Program, method for controlling an information processing device, and information processing device.

Abstract

In situations where the linked destination is not excluded from the search, but the associated thumbnail image is excluded, the search results for that destination can be obtained in a more favorable manner. [Solution] The result processing unit 505 determines whether the URL of the thumbnail image of the search result matches the URL of the thumbnail image to be replaced, and whether the destination URL associated with the thumbnail image of the search result matches the destination URL of the URL combination 902 in the correspondence list file 901. If the result processing unit 505 determines that the above conditions are met, it replaces the URL of the thumbnail image of the search result with the URL 904 of the thumbnail image specified in the URL combination 902. The result processing unit 505 controls the display of the search result in which the thumbnail image has been replaced.

Description

【Technical Field】 【0001】 The present disclosure relates to a program, a control method for an information processing apparatus, and an information processing apparatus. 【Background Art】 【0002】 For example, there is known a search site having a function of searching for educational material contents by using an external search engine that has previously crawled information on a site holding educational material contents. In this search site, a query specifying a keyword input by a user and a search start position indicating from which rank among the top number of retrieved results to search is used to retrieve search results. Specifically, the query is sent to a custom search API (Application Programming Interface) of an external search engine, and search results are retrieved from the search engine and displayed. The search results returned by the search engine include a link destination URL which is the URL (Uniform Resource Locator) of the posting page on which each searched content is posted, and a URL of a thumbnail image related to the posting page. It is desirable that the URL of this thumbnail image is the URL of the thumbnail image of the content, but since it is automatically extracted by the search engine from the images included in the posting page of the content, it may not be the thumbnail image of the content itself. That is, depending on the crawling status of the search engine, it is conceivable that a URL related to an unintended image rather than an image of the teaching material content is returned as the URL of the thumbnail image of the search result as the thumbnail image of the posting page of the content. Examples of such unintended images include images other than teaching material contents, such as the logo or banner image of an educational material site, a promotional image of an in-site service, a third-party advertisement image, and the like. 【0003】 In light of this situation, some search engines maintain a list of URLs for unintended content pages and thumbnail images to be excluded, and have a mechanism in place to exclude such URLs from search results. In this case, if any of the destination URLs or thumbnail image URLs in the search results returned by the search engine match any URLs in the above list, those URLs will be excluded from the search results. However, if some URLs are excluded from the search results, the number of results returned will decrease significantly from the initial number, potentially falling below the default number of results that should be displayed in the search results list. If the default number of results is not met, there is a known technique to change the starting position of the search and resend the query with the same keyword to the search engine until the number of results exceeds the default number of results that should be displayed. Furthermore, Patent Document 1 discloses a technology for replacing URLs that restrict display with pre-prepared alternative URLs when the linked URL contains such a URL. Specifically, when a linked URL in HTML (HyperText Markup Language) contains a URL that restricts display, the URL is replaced with an alternative URL in accordance with the extension notation of the URL. [Prior art documents] [Patent Documents] 【0004】 [Patent Document 1] Japanese Patent Publication No. 2011-221616 [Overview of the Initiative] [Problems that the invention aims to solve] 【0005】 On the other hand, even if the linked URL included in the search results is valid as the URL of the page where the content is published, if the thumbnail image URL is included in the exclusion criteria, the search result (in other words, the content) will be treated as excluded. In such situations, the page where the content is published, which should be fine, may not be displayed as a candidate. Furthermore, the number of search results may fall below the number of results that can be displayed, requiring the search to be performed again with a different starting position, and potentially resulting in the submission of the query again. Especially in recent years, searches are often performed using external search engines, and in such situations, charges are often incurred based on the number of queries submitted, so an increase in the number of searches can be a factor in increasing search costs. 【0006】 In view of the above problems, the present invention aims to enable the acquisition of search results for a linked destination in a more favorable manner, even when the linked destination is not excluded from the search, but the associated thumbnail image is excluded. [Means for solving the problem] 【0007】 The present invention provides a computer with an acquisition means for acquiring a first list file containing URLs of thumbnail images to be replaced, managed by a search site, and a second list file associating linked URLs with thumbnail image URLs; a receiving means for receiving search results from a search engine server as search results corresponding to a search word entered via the search site, including at least the searched linked URL and thumbnail image URL; and a second list file associating the URL of the first thumbnail image included in the search results with the URL of the second thumbnail image included in the first list file, where the URL of the first thumbnail image included in the search results matches the URL of the second thumbnail image included in the search results. The information processing device is characterized by comprising: a first determination means for determining whether the URL of link 1 matches the URL of a second link included in the second list file; a replacement means for replacing the first thumbnail image included in the search results with the URL of a third thumbnail image associated with the URL of the second link in the second list file, when the first determination means determines that the URL of the first thumbnail image matches the URL of the second thumbnail image and that the URL of the first link matches the URL of the second link; and a display control means for controlling the display of the search results replaced by the replacement means. [Effects of the Invention] 【0008】 According to the present invention, even in situations where the linked destination is not set as an exclusion target, but the associated thumbnail image is set as an exclusion target, it becomes possible to obtain the search results for the linked destination in a more favorable manner. [Brief explanation of the drawing] 【0009】 [Figure 1] This diagram shows an example of the configuration of an information processing system. [Figure 2] This diagram shows an example of a web server hardware configuration. [Figure 3]It is a diagram showing an example of the hardware configuration of a client terminal. [Figure 4] It is a diagram showing an example of the software configuration of a Web server. [Figure 5] It is a diagram showing an example of the software configuration of a client terminal. [Figure 6] It is a flowchart showing an example of the processing of a client terminal. [Figure 7] It is a diagram showing an example of the search screen of a client terminal. [Figure 8] It is a diagram showing an example of a list file of excluded URLs and replacement URLs. [Figure 9] It is a diagram showing an example of a corresponding list file of URLs. [Figure 10] It is a flowchart showing an example of the processing of a client terminal. [Figure 11] It is a flowchart showing an example of the processing of a Web server. [Figure 12] It is a flowchart showing an example of the processing of a client terminal. [Figure 13] It is a diagram showing an example of a corresponding list file with multiple replacement URLs. [Figure 14] It is a flowchart showing an example of the processing of a client terminal. [Figure 15] It is a flowchart showing an example of the processing of a Web server. [Figure 16] It is a diagram showing an example of the software configuration of a Web server. [Figure 17] It is a diagram showing an example of the software configuration of a client terminal. [Figure 18] It is a sequence diagram showing an example of the flow of processing related to the display of search results. [Figure 19] It is a flowchart showing an example of the processing of a Web server. 【Modes for Carrying Out the Invention】 【0010】 Hereinafter, preferred embodiments of the present disclosure will be described in detail while referring to the accompanying drawings. In the present specification and drawings, components having substantially the same functional configuration are denoted by the same reference numerals, and redundant descriptions are omitted. 【0011】 <First Embodiment> Referring to FIG. 1, an example of the configuration of an information processing system according to the first embodiment of the present disclosure will be described. The information processing system according to the present embodiment includes a Web server 101, a search engine server 102, and a client terminal 103. Each of the Web server 101, the search engine server 102, and the client terminal 103 is connected to the Internet 100 and can communicate with each other via the Internet 100. Note that the information processing system may include other devices such as routers and printers, and other networks such as LANs. Also, the Web server 101 and the search engine server 102 may be configured by one server device. Further, each of the Web server 101 and the search engine server 102 may be configured by a plurality of server devices. Even when configured by a plurality of server devices, in the present disclosure, for convenience, the plurality of server devices may be simply referred to as "server". 【0012】 (Hardware Configuration of Server) Referring to FIG. 2, an example of the hardware configuration of the Web server 101 according to the present embodiment will be described. The Web server 101 has a CPU (Central Processing Unit) 201, a RAM (Random Access Memory) 202, a ROM (Read Only Memory) 203, and a storage device 204. The Web server 101 also has an operation unit 205, a display unit 206, a network communication unit 207, and a network connection unit 208. 