Application searching method, electronic device, computer-readable storage medium and product

Abstract

Disclosed in the present application are an application searching method, an electronic device, a computer-readable storage medium and a product. The present application relates to the technical field of terminals. The method comprises: in response to an application searching operation, determining a selected similar application in a terminal device; outputting optional searching dimensions of the similar application, and using the selected optional searching dimension as an application searching dimension; and, on the basis of the application searching dimension of the similar application, searching installed applications of the terminal device for candidate applications associated with the similar application, and outputting the candidate applications.

Description

Application search method, electronic device, computer readable storage medium and product

[0001] Related applications

[0002] The present application claims priority to Chinese Patent Application No. 202411372258.4, filed on September 29, 2024, the contents of which are incorporated herein by reference in its entirety. TECHNICAL FIELD

[0003] The present application relates to the technical field of terminals, and in particular to an application search method, an electronic device, a computer readable storage medium and a product. BACKGROUND

[0004] With the increasing richness of application programs, a large number of applications are often installed on mobile intelligent terminals. A large number of applications enrich the user's learning and work, but also increase the difficulty of the user remembering the application name, icon and storage location. At present, although some terminals provide an application program search function to facilitate the user to quickly find the application program to be used. However, in actual application, when the user wants to find a certain application in the terminal, he may not remember the accurate information of the application, such as the application name. At this time, the user cannot use the above-mentioned search function of searching for the application by the application accurate information, so that the user still cannot find the application to be used in the terminal, causing difficulty in application search. SUMMARY

[0005] The main purpose of the present application is to provide an application search method, an electronic device, a computer readable storage medium and a product.

[0006] To achieve the above-mentioned purpose, the present application provides an application search method, which comprises: in response to an application search operation, determining a selected similar application in a terminal device; outputting a selectable search dimension of the similar application, and taking the selected selectable search dimension as an application search dimension; based on the application search dimension of the similar application, searching for a candidate application associated with the similar application from each installed application of the terminal device, and outputting the candidate application.

[0007] In addition, to achieve the above-mentioned purpose, the present application further provides an electronic device, which comprises a memory, a processor and a computer program stored on the memory and executable on the processor, and the computer program is executed by the processor to realize the application search method as described above.

[0008] In addition, to achieve the above-mentioned purpose, the present application further provides a computer readable storage medium, which stores a computer program, and the computer program is executed by the processor to realize the application search method as described above.

[0009] In addition, to achieve the above object, the application further provides a computer program product, which comprises a computer program, and the computer program is executed by a processor to implement the steps of the application search method. BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF DRAWINGS

[0010] The accompanying drawings, which are incorporated herein and constitute part of the specification, illustrate embodiments consistent with the application and, together with the description, serve to explain the principles of the application.

[0011] In order to more clearly illustrate the technical solutions in the embodiments of the application or the prior art, the accompanying drawings needed to be used in the embodiments or prior art description will be briefly introduced as follows. Obviously, the drawings in the following description are only some embodiments of the application, and for those skilled in the art, other drawings can also be obtained from the structures shown in these drawings without creative labor.

[0012] Fig. 1 is a flow diagram of the first embodiment of the application search method;

[0013] Fig. 2 is a schematic diagram of the first interaction scenario in the application search method of the application;

[0014] Fig. 3 is a first display scenario diagram under the first interaction scenario in the application search method of the application;

[0015] Fig. 4 is a second display scenario diagram under the first interaction scenario in the application search method of the application;

[0016] Fig. 5 is a third display scenario diagram under the first interaction scenario in the application search method of the application;

[0017] Fig. 6 is a schematic diagram of the second interaction scenario in the application search method of the application;

[0018] Fig. 7 is a first display scenario diagram under the second interaction scenario in the application search method of the application;

[0019] Fig. 8 is a second display scenario diagram under the second interaction scenario in the application search method of the application;

[0020] Fig. 9 is a schematic diagram of the third interaction scenario in the application search method of the application;

[0021] Fig. 10 is a first display scenario diagram under the third interaction scenario in the application search method of the application;

[0022] Fig. 11 is a second display scenario diagram under the third interaction scenario in the application search method of the application;

[0023] Fig. 12 is a flow diagram of the second embodiment of the application search method;

[0024] Fig. 13 is a schematic diagram of a device structure of a hardware running environment involved in the application search method in the embodiments of the present application.

[0025] The object, features and advantages of the present application will be further illustrated in conjunction with the embodiments, with reference to the accompanying drawings. DETAILED DESCRIPTION

[0026] The exemplary embodiments will be described in detail herein with reference to the attached drawings. The following description is with reference to the drawings, in which like numerals refer to like elements throughout. The embodiments described in the following exemplary embodiments are not meant to represent all embodiments in accordance with the present application. Rather, they are merely examples of apparatus and methods in accordance with some aspects of the present application as detailed in the appended claims.

[0027] It should be understood that the specific embodiments described herein merely exemplify the present application and are not meant to limit the present application.

[0028] With the increasing richness of application programs, a large number of applications are often installed on a mobile intelligent terminal. The large number of applications enrich the user's learning and work, but also increase the difficulty for the user to remember the application name, icon and storage location. At present, some terminals provide an application program search function to facilitate the user to quickly find the application program he wants to use. However, the current traditional search function mostly needs the user to remember the accurate information of the application program to search, but in the actual use process of the user, when he wants to find a certain application in the terminal, he may not remember the accurate information of the application, such as the application name. At this time, the user cannot use the above search function to search the application by the accurate information of the application, so that the user still cannot find the application he wants to use in the terminal, resulting in difficulty in searching the application.

[0029] The main solution of the present application is: in response to an application search operation, determining a selected similar application in a terminal device; outputting a selectable search dimension of the similar application, and selecting the selectable search dimension as an application search dimension; based on the application search dimension of the similar application, searching for a candidate application associated with the similar application from each installed application of the terminal device, and outputting the candidate application.

