Dynamic Web Feed Generation via Structural Equivalency
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Solution Overview
Problem
Current systems lack flexibility in generating web feeds from any web source without a predefined feed or API, limiting the creation of web mashups and programmatic combinations of data sources.
Innovation Solution
A method and system that allow users to select and generate web feeds by identifying structurally similar elements from remote websites, using an equivalency engine to create a dynamic web feed, enabling users to define and distribute content without programming through a visual interface.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Adaptability or versatility
If a predefined feed or API is used for content syndication, then content distribution is reliable and structured, but flexibility to access any web source is limited
Solution Approach 1:
The patent introduces an intermediary system that acts as a mediator between web sources and content distributors. This intermediary automatically discovers web content structures, generates feeds and APIs dynamically, and manages the complexity of web source integration. The intermediary includes components for web crawling, structural analysis, automatic feed generation, and API creation, thereby resolving the contradiction by handling complexity internally while providing flexible access externally.
Solution Approach 2:
The system enables web sources to serve themselves by automatically generating feeds and APIs from their existing content structures. The patent implements self-service mechanisms where the system crawls web pages, analyzes their structure, identifies content patterns, and autonomously creates syndication feeds without manual intervention from content owners. This reduces the complexity burden on users while maintaining adaptability to various web sources.
2Ease of operation
If manual feed definition is required for each content source, then feed structure is precise and reliable, but ease of operation deteriorates
Solution Approach 1:
The patent applies preliminary action by performing automated web content analysis and structure discovery before feed generation. The system pre-crawls target web sources, analyzes their HTML structures, identifies content patterns, and prepares template-based feed definitions in advance. This preliminary structural analysis ensures that automatically generated feeds maintain reliability and precision comparable to manually defined feeds, while significantly improving ease of operation.
Solution Approach 2:
The system uses copying by replicating successful feed generation patterns from analyzed web sources. Once the system discovers a reliable content structure pattern from a web source, it creates template copies that can be applied to similar sources. This copying mechanism maintains structural reliability across multiple feeds while reducing operational complexity, as users don't need to manually define each feed from scratch.
3Measurement precision
If structural analysis of web content is performed to identify similar elements, then feed generation accuracy improves, but processing time increases
Solution Approach 1:
The patent implements preliminary action by performing structural analysis of web content in advance and caching the results. The system pre-analyzes web page structures, identifies element patterns, and stores these structural models for future use. When generating feeds, the system retrieves pre-analyzed structural models instead of performing complete analysis each time, thereby maintaining high element identification accuracy while significantly reducing processing time.
Solution Approach 2:
The system applies periodic action by updating web content structural analyses at scheduled intervals rather than continuously. The patent implements periodic crawling and re-analysis of target web sources, updating structural models only when changes are detected. This periodic approach maintains measurement precision for element identification while minimizing processing time by avoiding redundant analysis of unchanged content.
Data Source
AI summary
A system for dynamically defining a web feed includes a memory unit adapted to store web feed data and to generate a web feed of selected web content. The system includes an input processor to receive a user input defining one or more remote websites and to retrieve remote web content from the one or more remote websites. A user interface is provided to display a set of identified elements from the remote web content in a display area of a primary website and a selection processor receives a user selection identifying one or more selected elements of the remote web content. An equivalency engine calculates equivalency classes including subsets of the identified elements determined to be structurally similar to the selected elements. A web feed is generated and displayed to the user on the primary website that includes at least the selected elements and one or more of the subsets of the identified elements determined to be structurally similar to the selected elements.