【0013】 The CPU 201 is a central processing unit that comprehensively controls each part of the Web server 101. The RAM 202 serves as a working memory when the CPU 201 executes a program. ROM203 is read-only memory for storing the boot program used to start the system. ROM203 also stores fixed data such as control programs and data tables executed by CPU201, as well as embedded operating system (hereinafter also referred to as "OS") programs. Each control program stored in ROM203 performs software execution control, such as scheduling, task switching, and interrupt handling, under the management of the embedded OS stored in ROM203. The storage device 204 is a device that stores programs executed by the CPU 201 and various information, and can be implemented as a non-volatile storage device such as a magnetic disk or flash memory. 【0014】 The operation unit 205 is an input interface for receiving various input operations from the user, and may include, for example, a keyboard, mouse, etc. The display unit 206 is an output interface that presents various information to the user by displaying it on a user interface screen or the like, and for example, an LCD (Liquid Crystal Display) may be used. The network communication unit 207 is connected to a network such as the Internet 100 via the network connection unit 208 and performs various communications. The network connection unit 208 has a configuration that supports, for example, a wireless LAN or an Ethernet terminal (registered trademark). Each component of the Web server 101 described above is interconnected via the bus 209, enabling them to send and receive data to and from each other. 【0015】 In this embodiment, the search engine server 102 is implemented by an information processing device having substantially the same hardware configuration as the web server 101. However, the search engine server 102 may have a different hardware configuration from the web server 101. 【0016】 (Client terminal hardware configuration) Referring to Figure 3, an example of the hardware configuration of the client terminal 103 according to this embodiment will be described. The client terminal 103 includes a CPU 301, RAM 302, ROM 303, storage device 304, operation unit 305, display unit 306, network communication unit 307, and network connection unit 308. 【0017】 The CPU 301 is a central processing unit that comprehensively controls all parts of the client terminal 103. RAM302 serves as working memory for the CPU301 when executing programs. ROM203 stores control programs and data tables executed by CPU301, as well as fixed data such as embedded OS programs. Each control program stored in ROM303 performs software execution control such as scheduling, task switching, and interrupt handling under the management of the embedded OS stored in ROM303. The storage device 304 is implemented, for example, by a non-volatile storage device and stores various operating mode settings and operation logs that need to be retained even after the client terminal 103 is restarted. 【0018】 The operation unit 305 is an input interface for receiving various input operations from the user, and may include, for example, a keyboard or mouse. The display unit 306 is an output interface that presents various information to the user by displaying it on a user interface screen or the like; for example, an LCD may be used. In this embodiment, the operation unit 305 and the display unit 306 may be integrated into an operation display unit. An example of an operation display unit is an operation panel. The network communication unit 307 is connected to a network such as the Internet 100 via the network connection unit 308 and performs various communications. The network connection unit 308 has a configuration that supports, for example, a wireless LAN or an Ethernet terminal. Each component of the client terminal 103 described above is interconnected via the bus 309, enabling them to send and receive data to and from each other. The client terminal 103 can be, for example, a PC, smartphone, or tablet device. 【0019】 (Web server software configuration) Referring to Figure 4, an example of the software configuration of the Web server 101 according to this embodiment will be described. The Web server 101 includes a data request receiving unit 401, a data acquisition unit 402, a data transmission unit 403, an update data receiving unit 404, and a correspondence list update unit 405. 【0020】 The data request receiving unit 401 receives data access requests from the client terminal 103 via the network communication unit 207. The data acquisition unit 402 accesses the storage device 204 and acquires data in response to a request received by the data request reception unit 401. 【0021】 The data transmission unit 403 transmits the following example file to the client terminal 103 via the network communication unit 207. Examples of files to be transmitted include the HTML file of the search screen obtained via the data acquisition unit 402, and the Javascript® program for the search process. Furthermore, files to be transmitted may also include the exclusion URL list file, replacement URL list file, and the correspondence list file between linked URLs and thumbnail image URLs (hereinafter also simply referred to as the correspondence list file) used in the exclusion / replacement process. The excluded URL list file is a list of URLs to be excluded from search results, and is maintained by the search site operator and stored in the storage device 204 of the web server 101. The excluded URL list file is an example of the third list file. Furthermore, the URLs included in the excluded URL list file are an example of the fourth type of URL. The replacement URL list file is a list of URLs to be replaced (thumbnail image URLs) included in the search results. It is maintained by the search site operator and stored in the storage device 204 of the web server 101. The replacement URL list file is an example of the first list file. Furthermore, the URLs to be replaced included in the replacement URL list file are an example of the second thumbnail image URL. The correspondence list file is a list that associates URLs of linked pages with URLs of alternative thumbnail images, so that the URLs of thumbnail images are replaced with URLs of alternative thumbnail images that match the URLs of the linked pages in the search results. When the URL of a thumbnail image in a search result matches one of the URLs in the replacement URL list file, the URL of that thumbnail image is replaced with the URL of an alternative thumbnail image that matches the URL of the linked page in the search result, based on the correspondence list file. The correspondence list file is maintained, for example, by the operator of the search site. The correspondence list file can also be updated by the correspondence list update unit 405 of the Web server 101. The correspondence list file is stored in the storage device 204 of the Web server 101. The correspondence list file is an example of the second list file. The linked page URLs included in the correspondence list file are an example of the second linked page URL, and the URLs of the thumbnail images included in the correspondence list file are an example of the third thumbnail image URL. Furthermore, the URL of the link included in the search results corresponds to an example of a third URL, and the URL of the thumbnail image included in the search results corresponds to an example of a first URL. 【0022】 The update data receiving unit 404 receives data from the client terminal 103 via the network communication unit 207, which is a combination of the destination URL and the URL of the thumbnail image. The correspondence list update unit 405 updates the correspondence list file based on the data received by the update data receiving unit 404. 【0023】 (Software configuration of client terminals) Referring to Figure 5, an example of the software configuration of the client terminal 103 according to this embodiment will be described. The client terminal 103 includes a data request unit 501, a data reception unit 502, a display control unit 503, a query string generation unit 504, a result processing unit 505, and an update data transmission unit 506. 【0024】 The data request unit 501 requests access to data from external servers such as the web server 101 and the search engine server 102 via the network communication unit 307. The data request unit 501 also requests access to the search screen from the web server 101. Furthermore, the data request unit 501 requests search results from the search engine server 102 by sending the query string generated by the query string generation unit 504. The data receiving unit 502 receives data from an external server via the network communication unit 307. The data receiving unit 502 receives HTML files for the search screen to be displayed in the web browser and Javascript programs for the search process from the web server 101. The data receiving unit 502 receives the total number of searches and the search results, including the thumbnail image URL, title, and link URL of each search result, from the search engine server 102. The data receiving unit 502 stores the search results received from the search engine server 102 in RAM 302. 【0025】 The display control unit 503 causes the display unit 306 to display the results of the OS, web browser, and application. The query string generation unit 504 generates a query string to send to the search engine based on the input value in the search word input field and the search start position. The results processing unit 505 performs exclusion processing for each search result and replacement processing for thumbnail image URLs based on the destination URLs and thumbnail image URLs included in the search results obtained via the data receiving unit 502. The update data transmission unit 506 transmits data combining the destination URL and the URL of the thumbnail image to the Web server 101 via the network communication unit 307. 【0026】 (Regarding search engine servers) The search engine server 102 includes a custom search API that allows users to customize the sites they crawl. The search engine server 102 crawls each website according to the URL of the website registered in the custom search API. The search engine server 102 then stores data in the storage device 204 that includes the URLs of the thumbnail images of the crawled websites' content, the titles of the content, and the URLs of the content pages as linked URLs. The search engine server 102 receives a search term and a starting position as a "query" via a custom search API, performs the search, and returns the search results from the starting position onward to the search source. The search results include the total number of searches for the search term, the URL of the content thumbnail image, the content title, and the URL of the link. The search source may be either the web server 101 or the client terminal 103. Note that the operator of the search engine server 102 may be different from the operator of the source web server. In this embodiment, the operator of the web server 101 is charged a fixed rate each time a query is made to the search engine server 102 from a client terminal used by a user. 【0027】 (Search process) Referring to Figures 6 to 9, an example of the processing of an information processing system in the system according to this embodiment will be explained, focusing on the content search process of an educational materials website. 