[0030] That is, in the embodiment, the user can select a similar application in the terminal device according to a fuzzy impression of the application to be used, and the terminal device outputs selectable search dimensions of the similar application for selection after determining the similar application according to the application search operation of the user, the selected selectable search dimension is the application search dimension, and the candidate application related to the similar application is searched from the installed applications based on the application search dimension of the similar application, and the candidate application is output, thereby helping the user to find the application to be used. In the embodiment, the user only needs to select the similar application according to the impression when searching for the application, and the application search can be performed without the user remembering the accurate information of the application to be used, that is, the threshold and difficulty of the application search are reduced, and the user can still search for the application according to the fuzzy impression in the case of forgetting the accurate information of the application, thereby facilitating the user to use the terminal device.

[0031] The execution subject of the embodiment can include, but is not limited to, a mobile terminal such as a smart phone, a smart watch, a notebook computer, a digital broadcast receiver, a PDA (Personal Digital Assistant), a PAD (Portable Application Description), a PMP (Portable Media Player), and the like, and a fixed terminal such as a digital TV, a desktop computer, and the like, or any electronic device capable of implementing the above functions, and the embodiment is not specifically limited thereto. The terminal device is taken as an example for the execution subject to describe the embodiment and the following embodiments.

[0032] In order to better understand the technical solutions of the present application, the following will be described in detail in combination with the drawings and specific embodiments.

[0033] Please refer to FIG. 1, which is a flowchart of the first embodiment of the application search method provided by the present application.

[0034] The application search method of the first embodiment is provided in the present application, and the application search method includes steps S100-S300:

[0035] Step S100, in response to an application search operation, determining a selected similar application in a terminal device;

[0036] For example, the terminal device can select an application from the installed applications as the similar application in response to an application search operation performed by the user. The application scenario of the above process can be that the user wants to search for a target application to be used but does not remember the specific location of the target application, and then uses the application search function of the terminal device. Before the application search operation performed by the user, a search function starting operation can be performed to trigger the terminal device to start the application search function. After the application search function is started, the user can select an installed application similar to the target application according to the impression of the target application. Accordingly, the application search operation is used to determine the similar application. For the terminal device, after the application search function is started, the selected installed application can be selected as the similar application.

[0037] In step S200, the selectable search dimensions of the similar application are output, and the selected selectable search dimension is selected as the application search dimension.

[0038] In this embodiment, the search dimension options of the application are increased to obtain more search information, thereby improving the accuracy of the application search.

[0039] For example, after the terminal device determines the similar application, the terminal device can output the selectable search dimensions of the similar application for the user to select, and the selected selectable search dimension is selected as the application search dimension of the similar application. The specific selectable search dimension can be set by the technician according to actual needs. For example, the selectable search dimension can include an icon and an application function. The application scenario of the above process can be that the user selects an installed application as the similar application, and the terminal device outputs the selectable search dimensions of the similar application. For example, the user feels that the icon of the similar application is more similar to the icon of the target application, and can select the dimension corresponding to the icon in the selectable search dimension as the application search dimension of the similar application. In actual application, one similar application can have multiple application search dimensions, and the search dimensions of different similar applications can be different.

[0040] In step S300, based on the application search dimension of the similar application, a candidate application associated with the similar application is searched from the installed applications of the terminal device, and the candidate application is output.

[0041] For example, after determining the application search dimension of the similar application, the terminal device searches for the candidate application associated with the similar application from the installed applications in the terminal device according to the determined application search dimension of the similar application. In the searching process from the installed applications, the terminal device can calculate the similarity between each installed application and the similar application from the application search dimension of the similar application to obtain the score of each installed application, and in the case that there are multiple similar applications or multiple application search dimensions, the scores of any installed application can be accumulated to obtain a comprehensive score. The candidate application associated with the similar application is selected according to the comprehensive score, and accordingly, the higher the comprehensive score is, the greater the probability of being selected as the candidate application is. After determining the candidate application, the terminal device outputs the found candidate application, such as displaying the candidate application on the interface of the terminal device, and the user can find the target application from the candidate application. The candidate application is found by the terminal device according to the selected application of the user and the search dimension, and therefore, the user has a greater probability of finding the target application from the candidate applications.

[0042] In the embodiment, the terminal device determines the selected similar application in the terminal device in response to the application search operation, outputs the selectable search dimensions of the similar application, selects the selected selectable search dimension as the application search dimension, searches for the candidate application associated with the similar application from the installed applications in the terminal device based on the application search dimension of the similar application, and outputs the candidate application. That is, in the embodiment, the user can select the similar application in the terminal device according to the vague impression of the application to be used, and after the terminal device determines the similar application according to the application search operation of the user, the terminal device outputs the selectable search dimensions of the similar application for selection, the selected selectable search dimension is the application search dimension, the candidate application associated with the similar application is searched from the installed applications based on the application search dimension of the similar application, and the candidate application is output, thereby helping the user to find the application to be used. In the application, the user only needs to select the similar application according to the impression when searching for the application, and the accurate information of the application to be used is not required, which reduces the threshold and difficulty of the application search, and enables the user to search for the application according to the vague impression even if the accurate information of the application is forgotten, thereby facilitating the user to use the terminal device.

[0043] In a feasible implementation, the application search dimension includes at least one of an application usage association dimension, an application location dimension, an icon element dimension, an application layout dimension, an application usage duration dimension, an application usage frequency dimension, an application usage time dimension, and an application installation time dimension.

[0044] In the embodiment, the application search dimension can include one or more of an application use association dimension, an application location dimension, an icon element dimension, an application layout dimension, an application use duration dimension, an application use frequency dimension, an application use time dimension, and an application installation time dimension. In actual application, the skilled in the art can also add other similar application search dimension types according to the types of the above application search dimensions, which will not be described here.

[0045] For example, the application use association dimension refers to that the selected similar application has a certain association with the target application in the use process, that is, the target application can also be used while the similar application is used. The association degree of the use association dimension can be measured in various forms, such as background coexistence in a unit of time, that is, the longer the background coexistence time in a unit of time, the higher the application use association degree. The performance form can also be the switching relationship between the foreground and the background. The user can define the association order according to his own situation. For example, after application A is started, application B is started (application A is switched to the background or exited), and then application C is started (application B is switched to the background or exited, and so on). If a certain start sequence is ABCDE, then application A, application B, application D, and application E are associated with application C, and the closer the start order, the higher the association degree. If the user feels that the similar application is often used simultaneously or switched with the target application, the user can select the application use association dimension.

