Recursively Structured Table of Contents for Database Access
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Solution Overview
Problem
Traditional web-based applications for collaborative document review face performance issues due to bandwidth-intensive methods when expanding a large table of contents (TOC), leading to low-bandwidth network bottlenecks and slow review processes as the number of documents increases.
Innovation Solution
A computer-based system that uses a recursively configured database table to generate a selectively expandable TOC, where each content node is uniquely identified, allowing only the necessary content to be retrieved upon activation, reducing data transfer and improving scalability.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Reliability
If traditional bandwidth-intensive methods are used to expand the table of contents, then the entire TOC data can be retrieved and displayed, but network bandwidth consumption increases and performance deteriorates as TOC size increases
Solution Approach 1:
The patent segments the table of contents data into individual node records stored in a database table, where each record contains only the necessary information for that specific node. Instead of retrieving the entire TOC structure at once, the system retrieves individual node records as needed, dividing the large data set into manageable, on-demand segments that reduce network bandwidth consumption.
Solution Approach 2:
The patent pre-configures the database table with all TOC node information in a structured format containing unique identifiers and hierarchical relationships. This preliminary organization allows the system to quickly retrieve only the specific node data needed at any given moment, rather than fetching and filtering large amounts of data during the expansion operation.
2Ease of operation
If the entire HTML page is refreshed each time a TOC node is expanded, then the updated content can be displayed, but the review process slows down significantly
Solution Approach 1:
The patent extracts the specific node information from the database table based on the unique identifier of the selected TOC node. Instead of refreshing the entire HTML page, the system retrieves only the extracted node data and updates the specific portion of the interface that needs to change, eliminating the time-consuming full page refresh operation.
3Adaptability or versatility
If the number of documents being reviewed increases, then more content can be accessed, but low-bandwidth network bottlenecks occur and review speed decreases
Solution Approach 1:
The patent segments the large document set into individual content nodes, each represented by a database record with a unique identifier. This segmentation allows the system to handle and retrieve information from large document sets by accessing only the specific nodes needed for the current review task, maintaining review speed even as the total number of documents increases.
Solution Approach 2:
The patent implements partial action by retrieving only the specific node information required for the current TOC expansion, rather than fetching all document data. This selective retrieval approach allows the system to accommodate large document sets while maintaining network efficiency and review productivity by avoiding unnecessary data transfer.
Data Source
AI summary
A computer-based system for accessing content. The system includes a database in which the content is included in a plurality of content nodes. Each content node is uniquely identified by an identifier in a database table. The table is configured recursively to represent the content nodes. A browser uses one of the identifiers to format a table of contents (TOC) node referring to the corresponding content node. The browser inserts the TOC node into a TOC for accessing one or more of the content nodes. The TOC is recursively configurable in accordance with at least a portion of the table configuration.