Web-based information delivery method, system, and apparatus

摘要

A method and system based on an enhanced publish-subscribe information delivery model for delivering information from information publishers to information subscribers on an Intranet or the Internet is disclosed. The invented system includes a centralized subject catalog that contains a hierarchy of categories with built-in functionality of browsing, searching, and navigation. Information publishers list information subjects in the appropriate categories in the subject catalog and publish information subsequently in terms of issues for the subject listings. Information subscribers find and make subscriptions to desired subject listings in the catalog. Then, the issues published by the publishers for the subject listings are delivered to and only to the corresponding subscribers in a timely manner. While emphasizing timeliness, the invented method and system permits great flexibility in information publication, subscription, and delivery.

主权项

1. In a computer network comprising a system implemented on Intranet or Internet via one or more types of user interfaces such as web-based interfaces and web services, a method for delivering information published by information publishers to information subscribers, comprising the steps of:
receiving from a plurality of information publishers and subscribers registration data and storing the registration data in a database coupled to the system; providing an online subject catalog to categorize and store information subjects, the online subject catalog comprising a hierarchy of predefined categories; receiving from information publishers one or more subject listings and storing the received subject listings in the online subject catalog, each of the subject listings being available for publishing one or more issues; receiving from information subscribers subscriptions to the desired information subjects listed in the online subject catalog; receiving issues submitted by information publishers, each of the issues being published for an information subject listed by the respective publisher who submits the issue; delivering each of the issues to each information subscriber who has made subscription to the information subject that the issue is published for, wherein said each information subscriber continues to receive newly published issues as long as said each information subscriber's subscription is valid, and executing one or more commands from the publisher of a subject listing to specify whether past issues for the subject listing are kept for future subscribers of the subject listing and how long the past issues are kept if past issues for the subject listing are kept.