[0046] The application location dimension refers to the position of the icon on the interface, which can be different in different terminal devices. Generally, there are 4*6=24 icon positions on a screen, and there are 3*4 icon positions on a screen in a file. The position similarity means that the icon position (in the interface or folder) of the selected similar application is similar to the icon position of the target application to be searched. For the degree of similarity, the positions in the surrounding circle of the icon position of the similar application are all selected positions (the center position has the highest similarity, and the farther the position from the center position, the lower the application similarity). For example, if the applications in the first and second rows of the current interface are A, B, C, D and a, b, c, d respectively, and the similar application is application A, then the applications in the same position as the above applications A, B, and a on each page can be the target application, and so on. If the user feels that the position of the similar application is similar to that of the target application, the user can select the application location dimension.

[0047] The icon element dimension refers to the icon of the application. The similarity of the icon element dimension is the overall similarity of the icons of the two applications, including but not limited to patterns, colors, shapes, etc. If the user feels that the icon of the similar application is similar to that of the target application, the user can select the application icon element dimension.

[0048] The application layout dimension refers to a figure formed by the interface where the application is located and surrounding icons. The layout dimension can measure the similarity between two applications. For example, there is an icon A in the first position of the third row of the current interface of the terminal device, there is no icon in the fourth row, and there are icons B and C in the first and last positions of the fifth row (there are no icons in other positions), the user selects the three icons or one of the three icons, and in the application layout dimension, the layout feature of the similar application is a right triangle figure or a specific position on the right triangle figure. If the user feels that the layout of the page where the similar application is located is similar to the layout of the page where the target application is located, the user can select the application layout dimension.

[0049] The application usage duration dimension refers to the total usage duration of the application. The application usage frequency dimension refers to the number of times the application is clicked or started by the user. The application usage time dimension refers to the application that is used at a specific moment or time period. The application installation time dimension refers to the installation time of the application. Similarly, the user can select the application search dimension according to the similar angle between the similar application and the target application.

[0050] In addition, in the embodiment, modification of the selected result that has been completed is also supported. After the step of determining the similar application selected in the terminal device in response to the application search operation, the method further includes: outputting the application search dimension in response to a preset query modification operation; selecting the similar application under the selected dimension in the application search dimension as a to-be-removed application in response to a dimension selection operation; and removing the to-be-removed application that is dragged away in response to a sliding operation on the to-be-removed application.

[0051] For example, the preset query modification operation can be an operation of long-pressing the interactive element. The user can trigger the terminal device to output the selected application search dimension, such as the application icon element dimension and the application usage association dimension that are selected before, by long-pressing the interactive element, and then the terminal device outputs and displays the application icon element dimension and the application usage association dimension (other dimensions are not displayed). If the user wants to view or adjust the application of a certain dimension, the user only needs to slide the finger to the corresponding dimension (that is, the dimension selection operation), and the dimension will pop up the application selected on the dimension, that is, the to-be-removed application. If the user wants to remove a certain application of a certain dimension, the user only needs to slide the finger to the popped application icon and then release the finger (that is, the sliding operation on the to-be-removed application), that is, the to-be-removed application that is dragged away is removed, so as to complete the modification.

[0052] In a feasible implementation, the terminal device interface is provided with an interactive element, and the step of determining the similar application selected in the terminal device in response to the application search operation includes step S110:

[0053] In step S110, in a case where the application search operation is a preset drag search operation and a drag object of the preset drag search operation is the interactive element, the similar application is determined based on a position of the interactive element after being dragged in the interface of the terminal device.

[0054] In the embodiment, the interface of the terminal device can be provided with the interactive element, and a form of the interactive element on the interface can be a floating ball or a cursor, which is not limited here. The interactive element can be resident on the interface, or can be hidden normally and then be displayed on the interface by being woken up through voice or a hard key or other manners. The user can start the application search function by clicking the interactive element and select the similar application. After the selection is completed, the application search function can be started by double-clicking the interactive element.

[0055] For example, the application search operation is an operation performed by the user in the process of selecting the similar application. The application search operation can be a preset drag search operation. In a case where a drag object of the preset drag search operation is the interactive element, the similar application can be determined based on a position of the interactive element after being dragged in the interface of the terminal device. For example, an installed application with an icon closest to the position of the interactive element in the interface of the terminal device can be selected as the similar application, or an installed application corresponding to an icon covered by the interactive element when the interactive element is at rest can be selected as the similar application (the similar application can be determined after the interactive element is at rest for a preset time length). Referring to FIG. 2, which is a first interaction scenario in the present application, FIG. 2 is a desktop interface of a terminal device and a floating ball A as an interactive element. The user can select the similar application by dragging the floating ball A, for example, an installed application corresponding to an icon covered by the floating ball A can be selected as the similar application.

[0056] In an embodiment, the type of the similar application includes a first type of similar application determined based on the position of the interactive element, and the step of outputting the selectable search dimension of the similar application includes step S210: for any one of the first type of similar application, a selectable search dimension of the first type of similar application is displayed in a preset range around an icon corresponding to the first type of similar application, a preset range around the interactive element, or a side menu bar of the terminal device.

[0057] The similar application determined in different manners can be displayed in different manners. In the embodiment, the type of the similar application determined based on the position of the interactive element is the first type of similar application.

[0058] For example, the similar applications of the same type have basically the same form when displaying the selectable search dimensions, and thus one of them will be taken as an example for description in the embodiment. For any one of the similar applications of the first type, the selectable search dimensions of the similar application of the first type are displayed in the preset range around the icon corresponding to the similar application, the preset range around the interactive element, or the side menu bar of the terminal device. The preset range around the icon can be set by the technician according to the requirement.

