point mode; determining a reporting mode of the access data based on a data amount of the access data; and reporting the access data to a back-end device of the front-end device by using the determined reporting mode.

Description

Technical Field

[0001] This disclosure generally relates to the field of information collection, and more specifically, to a method for acquiring and accessing data, a computing device, and a computer-readable storage medium. Background Technology

[0002] Tracking is a common method for collecting user behavior data on websites. Currently, there are roughly three types of tracking methods in the industry: (1) Unobtrusive tracking: used to collect all information on the page indiscriminately, including page entry and exit, event clicks, etc., which requires backend data cleaning to obtain useful information; (2) Visual tracking: used to obtain tracking points based on the generated page structure and perform individual tracking analysis; and (3) Code tracking: used to manually set tracking code in the business code according to specific business needs.

[0003] Both indirect and visual event tracking are suitable for simple and standardized page scenarios. Indirect event tracking requires no configuration and data can be traced back, but the data volume is large and it cannot be linked to specific business data. Visual event tracking has low development costs, and operations personnel can directly configure relevant event tracking, but it also cannot be linked to specific business data. Code-based event tracking can be linked to specific business scenarios, the business data is clear, and it can be precisely controlled by the user, but it requires separate code configuration for each business, which places higher demands on developers and results in higher development costs.

[0004] In many complex business scenarios, different event types may be involved within the same scenario. In such cases, if a single event tracking method is used, only code-based event tracking can meet the business requirements. However, using code-based event tracking requires separate code configuration for each type of event in the business scenario, resulting in high development costs. Summary of the Invention

[0005] To address at least one of the aforementioned problems, this disclosure provides a solution for acquiring access data. By setting different tracking methods and data reporting methods for different types of events in the same business scenario, comprehensive access data for that business scenario can be acquired while balancing development difficulty and efficiency.

[0006] According to one aspect of this disclosure, a method for acquiring access data is provided. The method includes, at a front-end device: determining an event type associated with the access data to be acquired; setting one of multiple tracking methods based on the event type; acquiring the access data according to the tracking method; determining a reporting method for the access data based on the data volume of the access data; and reporting the access data to a back-end device of the front-end device using the determined reporting method.

[0007] According to another aspect of this disclosure, a computing device is provided. The computing device includes: at least one processing unit; and at least one memory coupled to the at least one processing unit and storing instructions for execution by the at least one processing unit, the instructions, when executed by the at least one processing unit, causing the computing device to perform the steps according to the method described above.

[0008] According to another aspect of this disclosure, a computer-readable storage medium is provided having computer program code stored thereon, which, when run, performs the methods described above.

[0009] In some embodiments, the multiple tracking methods include code tracking and non-intrusive tracking, and setting one of the multiple tracking methods based on the event type includes: determining whether the event type is a complex logic event; if the event type is determined to be a complex logic event, setting code tracking for the event type; and if the event type is determined not to be a complex logic event, setting non-intrusive tracking for the event type.

[0010] In some embodiments, setting the code-based event tracking method includes: if the event type is determined to be a complex logic event, setting event tracking codes for all operation controls associated with the complex logic event, and all event tracking codes having the same event identifier, wherein obtaining the access data according to the event tracking method includes: triggering the complex logic event when each operation control is triggered; collecting a portion of the access data associated with the complex logic event using the event tracking codes set for each operation control; and merging all portions of the access data associated with the complex logic event as the access data for the complex logic event.

[0011] In some embodiments, setting a seamless event tracking method includes: setting a configuration file on the front-end device, the configuration file including a list of operation events of interest, and wherein obtaining the access data according to the event tracking method includes: obtaining access data of all or specific types of operation events of the front-end device; and filtering access data belonging to the list of operation events of interest from the access data of all or specific types of operation events based on the configuration file as the obtained access data.

[0012] In some embodiments, determining the reporting method of the access data based on the data volume of the access data includes: estimating the data volume of the access data; determining whether the data volume is less than a predetermined threshold; if the data volume is less than the predetermined threshold, selecting a first HTTP request method with no response entity; and if the data volume is greater than or equal to the predetermined threshold, selecting a second HTTP request method with unlimited text length.