【0028】 Figure 6 is a flowchart illustrating an example of the process from accessing the web server 101 and the search engine server 102 using the web browser of the client terminal 103 to searching for content and displaying the results. The series of processes performed by the client terminal 103 shown in Figure 6 are realized, for example, by the CPU 301 loading the program stored in the ROM 303 into the RAM 302 and executing it. The processing of the Web server 101 (not shown) is implemented, for example, by the CPU 201 loading a program stored in ROM 203 into RAM 202 and executing it. Similarly, the processing of the search engine server 102 (not shown) is implemented, for example, by the CPU 201 loading a program stored in ROM 203 into RAM 202 and executing it. Furthermore, some or all of the processes shown in Figure 6 may be implemented by hardware such as an ASIC (Application Specific Integrated Circuit) or electronic circuit. In this embodiment, the actual entity responsible for the series of processes shown in Figure 6 is assumed to be the CPU of the client terminal 103. 【0029】 Figure 7 shows an example of screen transitions from the initial display screen of the search screen 702 to the search results screen 705, as displayed on screen 701 of the web browser on the client terminal 103. Figure 7(a) shows the initial display of the search screen 702. The search screen 702 includes a search word input field (input area) 703 and a search button 704. Figure 7(b) shows an example of the screen after the display of search results (hereinafter also referred to as the search results screen 705) as displayed on screen 701 by the web browser of the client terminal 103. Note that the search results screen 705 shown in Figure 7(b) may also be displayed by transitioning from the search screen 702. The search results screen 705 includes a search word input field 706, a search button 707, a search list title 708, a thumbnail image of the search results 709, a content title of the search results 710, and a next page display button 711. However, the next page display button 711 is displayed when the total number of searches received by the client terminal 103 from the search engine server 102 exceeds the number of results that can be displayed per page. 【0030】 Figure 8 shows an example of an exclusion URL list file 801, which is stored on the web server 101 and used for excluding URLs in search result links, and a replacement URL list file 803, which is used for replacing URLs of thumbnail images. Figure 8(a) shows an example of an excluded URL list file 801. The excluded URL list file 801 includes the URLs of the links to be excluded 802. The excluded URL list file 801 is saved on the web server 101 by the search site operator, listing the URLs of pages containing content to be excluded from display in search results as URLs. Figure 8(b) shows an example of a replacement URL list file 803. The replacement URL list file 803 contains the URLs 804 of the thumbnail images to be replaced. The replacement URL list file 803 is saved on the web server 101 by the search site operator as a list of URLs of thumbnail images to be replaced in the search results. 【0031】 Figure 9 shows an example of a URL mapping list file 901 stored on the web server 101. The URL mapping list file 901 includes the destination URL 903 and the thumbnail image URL 904. The URL mapping list file 901 also contains a JSON (JavaScript Object Notation) format list structure whose elements are URL combinations 902, which consist of the destination URL 903 and the thumbnail image URL 904. The URL correspondence list file 901 is a list that manages URLs from the replacement URL list file 803 and URLs 904 of alternative thumbnail images to be displayed for those URLs (link destination URLs 903) as URL combinations 902. When the URL of a thumbnail image in the search results matches a URL from the replacement URL list file 803, the URL of the thumbnail image is replaced with the URL 904 of the alternative thumbnail image based on the URL correspondence list file 901. The URL correspondence list file 901 is set with URL combinations 902 as described above by the search site operator and saved on the web server 101. As will be described in more detail later, the URL correspondence list file 901 is also updated by program processing and saved on the web server 101. Furthermore, the URL 904 of a thumbnail image associated with one linked URL may also be associated with another linked URL. The URL mapping list file 901 may be in YAML (YAML Ain't Markup Language) format, XML (Extensible Markup Language) format, or CSV (Comma-Separated Values) format. 【0032】 For convenience, in this embodiment, the number of search results displayed per page is set to 12. Furthermore, the title 708 of the search list shown in Figure 7(b) may also display the total number of searches received from the search engine server 102. Additionally, the content title 710 in the search results may display the domain name of the linked site on a separate line. Additionally, the next page button 711 may display pagination based on the total number of searches and the number of results displayed per page, showing search results beyond the number of results displayed per page. Furthermore, the grouping of each content item, consisting of thumbnail image 709 and content title 710, may be represented by a background color, background image, and outer border, etc., for each educational material site from which the search results originate. The number of search results displayed per page, as mentioned above, is an example of the second number. 【0033】 The series of processes shown in Figure 6 is initiated, for example, when user input is received via screen 701 displayed by a web browser on a client terminal 103 launched by the user. In S601, the client terminal 103 detects access operations to the search screen 702, such as entering the URL of the search screen 702 into the address input field of screen 701 or clicking a hyperlink displayed on the search screen 702. When an access operation to the search screen 702 is detected, the data request unit 501 of the client terminal 103 requests the search screen 702 from the web server 101. In S601, the data transmission unit 403 of the Web server 101 returns the following example file to the Web browser of the client terminal 103 via the data request reception unit 401. This file includes the HTML file of the search screen 702 requested by the client terminal 103, the Javascript program for the search process, the excluded URL list file 801, the replacement URL list file 803, and the URL correspondence list file 901. In this way, the client terminal 103 obtains the excluded URL list file 801, the replacement URL list file 803, and the URL correspondence list file 901 from the Web server 101. The HTML file, Javascript program, excluded URL list file 801, replacement URL list file 803, and URL correspondence list file 901 are all pre-stored on the web server 101. Information about the target site for the search may be written into the Javascript program or included from the Javascript program. 【0034】 In S602, the data receiving unit 502 of the client terminal 103 receives the following example files from the web server 101 via a web browser. These files include an HTML file, a Javascript program, an exclusion URL list file 801, a replacement URL list file 803, and a URL correspondence list file 901. The display control unit 503 of the client terminal 103 displays the search screen 702 on the display unit 306 based on the HTML file and the Javascript program. At this time, the display control unit 503 initializes the search start position to the search engine server 102 with a value obtained from the beginning. In step S603, when the display control unit 503 of the client terminal 103 detects that the search button 704 has been pressed, the result processing unit 505 of the client terminal 103 initializes the search results for display to a blank state. 【0035】 In S604, the query string generation unit 504 of the client terminal 103 generates a query string according to the notation defined by the search engine server 102. This query string includes the search keyword entered in the search word input field 703 and the search start position when the search engine server 102 performs the search. In S605, the data request unit 501 of the client terminal 103 sends the query string configured in S604 to the search engine server 102 via a web browser. In S606, the data receiving unit 502 of the client terminal 103 receives data from the search engine server 102, including the total number of searches, the URL of the thumbnail image of the content for each search result, the title, and the URL of the link destination. In S607, the data receiving unit 502 of the client terminal 103 stores the data received from the search engine server 102 in S606 as search results, and adds the number of retrieved search results to the search start position when the search engine server 102 performs a search. In S608, the results processing unit 505 of the client terminal 103 performs exclusion processing and thumbnail image URL replacement processing on the search results saved in S607. 【0036】 Here, referring to Figure 10, we will explain an example of the process of excluding search results and replacing the URL of a thumbnail image, which is executed by the result processing unit 505 of the client terminal 103, as shown as the process S608 in Figure 6. The series of processes shown in Figure 10 are realized, for example, by the CPU 301 of the client terminal 103 loading the program stored in the ROM 303 into the RAM 302 and executing it. 【0037】 Loop end S1001 is the loop end related to the start of a loop process in which the result processing unit 505 of the client terminal 103 repeatedly executes the processes from S1002 to S1013, using the search results saved in S607 as the processing target. Loop end S1002 is the loop end that initiates a loop process in which the result processing unit 505 repeatedly executes the processes from S1003 to S1004, using the excluded link destination URL 802 from the excluded URL list file 801 received in S602 as the processing target. In S1003, the result processing unit 505 of the client terminal 103 determines whether the destination URL of the search result matches the destination URL 802 to be excluded. If the results processing unit 505 determines in S1003 that the destination URL of the search result matches the destination URL 802 to be excluded, it proceeds to S1004. On the other hand, if the results processing unit 505 determines in S1003 that the destination URL of the search result does not match the destination URL 802 to be excluded, it proceeds to S1005. In S1004, the result processing unit 505 of the client terminal 103 excludes the relevant individual search result from the search results. Loop end S1005 is the loop end corresponding to the end of loop processing, and is paired with loop end S1002. The result processing unit 505 exits the loop and proceeds to S1006 when it has executed the processes from S1003 to S1004 for all excluded link destination URLs 802 in the excluded URL list file 801 saved in S602. 【0038】 Loop end S1006 is the start of a loop process in which the result processing unit 505 repeatedly performs the processes from S1007 to S1011, using the URL 804 of the thumbnail image to be replaced in the replacement URL list file 803 saved in S602 as the processing target. In S1007, the result processing unit 505 determines whether the URL of the thumbnail image in the search results matches the URL 804 of the thumbnail image to be replaced. If the results processing unit 505 determines in S1007 that the URL of the thumbnail image in the search results matches the URL 804 of the thumbnail image to be replaced, it proceeds to S1008. On the other hand, if the results processing unit 505 determines in S1007 that the URL of the thumbnail image in the search results does not match the URL 804 of the thumbnail image to be replaced, it proceeds to S1012. 