[0059] For example, referring to FIG. 3, a first display scenario in the first interactive scenario in the application is shown. As shown in FIG. 3, the selectable search dimensions, i.e., dimension 1 to dimension N, are displayed in the preset range around the interactive element floating ball A. Referring to FIG. 4, a second display scenario in the first interactive scenario in the application is shown. As shown in FIG. 4, the selectable search dimensions, i.e., dimension 1 to dimension N, are displayed in the preset range around the interactive element floating ball A. Referring to FIG. 5, a third display scenario in the first interactive scenario in the application is shown. As shown in FIG. 5, the selectable search dimensions of the similar application of the first type are displayed in the side menu bar of the terminal device. In actual application, the position of the side menu bar of the terminal device can be set by the technician, such as the left side or the right side of the interface, which is not limited here. In addition, when selecting the dimensions, the user can select by sliding, such as for the scenario of displaying the selectable search dimensions in the preset range around the interactive element, the user can slide the finger to the application icon element dimension, and then the options of other dimensions become dark. At this time, the user releases the finger to indicate that the selection is completed. During the selection process, if the user wants to change the current dimension selection, the user only needs to slide the finger back to the center area of the interactive element, and then slide to the dimension the user wants. If the user decides not to select the currently selected application at this time, the user only needs to slide the finger back to the center area of the floating ball and release the finger (in the case of no dimension selection information, it is equivalent to defaulting to give up the selected application).

[0060] In a possible implementation, the step of determining the selected similar application in the terminal device in response to the application search operation further includes steps S121-S122.

[0061] In step S121, in the case that the application search operation is a preset drag search operation, and the drag object of the preset drag search operation is an icon in the interface, an application selection area is output on the interface of the terminal device.

[0062] In step S122, the application corresponding to the icon dragged into the application selection area is taken as the similar application.

[0063] In the embodiment, the drag object of the preset drag and find operation can be an icon in addition to the interactive element. When the drag object is an icon, the terminal device can output an application selection area on the interface, and the application corresponding to the icon dragged into the application selection area is regarded as a similar application by the terminal device. FIG. 6 is a schematic diagram of a second interaction scenario in the application. As shown in FIG. 6, the user can drag an icon on the interface into the application selection area, and the icon dragged into the application selection area is regarded as a similar application by the terminal device.

[0064] In an embodiment, the type of the similar application includes a second type of similar application determined by the application selection area. The step of outputting the selectable find dimension of the similar application further includes the step S220: for any one of the second type of similar application, the selectable find dimension of the second type of similar application is displayed on a preset range around an icon corresponding to the second type of similar application or a side menu bar of the terminal device after the second type of similar application is dragged into the application selection area.

[0065] In the embodiment, the type of the similar application determined by the application selection area is the second type of similar application.

[0066] For example, for any one of the second type of similar application, the selectable find dimension of the second type of similar application is displayed on a preset range around an icon corresponding to the second type of similar application in the application selection area or a side menu bar of the terminal device after the second type of similar application is dragged into the application selection area. FIG. 7 is a first display scenario diagram in the second interaction scenario in the application. As shown in FIG. 7, the selectable find dimension, i.e., dimension 1 to dimension n, is displayed on a preset range around an icon corresponding to the second type of similar application in the application selection area. FIG. 8 is a second display scenario diagram in the second interaction scenario in the application. As shown in FIG. 8, after the second type of similar application is dragged into the application selection area, a side menu bar is popped up on the side of the interface of the terminal device, and the selectable find dimension, i.e., dimension 1 to dimension n, of the second type of similar application is displayed in the side menu bar.

[0067] In an embodiment, the step of determining the selected similar application in the terminal device in response to the application find operation further includes the step S130: in the case where the application find operation is a preset selected find operation, entering an application selection mode, and regarding the application corresponding to the selected icon in the interface of the terminal device as the similar application in the application selection mode.

[0068] In the embodiment, the type of the search operation applied can be preset selected search operation in addition to preset drag search operation. When the search operation applied is preset selected search operation, the terminal device enters application selection mode, and in the application selection mode, for the terminal device, the user selecting (e.g., clicking) an icon does not start the application corresponding to the icon, but the application corresponding to the icon is regarded as a similar application. FIG. 9 is a schematic diagram of a third interaction scenario in the application. As shown in FIG. 9, in the application selection mode, the application icons on the terminal device can have different visual effects from those in normal mode. For example, in the application selection mode, the application icons on the terminal device can have an additional filter layer to distinguish from those in normal mode. The specific form of the filter layer can be set by the technical personnel according to actual needs, and is not specifically limited here. The application corresponding to the icon selected by the user in the application selection mode is regarded as a similar application.

[0069] In an embodiment, the type of the similar application includes a third type of similar application determined in the application selection mode, and the step of outputting the selectable search dimension of the similar application further includes the step S230: for any one of the third type of similar application, after the third type of similar application is selected, the selectable search dimension of the third type of similar application is displayed in a preset range around the icon corresponding to the third type of similar application or in the side menu bar of the terminal device.

[0070] In the embodiment, the type of the similar application determined in the application selection mode is the third type of similar application.

[0071] For example, for any one of the third type of similar application, after the third type of similar application is selected, the selectable search dimension of the third type of similar application can be displayed in a preset range around the icon corresponding to the third type of similar application or in the side menu bar of the terminal device. FIG. 10 is a first display scenario diagram in the third interaction scenario in the application. As shown in FIG. 10, the selectable search dimensions, i.e., dimension 1 to dimension n, are displayed in the preset range around the selected third type of similar application. FIG. 11 is a second display scenario diagram in the third interaction scenario in the application. As shown in FIG. 11, the selectable search dimensions, i.e., dimension 1 to dimension n, of the third type of similar application are displayed in the side menu bar of the terminal device interface.

[0072] FIG. 12 is a second embodiment of the application search method based on the first embodiment of the application. In the embodiment, the parts same as or similar to those in the above embodiments can be referred to the above embodiments, and will not be described herein.

[0073] The step of searching for candidate applications associated with the similar application from the installed applications of the terminal device based on the application search dimension of the similar application includes steps S310-S320.

[0074] In step S310, the similarity between each installed application in the terminal device and the similar application is determined based on the application search dimension.

[0075] In step S320, the candidate application associated with the similar application is selected from the installed applications based on the similarity.