[0013] In some embodiments, estimating the amount of access data includes estimating the amount of access data based on the event type associated with the access data.

[0014] In some embodiments, reporting the access data to the backend device of the frontend device using the determined reporting method includes: if the event type is a browsing duration event, sending an HTTP request to the backend device at predetermined time intervals using the first HTTP request method, wherein the HTTP request contains the current browsing duration of the frontend device.

[0015] The solution disclosed herein achieves a good balance in terms of ease of development, user traffic overhead, and complex business scenarios. Attached Figure Description

[0016] This disclosure will be better understood by referring to the following description of specific embodiments given in the accompanying drawings, in which other objects, details, features, and advantages of this disclosure will become more apparent:

[0017] Figure 1 A schematic diagram of a system for obtaining access data according to this disclosure is shown.

[0018] Figure 2 A schematic diagram of the software architecture of system 1 according to an embodiment of the present disclosure is shown.

[0019] Figure 3 A flowchart of a method for obtaining access data according to some embodiments of the present disclosure is shown.

[0020] Figure 4 A more detailed flowchart of a block diagram for determining the embedding method according to an embodiment of the present disclosure is shown.

[0021] Figure 5 A more detailed flowchart of a block diagram showing a method for determining the reporting of access data according to some embodiments of the present disclosure is shown.

[0022] Figure 6 A schematic block diagram of an example computing device that can be used to implement embodiments of the present disclosure is shown. Detailed Implementation

[0023] Preferred embodiments of the present disclosure will now be described in more detail with reference to the accompanying drawings. While preferred embodiments of the present disclosure are shown in the drawings, it should be understood that the present disclosure may be implemented in various forms and should not be limited to the embodiments set forth herein. Rather, these embodiments are provided so that the present disclosure will be thorough and complete, and will fully convey the scope of the disclosure to those skilled in the art.

[0024] Figure 1 A schematic diagram of a system 1 for acquiring access data according to an embodiment of the present disclosure is shown. Figure 1 As shown, System 1 includes multiple front-end devices 10 and back-end devices 20 that communicate with the multiple front-end devices 10. Here, the front-end devices 10 can include various terminals capable of browsing / accessing web pages, including mobile phones, tablets, laptops, etc. Various applications can run on the front-end devices 10, each application including one or more business scenarios. This paper discusses the case where a business scenario includes multiple event types. The back-end device 20 can be a server supporting various processing functions required by the application. The front-end devices 10 and the back-end devices 20 can communicate through various communication methods, such as fiber optic networks, mobile internet, etc., and the front-end devices 10 and the back-end devices 20 collaboratively implement various functions of the application, as shown below. Figure 2 As stated above.

[0025] The front-end device 10 may include at least one processing unit and at least one memory coupled to the at least one processing unit, the memory storing instructions executable by the at least one processing unit, which, when executed by the at least one processing unit, perform at least a portion of the method 300 described below. A specific structure of the front-end device 10 may be, for example, combined as follows: Figure 6 As stated above.

[0026] Figure 2 A schematic diagram of the software architecture 200 of system 1 according to an embodiment of the present disclosure is shown. Figure 2As shown, the software architecture 200 of System 1 may include a presentation layer 210, a data tracking method setting layer 220, and a data tracking reporting layer 230 located on the front-end device 10, and a data storage layer 240, a data processing layer 250, and an access report layer 260 located on the back-end device 20. The presentation layer 210 is used to render the application on different devices or operating systems, and its presentation form may include mini-programs, H5, etc. The data tracking method setting layer 220 is used to set different data tracking methods for various event types, such as code tracking or inconspicuous tracking. The data tracking reporting layer 230 is used to report the acquired access data to the back-end device 20 using different data reporting methods, such as HTTP HEAD (or further polling), HTTP POST, etc., depending on the amount of access data to be reported. The data storage layer 240 is used to store or temporarily store the access data reported by the front-end device 10. The data processing layer 250 is used to perform different types of processing on the access data reported by one or more front-end devices 10, such as real-time processing or offline processing. The access reporting layer 260 is used to generate reports on the access status of the application based on the processed access data, such as real-time reports or offline reports.