【0039】 Loop end S1008 is the loop end that initiates a loop process in which the result processing unit 505 repeatedly processes S1009 to S1010 using the URL combination 902 from the URL correspondence list file 901 saved in S602 as the processing target. In S1009, the result processing unit 505 determines whether the destination URL associated with the thumbnail image URL of the search result matches the destination URL 903 of the URL combination 902. If the results processing unit 505 determines in S1009 that the linked URL associated with the thumbnail image URL of the search result matches the linked URL 903 of the URL combination 902, it proceeds to S1010. On the other hand, if the results processing unit 505 determines in S1009 that the linked URL associated with the thumbnail image URL of the search result does not match the linked URL 903 of the URL combination 902, it proceeds to S1011. In S1010, the result processing unit 505 replaces the URL of the thumbnail image of the search result with the URL 904 of the thumbnail image specified in the URL combination 902 of the URL correspondence list file 901. Loop end S1011 is the loop end corresponding to the end of loop processing, and is paired with loop end S1008. The result processing unit 505 exits the loop and proceeds to S1012 when it has executed the processes from S1009 to S1010 for all combinations 902 of URLs in the URL correspondence list file saved in S602. 【0040】 Loop end S1012 is the loop end corresponding to the end of the loop processing, and is paired with loop end S1006. The result processing unit 505 exits the loop and proceeds to processing S1013 when it has executed the processes from S1007 to S1011 for all the URLs 804 of the thumbnail images to be replaced in the replacement URL list file 803 saved in S602. In S1013, the results processing unit 505 saves the combination of the URL of the search result link that was not replaced and the URL of the thumbnail image. 【0041】 Loop end S1014 is the loop end corresponding to the end of the loop processing, and is paired with loop end S1001. The result processing unit 505 exits the loop and terminates the series of processes shown in Figure 10 when it has executed the processes from S1002 to S1013 on all the search results saved in S607. The above process is an example of the process performed by the results processing unit 505, which is shown as the process at S608 in Figure 6, and involves excluding search results and replacing the URL of the thumbnail image. 【0042】 Now, let's return to the explanation of Figure 6. In S609, the update data transmission unit 506 of the client terminal 103 sends the combination of the link destination URL and the thumbnail image URL saved in S1013 to the web server 101 along with a request to update the URL correspondence list file 901. In S610, the results processing unit 505 adds the search results that have undergone exclusion processing and thumbnail image URL replacement processing in S608 to the search results for display. Note that the number of search results displayed, which includes results that have undergone exclusion processing and thumbnail image URL replacement processing, corresponds to the first example of the number of results. 【0043】 In S611, the results processing unit 505 determines whether the number of search results saved in S607 is less than the total number of searches received in S606. If the results processing unit 505 determines in S611 that the number of search results saved in S607 is less than the total number of searches received in S606, it proceeds to S612. On the other hand, if the results processing unit 505 determines in S611 that the number of search results saved in S607 is not less than the total number of searches received in S606 (i.e., it is the same as the total number of searches received in S606), it proceeds to S613. 【0044】 In S612, the result processing unit 505 determines whether the number of search results added in S610 is equal to or greater than the number of items to be displayed. If the results processing unit 505 determines in S612 that the number of search results for display added in S610 is equal to or greater than the number of items to be displayed, it proceeds to S613. On the other hand, if the results processing unit 505 determines in S612 that the number of search results added in S610 is less than the number of items to be displayed, it proceeds to S604. In this case, the processing from S604 onwards is executed again. In S613, the results processing unit 505 generates HTML data from the search results. The display control unit 503 of the client terminal 103 displays the search results screen 705 on the display unit 306 based on the generated HTML data, and then terminates the series of processes shown in Figure 6. 【0045】 (Regarding the update process for URL correspondence list file 901) Referring to Figure 11, an example of the process for updating the URL correspondence list file 901 in this embodiment will be described. Figure 11 shows an example of the process in which, in S609 of Figure 6, the Web server 101 receives an update request for the URL correspondence list file 901 from the client terminal 103 and updates the correspondence list file 901. The series of processes shown in Figure 11 are realized, for example, by the CPU 201 of the Web server 101 loading a program stored in ROM 203 into RAM 202 and executing it. 【0046】 In S1101, the correspondence list update unit 405 of the Web server 101 determines whether the number of combinations of linked URLs and thumbnail image URLs received via the update data receiving unit 404 is greater than zero, in response to the URL correspondence list file update request in S609. If the correspondence list update unit 405 determines in S1101 that the number of combinations of destination URLs and thumbnail image URLs received is greater than zero, it proceeds to processing S1102. On the other hand, if the correspondence list update unit 405 determines in S1101 that the number of combinations of destination URLs and thumbnail image URLs received is 0, it terminates the series of processes shown in Figure 11. In S1102, the correspondence list update unit 405 reads the URL correspondence list file 901 stored on the web server 101. 【0047】 Loop end S1103 is the loop end related to the start of a loop process in which the correspondence list update unit 405 repeatedly executes the processes from S1104 to S1107, targeting the combination of the link destination URL and the thumbnail image URL received in S1101. Loop end S1104 is the loop end related to the start of a loop process in which the correspondence list update unit 405 repeatedly processes S1105 to S1106, targeting the combination of URLs 902 in the correspondence list file 901 of the URLs read in S1102. In S1105, the correspondence list update unit 405 determines whether the destination URL of the combination of the link destination URL and the thumbnail image URL received in S1101 matches the destination URL 903 of combination 902 in the URL correspondence list file 901. If the correspondence list update unit 405 determines in S1105 that the destination URL of the combination of the link destination URL and the thumbnail image URL matches the destination URL 903 of combination 902 in the URL correspondence list file 901, it proceeds to S1107. On the other hand, if the correspondence list update unit 405 determines in S1105 that the URL of the combination of the linked URL and the thumbnail image URL does not match the URL of combination 902 in the URL correspondence list file 901, it proceeds to S1106. In S1106, the correspondence list update unit 405 adds the combination of the destination URL and thumbnail image URL received in S1101 to the URL correspondence list file 901 read in S1102. 【0048】 Loop end S1107 is the loop end corresponding to the end of the loop processing, and is paired with loop end S1104. The correspondence list update unit 405 exits the loop and proceeds to S1108 when it has executed the processes from S1105 to S1106 for all URL combinations 902 of the URL correspondence list file 901 read in S1102. Loop end S1108 is the loop end corresponding to the end of loop processing, and is paired with loop end S1103. The correspondence list update unit 405 exits the loop and proceeds to processing S1109 when it has executed the processes from S1104 to S1107 for all combinations of link destination URLs and thumbnail image URLs received in S1101. 【0049】 In S1109, the correspondence list update unit 405 determines whether or not there are any changes to the correspondence list file 901 of the URL read in S1102. If the correspondence list update unit 405 determines in S1109 that there has been a change in the URL correspondence list file 901, it proceeds to S1110. On the other hand, if the correspondence list update unit 405 determines in S1109 that there are no changes to the URL correspondence list file 901, it terminates the series of processes shown in Figure 11. In S1110, the correspondence list update unit 405 updates the correspondence list file of publicly available URLs with the correspondence list file 901 of the URLs added in S1106. Then, the correspondence list update unit 405 completes the series of processes shown in Figure 11. 【0050】 As described above, in this embodiment, when there is a thumbnail image that should not be displayed on the search results screen, instead of excluding the search result itself, it is replaced, reducing the number of search results that would result in fewer results being displayed and thus reducing the need for users to re-search. By applying this control, it is possible to reduce the search engine's billing amount, and because replacement is performed instead of exclusion, it is possible to present search results to the user while maintaining the number of search results. Furthermore, it is possible to present the user with a thumbnail image that has been replaced to match the content of the content page, which is the URL to which the search result is linked. In addition, after the initial setup by the operator, combinations of linked URLs and thumbnail image URLs will be automatically added to the URL correspondence list file 901 without manual maintenance. In this embodiment, an example has been described in which the Web server 101, the search engine server 102, and the client terminal 103 are connected via the Internet, but this does not limit the connection methods between these devices. For example, the Web server 101, the search engine server 102, and the client terminal 103 may be connected to each other locally. 【0051】 <Second Embodiment> In the first embodiment, an example of replacing thumbnail images in search results using a replacement URL list file 803 and a URL correspondence list file 901 was described. On the other hand, the URL correspondence list file 901 has a structure in which one thumbnail image URL corresponds to one destination URL in the URL combination 902. In this case, since there is only one alternative thumbnail image for each destination URL, duplicate thumbnail images may be more likely to be displayed in the search results. In a second embodiment of this disclosure, an example of replacing thumbnail images in search results using a URL mapping list file capable of associating multiple thumbnail image URLs with a single linked URL will be described. In this embodiment, the explanation will focus on the differences from the first embodiment described above. 