[0076] For example, when selecting the candidate application, the terminal device can compare the similar application with each installed application in the application search dimension to obtain the similarity between the similar application and the installed application in the application search dimension. When there are multiple application search dimensions or multiple similar applications, the similarity of a certain installed application obtained in different application search dimensions or with different similar applications can be accumulated to obtain a comprehensive similarity, and the comprehensive similarity of the installed application is the basis for selecting the candidate application. For example, the installed applications with the highest comprehensive similarity can be ranked according to the comprehensive similarity, and the top pre-set number of installed applications are selected as the candidate applications.

[0077] To illustrate the content of the present solution, a specific scenario will be described below.

[0078] If the user selects only one application search dimension when searching, 12 candidate applications are selected in descending order of similarity in this dimension (the number of selected applications can be set by the technical personnel according to actual needs, and if there are less than 12, the actual number of applications is displayed. The user can set a similarity threshold, and only the applications with a similarity higher than the threshold are selected). If some dimensions allow the user to provide multiple similar applications, such as the icon element dimension, if the user feels that the icons of n applications are similar to the icon of the target application, the n*12 similar icons can be selected based on the icon of each similar application, and then 12 most similar icons are selected from the n*12 icons (the icons can be first processed to remove duplicates) as the final 12 candidate applications recommended in the icon element dimension.

[0079] Regarding the algorithm for selecting the 12 most similar applications, if the user feels that the target application is similar to the icons of applications A and B in terms of icon similarity, 24 applications similar to applications A and B are selected in descending order of similarity, and are named A1, A2,..., A24, B1, B2,..., B24, respectively. The first score is 24 points, the second score is 23 points, and so on. Then, the top 12 applications with the highest cumulative scores from the 48 applications (with duplicates) are selected as the final candidate applications.

[0080] For the case that the user selects multiple dimensions, if the user selects y dimensions, then 12n applications (n is the number of similar applications) are recommended for each dimension, and then the top 12 applications with the highest scores are selected from the y*12n applications (after de-duplication) as the final candidate applications recommended to the user.

[0081] In an embodiment, the step of determining the similarity between each installed application in the terminal device and the similar application based on the application search dimension comprises steps S311-S312:

[0082] In step S311, for any one of the installed applications, the comparison feature of the installed application and the search feature of the similar application are determined based on the application search dimension.

[0083] In step S312, the similarity between the installed application and the similar application is calculated according to the search feature and the comparison feature.

[0084] Since the process of generating the similarity of each installed application is basically the same, in this embodiment, one of the installed applications will be taken as an example for illustration.

[0085] For example, for any one of the installed applications, the terminal device determines the comparison feature of the installed application from the application search dimension of the similar application, and determines the search feature of the similar application from the application search dimension of the similar application. For different application search dimensions, different comparison features and search features can be determined. For example, if the application search dimension is the icon element dimension, the comparison feature is the icon of the installed application, and the search feature is the icon of the similar application. If the application search dimension is the installation time dimension, the comparison feature is the installation time of the installed application, and the search feature is the installation time of the similar application. Therefore, the specific comparison feature and search feature are not described here.

[0086] After the comparison feature of the installed application and the search feature of the similar application are determined, similarity between the installed application and the similar application is calculated according to the comparison feature and the search feature. The calculation method of the similarity is determined according to the content in the comparison feature and the search feature. For example, if the search dimension of the application is the icon element dimension, the comparison feature is the icon of the installed application, and the search feature is the icon of the similar application, the similarity between the two icons can be calculated by the image similarity algorithm, so as to obtain the similarity between the installed application and the similar application in the icon element dimension. If the search dimension of the application is the installation time dimension, the comparison feature is the installation time of the installed application, and the search feature is the installation time of the similar application, the similarity between the installed application and the similar application in the installation time dimension can be determined by the difference between the installation time of the installed application and the installation time of the similar application (the difference is inversely proportional to the similarity).

[0087] In an embodiment, the steps of determining the comparison feature of the installed application and the search feature of the similar application according to the search dimension of the application include steps S301-S305.

[0088] In step S301, if the search dimension of the application includes the application usage association dimension, the comparison feature includes a first associated application of the installed application, and the search feature includes a second associated application of the similar application. The first associated application is an application running in parallel with or switching with the installed application, and the second associated application is an application running in parallel with or switching with the similar application; or,

[0089] In step S302, if the search dimension of the application includes the application installation time dimension, the comparison feature includes the installation time of the installed application, and the search feature includes the installation time of the similar application; or,

[0090] In step S303, if the search dimension of the application includes the application usage time dimension, the comparison feature includes an application used in parallel with the installed application in the last usage process, and the search feature includes an application used in parallel with the similar application in the last usage process; or,

[0091] In step S304, if the search dimension of the application includes the application position dimension, the comparison feature includes the relative position of the interface of the installed application, and the search feature includes the relative position of the interface of the similar application; or,

[0092] In step S305, if the search dimension of the application includes the application layout dimension, the comparison feature includes a pattern of applications in the interface of the installed application, and the search feature includes a pattern of applications in the interface of the similar application.

[0093] In practical applications, the application search dimension can include various dimensions, and the comparison feature and the search feature can include various features.

[0094] For example, if the application search dimension includes the application use association dimension, the comparison feature of the installed application includes the first associated application of the installed application, and the first associated application is an application that is used in parallel or switched in turn with the installed application. For example, a travel application and a ticket purchase application are usually used simultaneously or in turn, and an e-commerce application, a takeout application, and the like are usually used simultaneously or in turn with a payment application. The first associated application can also include the installed application itself. The search feature includes the second associated application of the similar application, and the second associated application is an application that is used in parallel or switched in turn with the similar application. Similarly, the similar application itself can be included in the second associated application. In addition, in practical applications, applications that are used in parallel or switched in turn can be determined by the terminal device by counting the time interval between the start and the stop of the applications, and two applications with a time interval less than a preset threshold are considered to have a parallel running or turn-by-turn switching relationship.

[0095] If the application search dimension includes the application installation time dimension, the comparison feature of the installed application includes the installation time of the installed application, such as a certain year, month, day, and time. Similarly, the search feature includes the installation time of the similar application.

[0096] If the application search dimension includes the application use time dimension, the comparison feature of the installed application includes the application that is used in parallel with the installed application during the last use of the installed application, and the search feature of the similar application includes the application that is used in parallel with the similar application during the last use of the similar application. Similarly, if the time interval between the start and the stop of two applications is less than a preset threshold, the two applications are considered to have a parallel use relationship.