[0027] Figure 3 A flowchart of a method 300 for obtaining access data according to some embodiments of the present disclosure is shown. Method 300 may, for example, be... Figure 1 This is executed in the front-end device 10 of System 1 shown below. (The following is in conjunction with...) Figures 1 to 3 Method 300 will be described in more detail.

[0028] In box 310, the front-end device 10 can determine the event type associated with the access data to be acquired. Here, the event type refers to the type of operation required to acquire the access data, which may include view click or display events, page events, complex logic events (such as page dwell time reporting events), etc. For example, in an e-commerce business scenario, the access data to be acquired may include user's shopping cart data, purchase data, product browsing data, etc. The event types corresponding to acquiring this access data may be control click events (such as clicking the "Add to Cart" button, clicking the "Submit Order" button), page exposure events (such as entering and exiting a product page), page dwell time events, etc.

[0029] In box 320, the front-end device 10 can set one of multiple tracking methods based on the event type determined in box 310. That is, a corresponding tracking method can be set for each event type.

[0030] For business scenarios involving different event types, relying solely on code-based event tracking would result in excessive code development workload and hinder version upgrades. Conversely, relying entirely on indiscriminate event tracking would require front-end device 10 to indiscriminately acquire various event tracking data and transmit it to back-end device 20, incurring data transmission overhead and back-end device 20 overhead in filtering the received data. Therefore, this disclosure sets different event tracking methods for different event types in this business scenario, including code-based tracking and indiscriminate event tracking. Furthermore, in the indiscriminate event tracking method, a configuration file can be set on the front-end device 10 to filter out events of interest before reporting. Since visual event tracking relies heavily on the functionality provided by third-party SDKs (Software Development Kits), this method is not considered in this paper.

[0031] Figure 4 A more detailed flowchart of block 320 for determining the event tracking method according to an embodiment of this disclosure is shown. In this disclosure, considering the business scenarios of the application, code-based event tracking is set only for complex logic events. The data for these events is not structured and cannot be reported through visual or inconspicuous event tracking. Inconspicuous event tracking is set for other events (such as page click events, also referred to herein as simple events). Here, complex logic events refer to events triggered by multiple interrelated operations, which typically do not correspond to operations on a single page, such as the browsing duration event described below.

[0032] Specifically, such as Figure 4 As shown in the diagram, in box 322, the front-end device 10 can determine whether the event type determined in box 310 is a complex logic event.

[0033] If the event type determined by box 310 is a complex logic event, in box 324, the front-end device 10 can set the code tracking method for this event type.

[0034] Furthermore, in box 324, tracking codes can be set for all operation controls associated with this complex logic event, and the tracking codes for all operation controls have the same event identifier. That is, the same identifier is used to organize all operations of this complex logic event.

[0035] On the other hand, if it is determined that the event type identified in box 310 is not a complex logic event, in box 326, the front-end device 10 can set a seamless event tracking method for that event type. For example, it can utilize the page lifecycle functions or events provided by WeChat Mini Programs or H5 to inject the required tracking points at the code level. For seamless tracking methods, seamless tracking methods can be easily set for all operation events or operation events of a specific class.

[0036] In box 330, the front-end device 10 can obtain the corresponding access data according to the tracking method determined in box 320. For different event types, the tracking method is different, and the way to obtain access data is also different.

[0037] In some embodiments, as described above, for complex logic events, tracking codes are set for all operation controls associated with the complex logic event, and the tracking codes for all operation controls have the same event identifier. In this case, in block 330, the front-end device 10 can trigger the complex logic event when each operation control is triggered, collect a portion of the access data associated with the complex logic event using the tracking codes set for each operation control, and merge all portions of the access data associated with the complex logic event as the access data for the complex logic event.

