Note: Descriptions are shown in the official language in which they were submitted.
CA .02907123 2015-09-29
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CONTENT CUSTOMIZATION
CROSS-REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATIONS
[0001] This application claims the benefit under 35 U.S.C.
119(e) of U.S.
Provisional Application No. 62/061,576, entitled "Content Customization",
filed on
October 8, 2014, the entire contents of which is incorporated herein by
reference.
BACKGROUND
[0002] The present disclosure relates generally to content
customization
based on user interaction.
[0003] Use of web-based applications, such as websites, mobile
apps, and
various cloud-based services has soared in recent years. Using these
applications,
users have become accustomed to communicating with others, performing
research,
and purchasing merchandise online. However, user experience on one or another
application tends to be the same or substantially similar, even if the users
have
different preferences and interests. Some solutions have attempted to
customize the
user experience by allowing users to set preferences, such as layout
preferences,
content preferences (e.g., specifying certain topics or products of interest),
etc.
However, these preferences can become outdated, as they generally require the
user to maintain and/or update the preferences.
[0004] Other solutions attempt to dynamically adapt the users'
experience
based on previous requests, such as previous products and/or services
purchased
by the users or by other users. For example, for a given product that a user
may be
interested in, an application may determine other related products that other
users
purchased and suggest them to that user. However, these suggestions do not
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adequately account for each user's specific interests or intentions, but are
instead
based on what other users have done previously.
[0005] In addition, while some online marketplaces organize products
using
categories, these marketplaces provide the same list of products to each user
when
those users browse the categories. As a result, all users have the same
shopping
experience regardless of contextual information about the user and/or the
user's
- shopping context. This can be frustrating to users as they are left to
manually sift
through and/or sort sometimes hundreds or thousands of irrelevant products
using
limited navigational options before finding something of interest.
Consequently,
many users leave the sites without making any purchases and after looking at
only a
page or two of results, which ultimately results in the loss of potential
sales
opportunities.
SUMMARY
[0006] According to one innovative aspect of the subject matter
described in
this disclosure, a computer-implemented method includes associating, using one
or
more computing devices, interaction data describing interactions by the user
with
one or more pages presented on a user device of a user with a user profile of
the
user in a non-transitory data store, determining, using the one or more
computing
devices, one or more target pages with which the user has interacted from the
interaction data, determining, using the one or more computing devices, that
one or
more existing tags are pre-associated with each of the one or more target
pages in
the non-transitory data store, for each of the one or more target pages pre-
associated with the one or more existing tags, retrieving, using the one or
more
computing devices, the one or more existing tags from the non-transitory data
store,
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for each of the one or more target pages not pre-associated with the one or
more
existing tags, dynamically generating, using the one or more computing
devices, one
or more new tags based on attributes of that target page, building, using the
one or
more computing devices, a tag expression for the user based on the interaction
data
by coupling together one or more of the one or more existing tags and the one
or
more new tags using Boolean logic operators in a logical expression,
generating,
using the one or more computing devices, a content page including one or more
customized results customized to the user based on the tag expression by
incorporating page items matching the tags and Boolean logic operators in the
tag
expression into the content page, and sending, using the one or more computing
devices, the content page including the one or more customized results to a
user
device of the user for presentation to the user.
[0007] In general, according to another innovative aspect of
the subject matter
described in this disclosure may be embodied in a computer-implemented method
that includes receiving, using one or more computing devices, interaction data
describing interactions by a user with one or more pages presented on a user
device
of the user, building, using the one or more computing devices, a tag
expression for
the user based on the interaction data, the tag expression including a logical
expression of tags and Boolean logic operators, the tags being associated with
page
items, and generating, using the one or more computing devices, a customized
result including a product customized to the user based on the tag expression.