[0097] If the application search dimension includes the application position dimension, the comparison feature of the installed application includes the interface relative position of the installed application, and the search feature of the similar application includes the interface relative position of the similar application. The interface relative position refers to the position of the application icon in the interface, such as the nth row and yth.

[0098] If the application search dimension includes the application layout dimension, the comparison feature of the installed application includes the graph of the application in the interface where the installed application is located, and the search feature of the similar application includes the graph of the application in the interface where the similar application is located. The graph of the application in the interface can be a graph formed by icons of all applications in the interface, or a graph formed by isolated icons, where the isolated icon refers to an icon whose adjacent icons are less than a preset number.

[0099] In addition, for the purpose of clear illustration, the application search scheme is applied to a scene, and the following contents are described in detail:

[0100] 1: A user wants to use a target application, but cannot remember the location of the target application on the desktop because too many applications are downloaded on the terminal device of the user, and then the user triggers the terminal device to pop up a floating ball (i.e., an interactive element) on the desktop through a pre-set interactive mode.

[0101] 2: After the floating ball is activated, the floating ball is displayed on the desktop, and the user clicks the floating ball, and the floating ball enters a search information search input stage.

[0102] 3: The user thinks that a certain application on the current desktop has certain similarity with the target application in a certain dimension, and the user can drag the floating ball to the icon of the application.

[0103] 4: The floating ball discovers that the staying time of the floating ball exceeds a threshold (for example, 2 seconds), and the floating ball starts to identify the application in the coverage area of the floating ball.

[0104] 5: When the floating ball successfully identifies the application, the similar application identified by the floating ball is displayed in the center of the floating ball, and then the dimension selection (i.e., the selectable search dimension) is popped up around the floating ball.

[0105] 6: The user selects the dimension option popped up by the floating ball according to the similar dimension of the similar application and the target application.

[0106] 7: The user confirms whether the current input information is sufficient to quickly locate the application that the user wants to search, and whether the similar dimension information of the target application needs to be further input to find the application more quickly and accurately.

[0107] 8: The user checks whether there is another application having similarity with the target application in a certain dimension on the current desktop, or the user slides the desktop to the next screen to check whether there is an application having similarity with the target application in a certain dimension.

[0108] 9: The user confirms whether the previous input information is incorrect.

[0109] 10: If the user feels that the previous input of the application information of a certain dimension is wrong, the user modifies it by long pressing the floating ball.

[0110] 11: If the user feels that the input information is correct and the input information is sufficient, the user double-clicks the floating ball. At this time, the terminal device searches for the target application according to the preset algorithm according to the input information of the user.

[0111] 12: The terminal device pops up the applications that may be the target application according to the matching degree of the applications, and displays the first 12 (if insufficient, display the actual number of applications, and the user can also set a threshold value, and only when the similarity degree exceeds the threshold value, the candidate applications are displayed) around the floating ball for the user to select (that is, the candidate applications are popped up).

[0112] 13: When the user clicks the corresponding application in the popped-up icon, the user enters the corresponding application, and the application icon searching process ends, and the related data is cleared. Of course, in the extreme case, if the corresponding application is not found, the user can modify the previous dimension information or continue to input new dimension information.

[0113] The following is described for a specific example scenario:

[0114] Scenario 1: Suppose the user wants to find the application of Xiao Tiancai, but cannot remember the name of the application at the moment, but he roughly remembers that there is a telephone logo in the middle of the icon of the application. Because the user often uses the telephone application, the user quickly drags the floating ball to the telephone icon and selects the application icon element dimension.

[0115] When the user completes the selection of the above process, the user sees the icon of QQ browser next to it, and triggers the user to remember that the background color of the icon of Xiao Tiancai is also similar to white. Therefore, the user drags the floating ball to the QQ browser icon and selects the application icon element dimension.

[0116] Then the user continues to view other applications on the page, and sees the application of Wisdom Primary and Secondary School. The user remembers that when installing the target application, the user was dealing with the homework of the child, and installed the application of Wisdom Primary and Secondary School. Therefore, the user drags the floating ball to the application of Wisdom Primary and Secondary School and selects the application installation time dimension.

[0117] Up to here, the user feels that the application of Xiao Tiancai can be located, and the information about the application of Xiao Tiancai in the mind of the user has also been inputted. The user double-clicks to start the process of finding the target application.

[0118] Scenario 2: Suppose the user wants to find the application of Ma Fengsuo, and because of long time without use, the user does not remember what the icon of the application looks like. Only approximately remembers that every time before going out, the user will look at various strategies on the Ma Fengsuo app, and then make ticket booking through 12306.

[0119] Then the user first finds the application icon of 12306, and selects the dimension of application use association. After selection, the user finds the application of Qiandao, triggers the user to remember that every time when making strategies, the user will also refer to the application of Qiandao, and the use time length and click frequency of them should be similar. Then the user drags the floating ball to Qiandao, and selects the dimension of application use time length and use frequency.

[0120] In addition, the user also remembers that the application of Ma Fengsuo is in the right lower corner of a certain desktop. Then the user selects the application in the same position of the current desktop, and selects the dimension of application position.

[0121] Finally, the user double-clicks the floating ball to search.

[0122] Scenario 3: Suppose the user wants to find the application of Bilibili, and the user likes to drag the icon into a certain shape. For example, the user clearly remembers that the desktop where the application of Bilibili is located, and the position of the application of Bilibili and the three surrounding applications constitute a 3*3 square layout, that is, a 3*3 square has only 4 surrounding points and 5 middle points are empty, and the application of Bilibili is in the upper left point of the square.

[0123] If the current desktop has exactly four icons arranged in the corresponding position, then the user can select the four icons and select the dimension of application layout. If the user also remembers which point of the corresponding layout the target application is, the user can also specify it.

[0124] If the current desktop does not have four icons arranged in the corresponding manner, but has a close arrangement, the user can temporarily drag the current icons to arrange the corresponding layout, and then select and complete the input.

[0125] After input, the user double-clicks to start searching.

[0126] In addition, refer to FIG. 13, which is a device structure diagram of a hardware running environment involved in the application searching method in the embodiment of the present application.