[0038] As described above, a seamless event tracking method is set up for simple events. In some further embodiments, at block 326, a configuration file is also set at the front-end device 10, which includes a list of operation events of interest. That is to say, the seamless event tracking method described herein is different from the conventional seamless event tracking method, but is a seamless event tracking method with a configuration file.

[0039] In this scenario, within box 330, the front-end device 10 can obtain access data for all simple events (i.e., operation events that are not complex logic events) of the front-end device 10, and based on this configuration file, filter out the access data belonging to the list of operation events of interest from all the access data of simple events as the obtained access data. In this way, even for the non-obvious event tracking method, only the access data of interest can be reported to the back-end device 20, thus possessing the advantages of non-obvious event tracking while avoiding excessive data transmission burden, saving user traffic, and improving data utilization.

[0040] continue Figure 3 In box 340, the front-end device 10 can determine the reporting method of the access data based on the amount of access data obtained in box 330.

[0041] Figure 5 A more detailed flowchart of block 340, which shows a method for determining the reporting of access data according to some embodiments of the present disclosure, is shown.

[0042] like Figure 5 As shown, box 340 may include box 342, where front-end device 10 can estimate the amount of data accessed.

[0043] In some embodiments, the front-end device 10 may calculate the amount of data after acquiring the access data.

[0044] In other embodiments, the front-end device 10 can estimate the data volume of the accessed data based on the event type associated with it. This is because the data volume of the same event type is generally within a relatively fixed range, and considering redundancy, determining the reporting method based on the data volume does not require strictly determining the actual data volume, but only a range or order of magnitude of the data volume. In particular, in practical applications, more attention is usually paid to reporting accessed data with larger data volumes.

[0045] In box 344, the front-end device 10 can determine whether the amount of data is less than a predetermined threshold. Here, the predetermined threshold can be a specific number (e.g., for the actual amount of data being calculated) or an order of magnitude (e.g., for the amount of data estimated by event type).

[0046] If the data volume is less than the predetermined threshold, in box 346, the front-end device 10 can select a first HTTP request method without a response body. This first HTTP request method could be, for example, the HTTP HEAD method. In this case, the waste of transmission resources caused by needing to return a response body is avoided, resulting in approximately 10ms of transmission optimization compared to the HTTP POST method in the Chrome browser.

[0047] On the other hand, if the data volume is greater than or equal to the predetermined threshold, in box 348, the front-end device 10 can select a second HTTP request method with an unlimited text length. This second HTTP request method could be, for example, the HTTP POST method.

[0048] By selecting different reporting methods based on the amount of data accessed, a perfect balance is achieved between transmission success rate and transmission resource consumption. For example, if the length of the request URL after concatenating parameters (corresponding to the amount of data to be reported) exceeds the browser's limit, the request will fail. Furthermore, the front-end device 10 needs to perform subsequent processing on the returned data for this reported event. In this case, the HTTP HEAD request method is no longer suitable. For instance, for general page view count events, click events, and simple business event events, the HTTP HEAD request method is sufficient. However, for large-scale article sharing events, which carry a significant amount of information, the HTTP POST request method is necessary.

[0049] continue Figure 3 In box 350, the front-end device 10 can report the access data to the back-end device 20 using the reporting method defined in box 340.

[0050] For some special event types, such as browsing duration events (which are a type of complex logical event), the amount of data accessed is not large, so the first HTTP request method can be chosen. For example, for this type of event, the conventional approach is to use the page initialization event (onLoad) and destruction event (onUnload) callbacks provided by the browser or mini-program, recording the page entry time T0 and page exit time T1 respectively, calculating the browsing duration T1-T0, and reporting this browsing duration (e.g., via the first HTTP request method) to the backend device 20. This conventional approach works without problems in normal application or page closing processes, but for some abnormal situations, such as browser / WeChat mini-program / WeChat crashes or users forcibly closing the application (killing the process), browsing duration records will be lost. Furthermore, users forcibly closing the application, or the application being reclaimed due to insufficient memory, is very common in real-world scenarios. For example, a user might browse an article for a while, switch to another application to handle business, and then switch back to the original application or mini-program only to find it has been reclaimed due to prolonged inactivity or insufficient memory. In such cases, accurate browsing duration data cannot be obtained. Browsing duration data is crucial in many situations, such as in article sharing, serving as a standard for determining whether a user is a potential high-value user. Therefore, the loss of this data is unacceptable. While this issue can be addressed by establishing a persistent WebSocket connection between the front-end device 10 and the back-end device 20, the WebSocket solution has compatibility issues. Its behavior within the mini-program framework differs from that in a browser, which is not ideal from a development and user experience perspective. To address this, this disclosure employs a polling request approach to implement a long-lived connection for browsing duration events.

