Mobile App State URL Translation for Web Crawler Indexing
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Solution Overview
Problem
Current search engines face difficulties in recognizing and interpreting data from mobile applications due to the lack of uniform resource locators (URLs) and the varied presentation of content in mobile apps, making it challenging to apply web crawling technologies effectively.
Innovation Solution
A computer system is designed to navigate and extract content from mobile applications by representing app states as URLs, using emulators or simulators to execute the apps, and a wrapper system that transforms these URLs into access mechanisms, allowing web crawlers to comprehend mobile apps as standard page-addressable websites, while also deduplicating content and managing access rates.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Ease of operation
If mobile applications are accessed without URL representation, then the native app structure can be maintained, but web crawlers cannot effectively index and search the content
Solution Approach 1:
The patent introduces an intermediary system that translates between mobile app internal states and web crawler-friendly URL representations. The navigation controller acts as a mediator that receives URL requests, maps them to app states, and facilitates content extraction without requiring direct modification of the native app structure.
Solution Approach 2:
The system segments the mobile app into addressable states that can be individually accessed and indexed. By representing app states as URLs and enabling navigation between them, the patent creates discrete, indexable units of content that web crawlers can process systematically.
2Loss of information
If content is extracted from mobile applications, then search indices can be generated, but the variety of app structures makes recognition and interpretation difficult
Solution Approach 1:
The patent transforms the representation of app states from native mobile formats to standardized web-friendly parameters. By converting app states into URL representations with consistent formatting and navigation paths, the system enables uniform processing of diverse app structures by web crawlers.
Solution Approach 2:
The URL-based navigation system provides a universal interface that works across different mobile application types and structures. The same URL parsing and navigation mechanisms can access content from various apps, making the system adaptable to diverse content structures without requiring app-specific processing logic.
3Productivity
If web crawling technology is applied to mobile applications, then content can be indexed, but the lack of URL addressing prevents direct application of web crawling advances
Solution Approach 1:
The patent creates a virtual copy of the mobile app's navigation structure using URL representations. This virtual model mirrors the app's state transitions and navigation patterns, allowing web crawling techniques to operate on a familiar URL-based structure rather than the native app architecture.
Solution Approach 2:
The system dynamically generates URL representations and navigation paths based on the actual app structure and user interactions. The navigation controller adapts to different app states and creates appropriate URL mappings, enabling flexible application of web crawling techniques to dynamic mobile interfaces.
Data Source
AI summary
A computer system includes a master controller that receives an HTTP request for a first URL. The URL indicates a first state of a first mobile application. A navigation controller navigates to the first state of the first mobile application within a device. A content scraper extracts content from the first state and identifies forward links to corresponding additional states of the first mobile application. The computer system includes an output formatter configured to package the content and the forward links into an HTTP response and transmit the HTTP response to a source of the first HTTP request. The HTTP response includes a forward URL for each additional state of the first mobile application reachable from the first state. For each additional state, the forward URL includes an indicator of the first mobile application and a path to reach the additional state within the first mobile application.