[0127] The present application also provides an electronic device, which comprises at least one processor, and a memory in communication connection with the at least one processor; wherein the memory stores instructions executable by the at least one processor, and the instructions are executed by the at least one processor to enable the at least one processor to perform the application searching method in the above embodiment.

[0128] Reference is made below to FIG. 13, which illustrates a structural diagram of an electronic device suitable for implementing embodiments of the present application. The electronic device in embodiments of the present application can include, but is not limited to, a mobile terminal such as a router device, a mobile phone, a notebook computer, a digital broadcast receiver, a PDA (Personal Digital Assistant), a PAD (Portable Application Description), a PMP (Portable Media Player), a car terminal (e.g., a car navigation terminal), and the like, as well as a stationary terminal such as a digital TV, a desktop computer, and the like. The electronic device illustrated in FIG. 13 is merely an example and should not impose any limitation on the functions and use range of embodiments of the present application.

[0129] As shown in FIG. 13, the electronic device can include a processing device 1001 (e.g., a central processor, a graphic processor, etc.) that can perform various appropriate actions and processes according to a program stored in a ROM (Read Only Memory) 1002 or a program loaded from a storage device 1003 into a RAM (Random Access Memory) 1004. Various programs and data required for the operation of the electronic device are also stored in the RAM 1004. The processing device 1001, the ROM 1002, and the RAM 1004 are connected to each other through a bus 1005. An I / O (Input / Output) interface 1006 is also connected to the bus. In general, the following systems can be connected to the I / O interface 1006: an input device 1007 including, for example, a touch screen, a touch pad, a keyboard, a mouse, an image sensor, a microphone, an accelerometer, a gyroscope, and the like; an output device 1008 including, for example, an LCD (Liquid Crystal Display), a speaker, a vibrator, and the like; the storage device 1003 including, for example, a magnetic tape, a hard disk, and the like; and a communication device 1009. The communication device 1009 can allow the electronic device to communicate with other devices wirelessly or via a wire to exchange data. Although the electronic device having various systems is illustrated in the drawing, it is not required to implement or have all of the illustrated systems. More or less systems can be alternatively implemented or had.

[0130] According to the embodiments disclosed in the present application, the process described above with reference to the flow chart can be implemented as a computer software program. For example, the embodiments disclosed in the present application include a computer program product comprising a computer program carried on a computer readable medium, the computer program containing program codes for executing the method shown in the flow chart. In such embodiments, the computer program can be downloaded and installed from a network through a communication device, or installed from the storage device 1003, or installed from the ROM 1002. When the computer program is executed by the processing device 1001, the above-mentioned functions defined in the method of the embodiments disclosed in the present application are executed.

[0131] The electronic device provided by the present application adopts the application search method in the above-mentioned embodiments, and can solve the technical problem that the error correction capability of the related error correction scheme is limited, and it is difficult to correct errors in the case of a large number of data errors. Compared with the prior art, the electronic device provided by the present application has the same beneficial effects as the application search method provided by the above-mentioned embodiments, and other technical features in the electronic device are the same as the features disclosed in the previous embodiment method, which will not be repeated here.

[0132] Parts of the present application can be implemented in hardware, software, firmware, or a combination thereof. In the description of the above-mentioned embodiments, specific features, structures, materials or characteristics can be combined in any one or more embodiments or examples in a suitable manner.

[0133] The above is only a specific implementation of the present application, but the protection scope of the present application is not limited thereto. Any person skilled in the art can easily think of changes or replacements within the technical scope disclosed in the present application, which should be covered within the protection scope of the present application. Therefore, the protection scope of the present application should be subject to the protection scope of the claims.

[0134] In addition, the present application also provides a computer readable storage medium having computer readable program instructions (i.e. computer program) stored thereon, the computer readable program instructions being used to execute the application search method in the above-mentioned embodiments.

[0135] The computer readable storage medium provided in the present application may, for example, be a U disk, but is not limited to an electric, magnetic, optical, electromagnetic, infrared, or semiconductor system, system, or device, or any combination thereof. More specific examples of the computer readable storage medium can include, but are not limited to, an electric connection with one or more conductive wires, a portable computer disk, a hard disk, a random access memory (RAM), a read-only memory (ROM), an erasable programmable read-only memory (EPROM or flash memory), an optical fiber, a portable compact disk read-only memory (CD-ROM), an optical storage device, a magnetic storage device, or any suitable combination thereof. In the present embodiment, the computer readable storage medium can be any tangible medium containing or storing a program that can be used by or in conjunction with an instruction execution system, system, or device. The program code contained on the computer readable storage medium can be transmitted by any suitable medium, including but not limited to an electric wire, an optical cable, an RF (Radio Frequency), and the like, or any suitable combination thereof.

[0136] The above computer readable storage medium can be contained in an electronic device, or can exist separately without being assembled into an electronic device.

[0137] The above computer readable storage medium carries one or more programs, which, when executed by an electronic device, cause the electronic device to: in response to an application search operation, determine a selected similar application in a terminal device; output selectable search dimensions of the similar application, and select a selectable search dimension as an application search dimension; and based on the application search dimension of the similar application, search for a candidate application associated with the similar application from each installed application of the terminal device, and output the candidate application.

[0138] Computer program code for carrying out operations of the present application can be written in any combination of one or more programming languages, including an object oriented programming language such as Java, Smalltalk, C++ or the like and conventional procedural programming languages, such as the "C" programming language or similar programming languages. The program code can execute entirely on the user's computer, partly on the user's computer, as a stand-alone software package, partly on the user's computer and partly on a remote computer or entirely on the remote computer or server. In the latter scenario, the remote computer can be connected to the user's computer through any type of network, including a local area network (LAN) or a wide area network (WAN), or the connection can be made to an external computer (for example, through the Internet using an Internet Service Provider).