【0052】 (Search process) Referring to Figures 12 to 13, an example of the content search process for educational materials in this embodiment will be described. 【0053】 Figure 12 is a flowchart illustrating an example of the process from accessing a search site using the web browser of the client terminal 103, to searching for content, and displaying the results. The series of processes of the client terminal 103 shown in Figure 12 are realized, for example, by the CPU 301 loading a program stored in ROM 303 into RAM 302 and executing it. Note that some or all of the series of processes shown in Figure 12 may be realized by hardware such as an ASIC or electronic circuit. In this embodiment, the substantial entity of the series of processes shown in Figure 12 is assumed to be the CPU of the client terminal 103. 【0054】 Figure 13 shows an example of a correspondence list file 1301 (hereinafter also simply referred to as the correspondence list file 1301) for multiple replacement URLs stored on the web server 101. The correspondence list file 1301 for multiple replacement URLs includes a list of thumbnail image URLs 1304 consisting of a link destination URL 1303 and the URLs 1305 of one or more thumbnail images. The correspondence list file 1301 for multiple replacement URLs also includes a JSON-formatted list structure whose elements are combinations of URLs 1302, which are composed of the link destination URL 1303 and the list of thumbnail image URLs 1304. The creation and updating methods and feasibility of implementing the correspondence list file 1301 for multiple replacement URLs are substantially the same as those of the URL correspondence list file 901 described above. 【0055】 The series of processes shown in Figure 12 is initiated, for example, when user input is received via screen 701 displayed by a web browser on a client terminal 103 launched by the user. In S1201, the client terminal 103 detects an access operation to the search screen 702, such as entering the URL of the search screen 702 into the address input field of screen 701 or clicking a hyperlink displayed on the search screen 702. When an access operation to the search screen 702 is detected, the data request unit 501 of the client terminal 103 requests the search screen 702 from the web server 101. In S1201, the data transmission unit 403 of the web server 101 returns the following files to the web browser of the client terminal 103 via the data request reception unit 401. These files include the HTML file of the search screen 702 requested by the client terminal 103, the Javascript program for the search process, the excluded URL list file 801, and the replacement URL list file 803. These files also include the correspondence list file 1301. The HTML file, Javascript program, exclusion URL list file 801, replacement URL list file 803, and correspondence list file 1301 are all pre-stored on the web server 101. Information about the sites to be searched may be written into the Javascript program or included from the Javascript program. 【0056】 In S602, the data receiving unit 502 of the client terminal 103 receives the following example files from the web server 101 via a web browser. These files include an HTML file, a Javascript program, an exclusion URL list file 801, a replacement URL list file 803, and a correspondence list file 1301. The display control unit 503 of the client terminal 103 displays the search screen 702 on the display unit 306 based on the HTML file and the Javascript program. At this time, the display control unit 503 initializes the search start position to the search engine server 102 with a value obtained from the beginning. Note that the processes from S1203 to S1207 are essentially the same as the processes from S603 to S607 shown in Figure 6, so a detailed explanation will be omitted. In S1208, the results processing unit 505 of the client terminal 103 performs exclusion processing and thumbnail image URL replacement processing on the search results saved in S1207. 【0057】 Here, referring to Figure 14, we will explain an example of the process of excluding search results and replacing the URL of a thumbnail image, which is executed by the result processing unit 505 of the client terminal 103, as shown as the process of S1208 in Figure 12. The series of processes shown in Figure 14 are realized, for example, by the CPU 301 of the client terminal 103 loading the program stored in the ROM 303 into the RAM 302 and executing it. Since the processes from S1401 to S1407 are essentially the same as those from S1001 to S1007 shown in Figure 10, a detailed explanation will be omitted. 【0058】 Loop end S1408 is the loop end that marks the start of a loop process in which the result processing unit 505 repeatedly executes the processes from S1409 to S1410, targeting the combination of URLs 1302 of the correspondence list file 1301 saved in S1202. In S1409, the result processing unit 505 determines whether the destination URL corresponding to the thumbnail image URL of the search result matches the destination URL 1303 of the URL combination 1302. If the results processing unit 505 determines in S1409 that the destination URL corresponding to the thumbnail image URL of the search result matches the destination URL 1303 of the URL combination 1302, it proceeds to S1410. On the other hand, if the results processing unit 505 determines in S1409 that the destination URL corresponding to the thumbnail image URL of the search result does not match the destination URL 1303 of the URL combination 1302, it proceeds to S1411. In S1410, the result processing unit 505 replaces the URL of the thumbnail image of the search result by selecting the thumbnail image URL 1305 from the list of thumbnail image URLs 1304 of the URL combination 1302 in the correspondence list file 1301. The method of selecting the thumbnail image URL 1305 is not particularly limited; for example, it may be selected according to the order of the thumbnail image URL list 1304, or it may be selected randomly. Loop end S1411 is the loop end corresponding to the end of loop processing, and is paired with loop end S1408. The result processing unit 505 exits the loop and proceeds to processing S1412 if it has performed the processing from S1409 to S1410 for all combinations 1302 of the correspondence list file 1301 saved in S1202. Note that the processes from S1412 to S1414 are essentially the same as the processes from S1012 to S1014 shown in Figure 10, so a detailed explanation will be omitted. The above is an example of the process shown in Figure 12 as S1208, which is executed by the result processing unit 505 of the client terminal 103, specifically the process of excluding search results and replacing the URL of a thumbnail image. 【0059】 Now, let's return to the explanation of Figure 12. In S1209, the update data transmission unit 506 sends the combination of the link destination URL and the thumbnail image URL stored in S1413 to the web server 101 along with a request to update the correspondence list file 1301. Note that the processes from S1210 to S1213 are essentially the same as the processes from S610 to S613 shown in Figure 6, so a detailed explanation will be omitted. 【0060】 (Regarding the update process for the correspondence list file 1301 with multiple replacement URLs) Referring to Figure 15, an example of the process for updating the correspondence list file 1301 with multiple replacement URLs in this embodiment will be described. Figure 15 shows an example of the process in which, in S1209 of Figure 12, the Web server 101 receives an update request for the correspondence list file 1301 with multiple replacement URLs from the client terminal 103 and updates the correspondence list file 1301 with multiple replacement URLs. The series of processes shown in Figure 15 is realized, for example, by the CPU 201 of the Web server 101 loading a program stored in ROM 203 into RAM 202 and executing it. 【0061】 Since the process in S1501 is substantially the same as the process in S1101 shown in Figure 11, a detailed explanation will be omitted. In S1502, the correspondence list update unit 405 of the Web server 101 reads the correspondence list file 1301 with multiple replacement URLs stored on the Web server 101. 【0062】 Loop end S1503 is the loop end related to the start of a loop process in which the correspondence list update unit 405 repeatedly executes the processes from S1504 to S1509, targeting the combination of the link destination URL and the thumbnail image URL received in S1501. Loop end S1504 is the loop end that initiates a loop process in which the correspondence list update unit 405 repeatedly executes the processes from S1505 to S1508, targeting the combination of URLs 1302 of the correspondence list file 1301 read in S1502. 【0063】 In S1505, the correspondence list update unit 405 determines whether the URL of the combination of the link destination URL and the thumbnail image URL received in S1501 matches the URL of the link destination URL 1303 of combination 1302 in the correspondence list file 1301. If the correspondence list update unit 405 determines in S1505 that the URL of the combination of the received URL and the thumbnail image URL matches the URL of the combination 1302 in the correspondence list file 1301, it proceeds to S1506. On the other hand, if the correspondence list update unit 405 determines in S1505 that the URL of the combination of the link destination URL and the thumbnail image URL does not match the URL of the combination 1302 in the correspondence list file 1301, it proceeds to S1507. 【0064】 In S1506, the correspondence list update unit 405 determines whether the URL of the thumbnail image resulting from the combination of the destination URL and the thumbnail image URL received in S1501 is included in the list of thumbnail image URLs of combination 1302 in the correspondence list file 1301. If the correspondence list update unit 405 determines that the URL of the thumbnail image resulting from the combination of the destination URL and the thumbnail image URL received in S1506 is included in the list of thumbnail image URLs of combination 1302 in the correspondence list file 1301, it proceeds to S1509. On the other hand, if the correspondence list update unit 405 determines in S1506 that the URL of the thumbnail image resulting from the combination of the destination URL and the thumbnail image URL received is not included in the list of thumbnail image URLs of combination 1302 in the correspondence list file 1301, it proceeds to S1508. 【0065】 In S1507, the correspondence list update unit 405 adds the combination of the destination URL and thumbnail image URL received in S1501 to the correspondence list file 1301 read in S1502. Then, the correspondence list update unit 405 exits the loop processing defined by loop ends 1504 and 1509 and proceeds to S1510. If a query string exists in the destination URL or thumbnail image URL, the correspondence list update unit 405 removes the query string and then adds the above combination of destination URL and thumbnail image URL to the correspondence list file 1301. 【0066】 In S1508, the correspondence list update unit 405 adds the URLs of the thumbnail images that were determined not to be included in S1507 to the list of thumbnail images corresponding to the linked URLs of the URL combination 1302 in the correspondence list file 1301. Then, the correspondence list update unit 405 exits the loop processing defined by the loop ends 1504 and 1509 and proceeds to S1510. 