[0051] Specifically, if the event type is a browsing duration event, in box 350, the front-end device 10 can send an HTTP request to the back-end device 20 at predetermined time intervals using the first HTTP request method (e.g., an HTTP HEAD request). This HTTP request contains the current browsing duration of the front-end device 10. For example, the front-end device 10 can send an HTTP HEAD request carrying the current browsing duration to the back-end device 20 every 5 seconds. Upon receiving the HTTP HEAD request, the back-end device 20 updates its browsing duration record. In this way, browsing duration data will not be lost regardless of any abnormal scenarios, with a maximum error of the set predetermined time interval, such as 5 seconds.

[0052] Figure 6 A schematic block diagram of an example computing device 600 that can be used to implement embodiments of the present disclosure is shown. The computing device 600 may be, for example, a combination as described above. Figures 1 to 5The aforementioned front-end device 10 or back-end device 20. As shown, the computing device 600 may include one or more central processing units (CPUs) 610 (only one is schematically shown in the figure), which can perform various appropriate actions and processes according to computer program instructions stored in read-only memory (ROM) 620 or computer program instructions loaded from storage unit 680 into random access memory (RAM) 630. The RAM 630 may also store various programs and data required for the operation of the device 600. The CPU 610, ROM 620, and RAM 630 are interconnected via bus 640. Input / output (I / O) interface 650 is also connected to bus 640.

[0053] Multiple components in computing device 600 are connected to I / O interface 650, including: input unit 660, such as keyboard, mouse, etc.; output unit 670, such as various types of monitors, speakers, etc.; storage unit 680, such as disk, optical disk, etc.; and communication unit 690, such as network card, modem, wireless transceiver, etc. Communication unit 690 allows computing device 600 to exchange information / data with other devices through computer networks such as the Internet and / or various telecommunications networks.

[0054] The method 300 described above may be executed, for example, by a processing unit 610 of a computing device 600 (such as front-end device 10). For example, in some embodiments, method 300 may be implemented as a computer software program tangibly included in a machine-readable medium, such as storage unit 680. In some embodiments, part or all of the computer program may be loaded and / or installed on the computing device 600 via ROM 620 and / or communication unit 690. When the computer program is loaded into RAM 630 and executed by CPU 610, one or more operations of the method 300 described above may be performed. Furthermore, communication unit 690 may support wired or wireless communication functions.

[0055] The method 300 for acquiring access data according to the present disclosure and the computing device 600 that can be used as a front-end device 10 and a back-end device 20 have been described above with reference to the accompanying drawings. However, those skilled in the art will understand that the execution of the steps of method 300 is not limited to the order shown in the figures and described above, but can be performed in any other reasonable order. Furthermore, the computing device 600 does not necessarily include… Figure 6 All components shown may include only some of the components necessary to perform the functions described in this disclosure, and the connection of these components is not limited to the form shown in the figures. For example, if the front-end device 10 is a mobile terminal, the computing device 600 may include only some of these components or their equivalents.

[0056] This disclosure can be a method, apparatus, system, and / or computer program product. A computer program product may include a computer-readable storage medium having computer-readable program instructions loaded thereon for performing various aspects of this disclosure.

[0057] In one or more exemplary designs, the functions described herein may be implemented using hardware, software, firmware, or any combination thereof. For example, if implemented in software, the functions may be stored as one or more instructions or code on a computer-readable medium, or transmitted as one or more instructions or code on a computer-readable medium.