[0139] The flow diagrams and the block diagrams in the drawings are illustrations of architectures, functionalities, and operations of possible implementations of systems, methods, and computer program products according to various embodiments of the present application. In this regard, each block in the flow diagrams or block diagrams can represent a module, a segment, or a portion of code, which comprises one or more executable instructions for implementing the specified logical function(s). It should also be noted that in some alternative implementations, the functions noted in the blocks can occur out of the order noted in the figures. For example, two blocks shown in succession may, in fact, be executed substantially concurrently or the blocks may

[0140] The modules involved in the embodiments of the present application can be implemented in the form of software or in the form of hardware. In some cases, the name of the module does not constitute a limitation on the module itself.

[0141] The readable storage medium provided by the present application is a computer readable storage medium, which stores computer readable program instructions (i.e., a computer program) for executing the above-mentioned application searching method, and can solve the technical problem that the error correction capability of the related error correction scheme is limited and it is difficult to perform error correction in the case of a large number of data errors. Compared with the prior art, the computer readable storage medium provided by the present application has the same beneficial effects as the application searching method provided by the above-mentioned embodiments, and will not be described here.

[0142] The above merely describes some embodiments of the present application, and does not limit the patent scope of the present application. Any equivalent structural transformation, direct / indirect application in other related technical fields, or the like, which is made based on the technical concept of the present application and the content of the specification and drawings, is included in the patent protection scope of the present application.

Claims

1. An application search method, wherein, The application searching method comprises: in response to an application searching operation, determining a selected similar application in a terminal device; outputting selectable searching dimensions of the similar application, and taking the selected selectable searching dimension as an application searching dimension; based on the application searching dimension of the similar application, searching for a candidate application associated with the similar application from each installed application of the terminal device, and outputting the candidate application.

2. The application search method of claim 1, wherein, The terminal device interface is provided with an interactive element, and the step of determining the selected similar application in the terminal device in response to the application searching operation comprises: in a case where the application searching operation is a preset drag searching operation, and a drag object of the preset drag searching operation is the interactive element, determining the similar application based on a position of the interactive element in the terminal device interface after being dragged.

3. The application search method of claim 2, wherein, The type of the similar application comprises a first type of similar application determined by the position of the interactive element, and the step of outputting the selectable searching dimension of the similar application comprises: for any one of the first type of similar application, the selectable searching dimension of the first type of similar application is displayed in a preset range around an icon corresponding to the first type of similar application, a preset range around the interactive element, or a side menu bar of the terminal device.

4. The application search method of claim 1, wherein, The step of determining the selected similar application in the terminal device in response to the application searching operation further comprises: in a case where the application searching operation is a preset drag searching operation, and a drag object of the preset drag searching operation is an icon in the interface, outputting an application selection area on the terminal device interface; taking an application corresponding to the icon dragged into the application selection area as the similar application.

5. The application search method of claim 4, wherein, The type of the similar application comprises a second type of similar application determined by the application selection area, and the step of outputting the selectable searching dimension of the similar application further comprises: for any one of the second type of similar application, after the second type of similar application is dragged to the application selection area, the selectable searching dimension of the second type of similar application is displayed in a preset range around an icon corresponding to the second type of similar application, or a side menu bar of the terminal device.

6. The application search method of claim 1, wherein, The step of determining the selected similar application in the terminal device in response to the application searching operation further comprises: in a case where the application searching operation is a preset selection searching operation, entering an application selection mode, and taking an application corresponding to a selected icon in the terminal device interface as the similar application in the application selection mode.

7. The application search method of claim 6, wherein, The type of the similar application comprises a third type of similar application determined in the application selection mode, and the step of outputting the selectable searching dimension of the similar application further comprises: for any one of the third type of similar application, after the third type of similar application is selected, the selectable searching dimension of the third type of similar application is displayed in a preset range around an icon corresponding to the third type of similar application, or a side menu bar of the terminal device.

8. The application search method of claim 1, wherein, The application search dimension comprises at least one of an application use association dimension, an application location dimension, an icon element dimension, an application layout dimension, an application use duration dimension, an application use frequency dimension, an application use time dimension, and an application installation time dimension.

9. The application search method of claim 1 or 8, wherein, The step of searching for the candidate application associated with the similar application from the installed applications of the terminal device based on the application search dimension of the similar application comprises: determining the similarity between each installed application in the terminal device and the similar application based on the application search dimension; screening the candidate application associated with the similar application from the installed applications based on the similarity.

10. The application search method of claim 9, wherein, The step of determining the similarity between each installed application in the terminal device and the similar application based on the application search dimension comprises: for any one of the installed applications, determining the comparison feature of the installed application and the search feature of the similar application based on the application search dimension; calculating the similarity between the installed application and the similar application according to the search feature and the comparison feature.

11. The application search method of claim 10, wherein, The step of determining the comparison feature of the installed application and the search feature of the similar application based on the application search dimension comprises: in the case that the application search dimension comprises the application use association dimension, the comparison feature comprises a first associated application of the installed application, and the search feature comprises a second associated application of the similar application, wherein the first associated application is an application running in parallel or switching in turn with the installed application, and the second associated application is an application running in parallel or switching in turn with the similar application; or, in the case that the application search dimension comprises the application installation time dimension, the comparison feature comprises the installation time of the installed application, and the search feature comprises the installation time of the similar application; or, in the case that the application search dimension comprises the application use time dimension, the comparison feature comprises an application used in parallel in the last use process of the installed application, and the search feature comprises an application used in parallel in the last use process of the similar application; or, in the case that the application search dimension comprises the application location dimension, the comparison feature comprises the relative position of the interface of the installed application, and the search feature comprises the relative position of the interface of the similar application; or, in the case that the application search dimension comprises the application layout dimension, the comparison feature comprises a graph of applications in the interface of the installed application, and the search feature comprises a graph of applications in the interface of the similar application.

12. An electronic device comprising: The memory, the processor, and the computer program stored in the memory and executable on the processor, wherein the computer program is executed by the processor to implement the application search method according to any one of claims 1 to 11.

13. A computer readable storage medium, wherein, The computer readable storage medium stores a computer program, and the computer program is executed by the processor to implement the application search method according to any one of claims 1 to 11.

14. A computer program product, wherein, The computer program product comprises a computer program which, when executed by a processor, implements the steps of the application search method according to any one of claims 1 to 11. The computer program product comprises a computer program which, when executed by a processor, implements the steps of the application search method according to any one of claims 1 to 11.

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