【0067】 Loop end 1509 is the loop end corresponding to the end of loop processing, and is paired with loop end S1504. The correspondence list update unit 405 exits the loop and proceeds to S1510 when it has executed the processing from S1505 to S1509 for all URL combinations 1302 of the correspondence list file 1301 read in S1502. Loop end S1510 is the loop end corresponding to the end of loop processing, and is paired with loop end S1503. The correspondence list update unit 405 exits the loop and proceeds to S1511 when it has executed the processes from S1504 to S1509 for all combinations of link destination URLs and thumbnail image URLs received in S1501. 【0068】 In S1511, the correspondence list update unit 405 determines whether or not there are any changes to the correspondence list file 1301 that was read in S1502. If the correspondence list update unit 405 determines in S1511 that there has been a change in the correspondence list file 1301, it proceeds to S1512. On the other hand, if the correspondence list update unit 405 determines in S1511 that there are no changes to the correspondence list file 1301, it terminates the series of processes shown in Figure 15. In S1512, the correspondence list update unit 405 updates the correspondence list file with the multiple publicly available replacement URLs using the correspondence list file 1301 updated in at least one of the processes in S1507 and S1508. Then, the correspondence list update unit 405 terminates the series of processes shown in Figure 15. 【0069】 As described above, in this embodiment, thumbnail images in search results are replaced using a correspondence list file in which multiple thumbnail image URLs are associated with a single linked URL. By applying this control, if multiple thumbnail image URLs 804 included in the replacement URL list file 803 are included in the search results received from the search engine server 102, it becomes possible to perform replacements while avoiding duplication. In this embodiment, an example has been described in which the Web server 101, the search engine server 102, and the client terminal 103 are connected via the Internet, but this does not limit the connection methods between these devices. For example, the Web server 101, the search engine server 102, and the client terminal 103 may be connected to each other locally. 【0070】 <Third Embodiment> In the first embodiment, an example was described in which a query string is constructed on the client terminal 103, search results are obtained through communication with the search engine server 102, and the search results are displayed after the exclusion process for search results and the replacement process for thumbnail image URLs are performed. On the other hand, depending on the number of search results, the excluded URL list file 801, the replaced URL list file 803, and the URL correspondence list file 901, the load on the exclusion process for search results, the replacement process for thumbnail image URLs, and the conversion process to HTML data related to the display of search results may increase. In such cases, the display process shown as S613 in Figure 6 may be delayed on the client terminal 103. A third embodiment of this disclosure describes an example in which a web server 101 constructs a query string and obtains search results, performs exclusion processing, and replaces the URLs of thumbnail images through communication with a search engine server 102. In this case, the client terminal 103 receives the search results, which have undergone exclusion processing and thumbnail image URL replacement processing, from the web server 101 and displays the search results. This configuration makes it possible to reduce the processing load on the client terminal 103. A specific example of this embodiment will be described below. Note that in this embodiment, the explanation will focus on the parts that differ from the first embodiment described above. 【0071】 (Web server software configuration) Referring to Figure 16, an example of the software configuration of the Web server 101 according to this embodiment will be described. The Web server 101 according to this embodiment includes a data request receiving unit 1601, a data acquisition unit 1602, a data transmission unit 1603, a data receiving unit 1604, a query string generation unit 1605, a data request unit 1606, a result processing unit 1607, and a screen generation unit 1608. 【0072】 The data request receiving unit 1601 receives data access requests from the client terminal 103 via the network communication unit 207. The data acquisition unit 1602 acquires data by communicating with the client terminal 103 in response to a request received by the data request reception unit 1601. The data transmission unit 1603 transmits the following data to the client terminal 103 via the network communication unit 207. This data includes, for example, the HTML file for the search screen, the Javascript program for the search process, a list file containing the domain names of the target sites, a keyword word conversion list file, and the HTML data for the search results screen. The data receiving unit 1604 receives data from external servers and devices such as the client terminal 103 and the search engine server 102 via the network communication unit 207. Specifically, the data receiving unit 1604 receives the selected value from the search condition pull-down list and the input value from the search word input field from the client terminal 103. In addition, the data receiving unit 1604 receives data from the search engine server 102, including the total number of searches, the thumbnail image URL, title, and link URL for each search result. 【0073】 The query string generation unit 1605 generates a query string to be sent to the search engine server 102. The data request unit 1606 requests data access from an external server, such as the search engine server 102, via the network communication unit 207. Specifically, the data request unit 1606 sends the query string generated by the query string generation unit 1605 to the search engine server 102 and retrieves the search results from the search engine server 102. The results processing unit 1607 sorts the search results obtained from the search engine server 102 via the data receiving unit 1604, sorting them site by site. The screen generation unit 1608 and the result processing unit 1607 generate HTML data for the search results screen from the processed search results. The correspondence list update unit 1609 updates the correspondence list file of link destination URLs and thumbnail image URLs based on the data received by the data reception unit 1604. 【0074】 (Software configuration of client terminals) Referring to Figure 17, an example of the software configuration of the client terminal 103 according to this embodiment will be described. The client terminal 103 according to this embodiment includes a data request unit 1701, a data reception unit 1702, a display control unit 1703, and a data transmission unit 1704. 【0075】 The data request unit 1701 requests data access from the web server 101 via the network communication unit 307. The data receiving unit 1702 receives data from an external server such as the web server 101 via the network communication unit 307. Specifically, the data receiving unit 1702 receives the HTML file for the search screen and the Javascript program for the search process from the web server 101. The data receiving unit 1702 also receives the HTML data for the search results screen from the web server 101. The display control unit 1703 causes the display unit 306 to display the results of the OS, web browser, and application. The data transmission unit 1704 transmits the selected value from the pull-down list on the web browser's search screen and the input value from the search word input field to the web server 101 via the network communication unit 307. 【0076】 (Search process) Referring to Figure 18, an example of the processing flow from when a client terminal 103 accesses a web server 101 using a web browser, until the web server 101 accesses a search engine server 102 (not shown) and displays the search results, is explained. In Figure 18, the processing of the client terminal 103 is realized, for example, by the CPU 301 loading a program stored in ROM 303 into RAM 302 and executing it. Similarly, the processing of the web server 101 in Figure 18 is realized, for example, by the CPU 201 loading a program stored in ROM 203 into RAM 202 and executing it. Similarly, the processing of the search engine server 102 (not shown in Figure 18) is realized, for example, by the CPU 201 loading a program stored in ROM 203 into RAM 202 and executing it. Note that some or all of the processing in Figure 18 may be implemented by hardware such as an ASIC or electronic circuit instead of the CPU of the target device. Hereafter, the actual entity in each process will be assumed to be the CPU of the target device (client terminal 103, web server 101, or search engine server 102 (not shown)). 【0077】 In S1801, the display control unit 1703 of the client terminal 103 detects access operations to the search screen 702, such as entering the URL of the search screen 702 into the address input field of screen 701 or clicking a hyperlink displayed on the search screen 702. When an access operation to the search screen 702 is detected, the data request unit 1701 of the client terminal 103 requests the search screen 702 from the web server 101. In S1802, the data transmission unit 1603 of the web server 101 returns the HTML file of the search screen 702 requested by the client terminal 103 to the web browser of the client terminal 103. This HTML file is pre-stored on the web server 101. In S1803, the display control unit 1703 uses a web browser to read the HTML file received from the web server 101 in S1802 and displays the search screen 702. 【0078】 When the display control unit 1703 detects that the user has pressed the search button 704, in S1804, the data transmission unit 1104 of the client terminal 103 sends the input value of the search word input field 703 to the web server 101 via the web browser. In S1805, the web server 101 executes a search process based on the search conditions sent from the client terminal 103 in S1804. 【0079】 Now, referring to Figure 19, we will explain the details of the search process indicated by S1805 in Figure 18. The series of processes shown in Figure 19 are realized when the CPU 201 of the Web server 101 loads the program stored in ROM 203 into RAM 202 and executes it. 【0080】 In S1901, the result processing unit 1607 of the web server 101 initializes the return search results to a blank state and initializes the search start position to the search engine server 102 with a value obtained from the beginning. In S1902, the query string generation unit 1605 of the web server 101 generates a query string. This query string includes the search start position. Furthermore, if the process in S1904 has been executed previously, this query string may include the input value of the search word input field 703 received in the process of S1904. In S1903, the data request unit 1606 of the web server 101 sends the query string generated in S1902 to the search engine server 102. In S1904, the data receiving unit 1604 of the web server 101 receives data from the search engine server 102, including the total number of searches, the URL of the thumbnail image of the content for each search result, the title, and the URL of the link destination. In S1905, the data receiving unit 1604 saves the data received from the search engine server 102 in S1904 as search results and adds the number of retrieved search results to the search start position in the search engine server 102. 