[0058] The various units of the apparatus disclosed herein can be implemented using discrete hardware components or integrated into a single hardware component, such as a processor. For example, they can be implemented or perform the various exemplary logic blocks, modules, and circuits described herein using a general-purpose processor, digital signal processor (DSP), application-specific integrated circuit (ASIC), field-programmable gate array (FPGA) or other programmable logic device, discrete gate or transistor logic, discrete hardware components, or any combination thereof for performing the functions described herein.

[0059] Those skilled in the art should also understand that the various exemplary logic blocks, modules, circuits, and algorithm steps described in connection with embodiments of this disclosure can be implemented as electronic hardware, computer software, or a combination of both.

[0060] The foregoing description of this disclosure is intended to enable any person skilled in the art to implement or use this disclosure. Various modifications to this disclosure will be readily apparent to those skilled in the art, and the general principles defined herein can be applied to other variations without departing from the spirit and scope of this disclosure. Therefore, this disclosure is not limited to the examples and designs described herein, but is consistent with the broadest scope of the principles and novel features disclosed herein.

Claims

1. A method for acquiring access data, comprising, at a front-end device: Determine the event type associated with the access data to be retrieved; Based on the event type, set one of the multiple tracking methods; The access data is obtained according to the aforementioned data collection method; The reporting method for the accessed data is determined based on the amount of accessed data, and the reporting method is an HTTP request method; and The access data is reported to the backend device of the frontend device using the determined reporting method. The various event tracking methods include code-based event tracking and non-intrusive event tracking, and one of the event tracking methods based on the event type includes: Determine whether the event type is a complex logic event, wherein a complex logic event is an event triggered by multiple interrelated operations; If the event type is determined to be a complex logic event, a code-based event tracking method is set for the event type, wherein event tracking code is set for all operation controls associated with the complex logic event, and all event tracking codes have the same event identifier; and If it is determined that the event type is not a complex logic event, set a seamless tracking method for the event type.

2. The method as described in claim 1, wherein setting the code tracking method further includes: If the event type is determined to be a complex logic event, obtaining the access data according to the event tracking method includes: The complex logic event is triggered when each operation control is activated. A portion of the access data associated with the complex logical events is collected using the tracking code set for each operation control; and All portions of the access data associated with the complex logical event are merged to form the access data for the complex logical event.

3. The method as described in claim 1, wherein setting the seamless embedding method includes: A configuration file is set on the front-end device, the configuration file including a list of operation events of interest, and wherein obtaining the access data according to the aforementioned tracking method includes: Obtain access data for all or specific types of operation events of the front-end device; and Based on the configuration file, the access data belonging to the list of operation events of interest is filtered out from the access data of all or specific types of operation events as the obtained access data.

4. The method of claim 1, wherein determining the reporting method of the access data based on the data volume of the access data includes: Estimate the amount of data accessed; Determine whether the amount of data is less than a predetermined threshold; If the amount of data is less than the predetermined threshold, select the first HTTP request method for entities that do not respond. as well as If the amount of data is greater than or equal to the predetermined threshold, select the second HTTP request method with unlimited text length.

5. The method of claim 4, wherein estimating the amount of data accessed comprises: The amount of data accessed is estimated based on the event type associated with the accessed data.

6. The method of claim 4, wherein reporting the access data to the backend device of the frontend device using the determined reporting method includes: If the event type is a browsing duration event, an HTTP request is sent to the backend device at predetermined time intervals using the first HTTP request method, and the HTTP request contains the current browsing duration of the frontend device.

7. A computing device, comprising: At least one processing unit; as well as At least one memory coupled to the at least one processing unit and storing instructions for execution by the at least one processing unit, the instructions, when executed by the at least one processing unit, causing the computing device to perform the steps of the method according to any one of claims 1 to 6.

8. A computer-readable storage medium having computer program code stored thereon, the computer program code performing the method as described in any one of claims 1 to 6 when executed.

Images