【0081】 In S1906, the result processing unit 1607 of the Web server 101 performs exclusion processing and thumbnail image URL replacement processing on the search results saved in S1905. The processing in S1906 is substantially the same as in the first embodiment, with the execution entity of the processing described with reference to Figure 10 replaced from the result processing unit 505 of the client terminal 103 to the result processing unit 1607 of the Web server 101 in this embodiment. Therefore, a detailed explanation of the processing in S1906 is omitted. 【0082】 In S1907, the correspondence list update unit 1609 of the Web server 101 updates the URL correspondence list file 901 by adding the combination of the linked URL and the thumbnail image URL stored in S1906. The details of the update process are substantially the same as in the first embodiment, where the execution entity of the process described with reference to Figure 11 is replaced from the correspondence list update unit 405 of the Web server 101 to the correspondence list update unit 1609 of the Web server 101 in this embodiment. Therefore, a detailed explanation of the process in S1907 is omitted. 【0083】 In S1908, the results processing unit 1607 adds the search results that have been processed for exclusion and replacement of thumbnail image URLs in S1906 to the return search results and saves them. In S1909, the results processing unit 1607 determines whether the number of search results saved in S1905 is less than the total number of searches received in S1904. If the results processing unit 1607 determines in S1909 that the number of search results saved in S1905 is less than the total number of searches received in S1904, it proceeds to S1910. On the other hand, if the results processing unit 1607 determines in S1909 that the number of search results saved in S1905 is not less than the total number of searches received in S1904 (i.e., it is the same as the total number of searches), it terminates the series of processes shown in Figure 19. In S1910, the results processing unit 1607 determines whether the number of return search results added in S1908 is equal to or greater than the number of displayable results. If the results processing unit 1607 determines in S1910 that the number of return search results added in S1908 is equal to or greater than the number of displayable results, it terminates the series of processes shown in Figure 19. On the other hand, if the results processing unit 1607 determines in S1910 that the number of return search results added in S1908 is less than the number of display items, it proceeds to S1902. In this case, the processing from S1902 onwards will be executed again. The above is an example of a search process executed by the web server 101, as indicated by S1805 in Figure 18. 【0084】 Now, let's return to the explanation of Figure 18. In S1806, the screen generation unit 1608 of the web server 101 generates HTML data for the search results screen using the return search results added in S1908, and saves the HTML data. In S1807, the data transmission unit 1603 of the web server 101 transmits the HTML data generated in S1806 to the data receiving unit 1702 of the client terminal 103. In S1808, the display control unit 1703 of the client terminal 103 displays the search results screen 705 using the HTML data of the search results screen received in S1807. 【0085】 As described above, in this embodiment, the generation of query strings, communication with the search engine server 102, saving of search results, exclusion processing, replacement of thumbnail image URLs, and HTML data generation processing are performed on the Web server 101. With this configuration, the processing on the client terminal 103 side is limited to communication with the Web server and screen display processing, so it is possible to reduce the processing load on the client terminal 103 compared to the first embodiment. In this embodiment, an example has been described in which the Web server 101, the search engine server 102, and the client terminal 103 are connected via the Internet, but this does not limit the connection methods between these devices. For example, the Web server 101, the search engine server 102, and the client terminal 103 may be connected to each other locally. 【0086】 <Other Embodiments> The present invention can also be realized by supplying a program that implements one or more of the functions of the above-described embodiments to a system or device via a network or storage medium, and by having one or more processors in the computer of that system or device read and execute the program. It can also be realized by a circuit (e.g., an ASIC) that implements one or more functions. 【0087】 Furthermore, the disclosure of this embodiment includes the following programs, methods, and configurations. (Program 1) A computer is provided with an acquisition means to acquire a first list file containing URLs of thumbnail images to be replaced, managed by a search site, and a second list file associating linked URLs with thumbnail image URLs; a receiving means to receive search results from a search engine server as search results corresponding to a search word entered via the search site, which include at least the searched linked URL and thumbnail image URL; and a first thumbnail image URL included in the search results matches the second thumbnail image URL included in the first list file, and the first thumbnail image included in the search results A program for causing an information processing device to function, comprising: a first determination means for determining whether a first linked URL associated with a URL matches a second linked URL included in the second list file; a replacement means for replacing the first thumbnail image included in the search results with the URL of a third thumbnail image associated with the second linked URL in the second list file, when the first determination means determines that the URL of the first thumbnail image matches the URL of the second thumbnail image and that the first linked URL matches the second linked URL; and a display control means for controlling the display of the search results replaced by the replacement means. (Program 2) A program according to Program 1 for causing the computer to function as an information processing device, comprising: an acquisition means which acquires a third list file containing URLs of destinations to be excluded; a second determination means which determines whether a third URL of destination included in the search results matches a fourth URL of destination included in the third list file; and an exclusion means which, if the second determination means determines that the third URL of destination and the fourth URL of destination match, excludes the third URL of destination from the search results. (Program 3) A program according to Program 2 for causing the computer to function as an information processing device, comprising: a first transmitting means for transmitting a query string including the search word and the search start position to the search engine server; a third determining means for determining whether a first number of search results processed by the replacement means and the exclusion means is equal to or greater than a second number of search results displayed by the display control means; a receiving means for receiving the search results as a response to the query string; and the first transmitting means, when the third determining means determines that the first number is less than the second number, transmits the query string with the search start position changed to the search engine server. (Program 4) The program according to Program 2 or 3, characterized in that the computer functions as an information processing device having a second transmission means that, when the first determination means determines that the URL of the first thumbnail image and the URL of the second thumbnail image do not match, transmits a request to update the second list file, which is a combination of the URL of the first thumbnail image and the first linked URL associated with the URL of the first thumbnail image in the search results, to the server from which the acquisition means obtains the second list file, and when the second list file held by the server does not contain the combination included in the update request, the server adds the combination to the second list file. (Program 5) The program according to Program 4, wherein the second list file is a list file that associates a link destination URL with the URLs of one or more thumbnail images, and when a second link destination URL included in the second list file held by the server matches the first link destination URL included in the combination, and the first thumbnail image included in the combination is not associated with the second link destination URL, the server associates the first thumbnail image with the second link destination URL. (Method 1) A control method for an information processing device, comprising: an acquisition step of acquiring a first list file, which includes URLs of thumbnail images to be replaced and is managed by a search site, and a second list file, which associates linked URLs with thumbnail image URLs; a receiving step of receiving search results from a search engine server, which include at least the searched linked URL and thumbnail image URL, as search results corresponding to a search word entered via the search site; and a step of determining whether the URL of the first thumbnail image included in the search results matches the URL of the second thumbnail image included in the first list file, and A first determination step of determining whether a first destination URL associated with the URL of the first thumbnail image included in the search results matches a second destination URL included in the second list file; and a replacement step of replacing the first thumbnail image included in the search results with the URL of a third thumbnail image associated with the second destination URL in the second list file, if the first determination step determines that the URL of the first thumbnail image matches the URL of the second thumbnail image and that the first destination URL matches the second destination URL. A control method for an information processing device, characterized by including a display control step that controls the display of the search results replaced in the replacement step. (Configuration 1) An information processing device that provides a program to a client terminal, wherein the program includes an acquisition means that obtains from the client terminal a first list file, which includes URLs of thumbnail images to be replaced and is managed by a search site, and a second list file, which associates linked URLs with thumbnail image URLs; a receiving means that receives from a search engine server search results, which include at least the searched linked URL and thumbnail image URL, as search results corresponding to a search word entered via the search site; and a first thumbnail image URL included in the search results matches the second thumbnail image URL included in the first list file, and the first thumbnail image URL included in the search results Information processing device characterized by a program for causing a client terminal to function as a client terminal having: a first determination means for determining whether an associated first link destination URL matches a second link destination URL included in the second list file; a replacement means for replacing the first thumbnail image included in the search results with the URL of a third thumbnail image associated with the second link destination URL in the second list file when the first determination means determines that the URL of the first thumbnail image matches the URL of the second thumbnail image and that the first link destination URL matches the second link destination URL; and a display control means for controlling the display of the search results replaced by the replacement means. (Configuration 2) Acquisition means for acquiring a first list file, which is managed by a search site and contains the URLs of thumbnail images to be replaced, and a second list file, which associates linked URLs with thumbnail image URLs; receiving means for receiving search results from a search engine server, which include at least the searched linked URL and thumbnail image URL, as search results corresponding to the search word entered via the search site; and a first link, which is associated with the URL of the first thumbnail image included in the search results, when the URL of the first thumbnail image included in the search results matches the URL of the second thumbnail image included in the first list file. An information processing device comprising: a first determination means for determining whether a destination URL matches a second destination URL included in the second list file; a replacement means for replacing the first thumbnail image included in the search results with the URL of a third thumbnail image associated with the second destination URL in the second list file, when the first determination means determines that the URL of the first thumbnail image matches the URL of the second thumbnail image and that the first destination URL matches the second destination URL; and a display control means for controlling the display of the search results replaced by the replacement means. [Explanation of symbols] 【0088】 101 Web Server 102 Search Engine Server 103 Client terminals 505 Result Processing Unit

Claims

[Claim 1] Computers, A means for obtaining a first list file containing the URLs of thumbnail images to be replaced, managed by a search site, and a second list file that associates the destination URL with the URL of the thumbnail image. A receiving means that receives search results from a search engine server, which include at least the URL of the searched link and the URL of the thumbnail image, as search results corresponding to the search words entered via the aforementioned search site. A first determination means for determining whether the URL of a first thumbnail image included in the search results matches the URL of a second thumbnail image included in the first list file, and whether the first linked URL associated with the URL of the first thumbnail image included in the search results matches the second linked URL included in the second list file. If the first determination means determines that the URL of the first thumbnail image matches the URL of the second thumbnail image, and that the URL of the first linked page matches the URL of the second linked page, the replacement means replaces the first thumbnail image included in the search results with the URL of the third thumbnail image associated with the URL of the second linked page in the second list file. A display control means that controls the display of the search results replaced by the replacement means, A program for causing an information processing device to function, characterized by having the following features. [Claim 2] The aforementioned computer, The acquisition means acquires a third list file containing the URLs of the links to be excluded, A second determination means for determining whether the third linked URL included in the search results matches the fourth linked URL included in the third list file, If the second determination means determines that the third linked URL and the fourth linked URL are the same, the exclusion means excludes the third linked URL from the search results. The program according to claim 1 for causing an information processing device to function, characterized by having the following features. [Claim 3] The aforementioned computer, A first transmission means that transmits the aforementioned search word and a query string including the search start position to the search engine server, A third determination means for determining whether the first number of search results processed by the substitution means and the exclusion means is equal to or greater than the second number of search results displayed by the display control means, It has, The receiving means receives the search results as a response to the query string, The first transmission means sends the query string with the search start position changed to the search engine server when the third determination means determines that the first number of results is less than the second number of results. The program according to claim 2 for causing an information processing device to function as such. [Claim 4] The aforementioned computer, The information processing device is characterized by having a second transmission means that, when the first determination means determines that the URL of the first thumbnail image and the URL of the second thumbnail image do not match, transmits a request to update the second list file, which is a combination of the URL of the first thumbnail image and the URL of the first link associated with the URL of the first thumbnail image in the search results, to the server from which the acquisition means obtains the second list file. If the combination included in the update request is not included in the second list file held by the server, the server adds the combination to the second list file. The program according to claim 2 or 3, characterized in that it is the program described in claim 2 or 3. [Claim 5] The second list file is a list file that associates a linked URL with the URL of one or more thumbnail images. If a second link destination URL included in a second list file held by the server matches the first link destination URL included in the combination, and the first thumbnail image included in the combination is not associated with the second link destination URL, the server associates the first thumbnail image with the second link destination URL. The program according to claim 4, characterized in that [Claim 6] A method for controlling an information processing device, The acquisition step involves obtaining a first list file containing the URLs of the thumbnail images to be replaced, managed by a search site, and a second list file that associates the linked URLs with the URLs of the thumbnail images. A receiving step of receiving search results from a search engine server, which include at least the URL of the searched link and the URL of the thumbnail image, as search results corresponding to the search words entered via the aforementioned search site, A first determination step of determining whether the URL of a first thumbnail image included in the search results matches the URL of a second thumbnail image included in the first list file, and whether the first linked URL associated with the URL of the first thumbnail image included in the search results matches the second linked URL included in the second list file. If, in the first determination step, it is determined that the URL of the first thumbnail image matches the URL of the second thumbnail image, and that the URL of the first link matches the URL of the second link, then a replacement step is performed to replace the first thumbnail image included in the search results with the URL of the third thumbnail image associated with the URL of the second link in the second list file. A display control step that controls the display so that the search results replaced in the replacement step are displayed, A control method for an information processing device, characterized by including the following: [Claim 7] An information processing device that provides a program to a client terminal, The program controls the client terminal, A means for obtaining a first list file containing the URLs of thumbnail images to be replaced, managed by a search site, and a second list file that associates the destination URL with the URL of the thumbnail image. A receiving means that receives search results from a search engine server, which include at least the URL of the searched link and the URL of the thumbnail image, as search results corresponding to the search words entered via the aforementioned search site. A first determination means for determining whether the URL of a first thumbnail image included in the search results matches the URL of a second thumbnail image included in the first list file, and whether the first linked URL associated with the URL of the first thumbnail image included in the search results matches the second linked URL included in the second list file. If the first determination means determines that the URL of the first thumbnail image matches the URL of the second thumbnail image, and that the URL of the first linked page matches the URL of the second linked page, the replacement means replaces the first thumbnail image included in the search results with the URL of the third thumbnail image associated with the URL of the second linked page in the second list file. A display control means that controls the display of the search results replaced by the replacement means, This is a program to make a client terminal that has the necessary features. An information processing device characterized by the following features. [Claim 8] A means for obtaining a first list file containing the URLs of thumbnail images to be replaced, managed by a search site, and a second list file that associates the destination URL with the URL of the thumbnail image. A receiving means that receives search results from a search engine server, which include at least the URL of the searched link and the URL of the thumbnail image, as search results corresponding to the search words entered via the aforementioned search site. A first determination means for determining whether the URL of a first thumbnail image included in the search results matches the URL of a second thumbnail image included in the first list file, and whether the first linked URL associated with the URL of the first thumbnail image included in the search results matches the second linked URL included in the second list file. If the first determination means determines that the URL of the first thumbnail image matches the URL of the second thumbnail image, and that the URL of the first linked page matches the URL of the second linked page, the replacement means replaces the first thumbnail image included in the search results with the URL of the third thumbnail image associated with the URL of the second linked page in the second list file. A display control means that controls the display of the search results replaced by the replacement means, An information processing device characterized by having

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