[0008] These and other implementations may each optionally
include one or
more of the following features and/or operations. For instance, that
generating the
one or more customized results including a product further includes
determining,
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using the one or more computing devices, a site mode based on the tag
expression,
the site mode affecting a user interface displaying the content page, that the
tag
expression includes one or more capability tags reflecting capabilities of the
user
device associated with the user, receiving, using the one or more computing
devices,
a request to send a content page to the user device associated with the user,
sending, using the one or more computing devices, the content page including
the
customized result to the user device for presentation to the user,
associating, using
the one or more computing devices, the interaction data with a user profile of
the
user in a non-transitory data store, determining, using the one or more
computing
devices, an interaction by the user with a target page included in the one or
more
pages, the interaction being described by the interaction data, determining,
using the
one or more computing devices, one or more tags associated with the target
page,
that determining the one or more tags associated with the target page includes
determining, using the one or more computing devices, that a predetermined tag
exists and is pre-associated with the target page in the non-transitory data
store, and
retrieving, using the one or more computing devices, the predetermined tag for
the
target page from the non-transitory data store, that building the tag
expression for
the user based on the interaction data includes incorporating the
predetermined tag
into the tag expression, that building the tag expression for the user based
on the
interaction data includes coupling, using the one or more computing devices, a
plurality of tags together using Boolean logic operators, that coupling the
plurality of
tags together using Boolean logic operators includes coupling, using the one
or more
computing devices, compatible tags together using an AND type Boolean
operator,
and coupling, using the one or more computing devices, incompatible tags
together
using an OR type Boolean operator, that generating the customized result
including
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a product customized to the user based on the tag expression includes
incorporating
page items matching the tags and Boolean logic operators in the tag expression
into
the customized result, that the page items include a site mode affecting the
user
interface displaying the content page, that the tag expression includes a
capability
tag reflecting a capability of the user device associated with the user, and
the site
mode is selected based on the capability tag.
[0009] In general, according to yet another innovative aspect
of the subject
matter described in this disclosure may be embodied in a system that includes
one
or more memories, one or more processors, an interaction handler storable in
the
one or more memories and executable by the one or more processors to receive
interaction data describing interactions by a user with one or more pages
presented
on a user device of the user, a tag expression engine storable in the one or
more
memories and executable by the one or more processors to build a tag
expression
for the user based on the interaction data, the tag expression including a
logical
expression of tags and Boolean logic operators, the tags being associated with
page
items, and a resolver storable in the one or more memories and executable by
the
one or more processors to generate a customized result including a product
customized to the user based on the tag expression, the interaction handler,
the tag
expression engine, and the resolver being coupled for communication with one
another.
[0010] These and other implementations may each optionally
include one or
more of the following features and/or operations. For instance, an e-commerce
engine storable in the one or more memories executable by the one or more
processors to receive a request to send a content page to the user device
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associated with the user and send the content page including the customized
result
to the user device for presentation to the user, that the computing system
further
comprises a non-transitory data store, that the interaction handler is further
configured to associate the interaction data with a user profile of the user
in the non-
transitory data store and determine an interaction by the user with a target
page
included in the one or more pages, the interaction being described by the
interaction
data, that the computing system further comprises a tagging module storable in
the
one or more memories and executable by the one or more processors to determine
one or more tags associated with the target page, that the tag expression
engine is
further executable to determine one or more tags associated with the target
page by
determining that a predetermined tag exists and is pre-associated with the
target
page in the non-transitory data store, and retrieving the predetermined tag
for the
target page from the non-transitory data store, that the tag expression engine
is
further executable to build the tag expression for the user based on the
interaction
data by incorporating the predetermined tag into the tag expression, that the
tag
expression engine is further executable to build the tag expression for the
user
based on the interaction data by coupling a plurality of tags together using
Boolean
logic operators, coupling the plurality of tags together using Boolean logic
includes
coupling compatible tags together using an AND type Boolean operator, and
coupling incompatible tags together using an OR type Boolean operator, that
the
resolver is further executable to generate the customized result including a
product
customized to the user based on the tag expression by incorporating page items
matching the tags and Boolean logic operators in the tag expression into the
customized result, that the page items include a site mode affecting the user
interface displaying the content page, and that the tag expression includes a
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capability tag reflecting a capability of the user device associated with the
user, and
the site mode is selected based on the capability tag.
[0011] Other innovative aspects include corresponding systems,
methods,
apparatus, and computer program products.
[0012] The disclosure is particularly advantageous over other
existing
solutions in a number of respects. By way of example and not limitation, the
technology described herein can track a user's interactions with various
online
content, estimate that user's intentions and interests, and customize content
pages
accordingly.
[0013] The features and advantages described herein are not
all-inclusive and
many additional features and advantages will be apparent to one or ordinary
skill in
the art in view of the figures and description. Moreover it should be noted
that the
language used in the specification has been selected for readability and
instructional
purposes and not to limit the scope of the inventive subject matter.
BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS
[0014] The disclosure is illustrated by way of example, and
not by way of
limitation in the figures of the accompanying drawings in which like reference
numerals are used to refer to similar elements.
[0015] Figure 1 is a block diagram illustrating an example
system for
customizing content based on tag expressions.
[0016] Figure 2A is a block diagram illustrating an example
computing system.
[0017] Figure 2B is a block diagram illustrating an example
implementation of
a content customization engine.
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.
[0018] Figure 3 is a flowchart of an example method for
generating results
including products based on one or more tag expressions.
[0019] Figures 4A and 4B are flowcharts of an example method
for
determining tags and dynamically building a tag expression.
[0020] Figure 5 is a flowchart of an example method for
resolving tag
expression(s) and generating and providing results.
[0021] Figure 6 is a flowchart of an example method for
resolving a tag
expression.
[0022] Figure 7 is an example graphical user interface showing
a category as
determined by the resolver.
[0023] Figure 8A and 8B are example graphical user interfaces
including a
template and content areas as determined using a tag expression.
[0024] Figure 9 is an example data flow diagram illustrating
interaction data
aggregation and content customization.
DETAILED DESCRIPTION
[0025] Figure 1 is a block diagram of an example system 100
for customizing
content (e.g., a content page including results) based on tag expressions. The
illustrated system 100 may include user devices 112a...112n (also referred to
herein
individually and/or collectively as 112), a third-party server 130, and an
enterprise
server 120, which are electronically communicatively coupled via a network 102
for
interaction with one another, although other system configurations are
possible
including other devices, systems, and networks. For example, the system 100
could
include any number of user devices 112, enterprise servers 120, third-party
servers
130, and other systems and devices. The user devices 112a...112n, and their
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components, may be coupled to the network 102 via signal lines 104a...104n,
respectively. The enterprise server 120 and its components may be coupled to
the
network 102 via signal line 110. The third-party server 130 and its components
may
be coupled to the network 102 via signal line 108. The users 106a...106n may
access one or more of the devices of the system 100. For example, as depicted,
user 106a may access the user device 112 in an implementation, and user 106n
may access either/both user devices 112a and 112n (e.g., a smartphone and a
laptop).
[0026] The network 102 may include any number of networks and/or network
types. For example, the network 102 may include, but is not limited to, one or
more
local area networks (LANs), wide area networks (WANs) (e.g., the Internet),
virtual
private networks (VPNs), mobile (cellular) networks, wireless wide area
network
(WWANs), WiMAX0 networks, Bluetooth0 communication networks, various
combinations thereof, etc.
[0027] A user device 112 includes one or more computing devices having
data processing and communication capabilities. In some implementations, a
user
device 112 may include a processor (e.g., virtual, physical, etc.), a memory,
a power
source, a communication unit, and/or other software and/or hardware
components,
such as a display, graphics processor, wireless transceivers, keyboard,
camera,
sensors, firmware, operating systems, drivers, various physical connection
interfaces
(e.g., USB, HDMI, etc.). The user device 112 may couple to and communicate
with
other user devices 112, the enterprise server 120, the third-party server 130,
and the
other entities of the system 100 via the network 102 using a wireless and/or
wired
connection.
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[0028] Examples of user devices 112 may include, but are not limited to,
mobile phones, tablets, laptops, desktops, netbooks, server appliances,
servers,
virtual machines, TVs, set-top boxes, media streaming devices, portable media
players, navigation devices, personal digital assistants, etc. The system 100
may
include any number of user devices 112. In addition, the user devices 112 may
be
the same or different types of computing devices.
[0029] The content customization engine 112 may be hosted by a computing
system (e.g., the enterprise server 120) on the network 102, may be
distributed
across one or more computing systems (e.g., the enterprise server 120 and a
user
device 112, user devices 112), etc. The instances of the content customization
engine 122a...122n may be referred to herein independently and/or collectively
as
122. The user devices 112 may store and/or operate other software such as an
internet browser, operating system, other applications, etc., that are
configured to
interact with the enterprise server 120, the third-party server 130, and/or
other
elements of the system 100 via the network 102.
[0030] In an example, instances including various aspects of the content
customization engine 112 may be stored and operable on the user devices
112a...112n and the enterprise server 120. In a further example, the user
devices
112a and 112n may include client-side instances of the content customization
engine
122a and 122b, respectively, and the enterprise server 120 may include a
server-
side instance of the content customization engine 122n. In this example, the
client-
side instances may embody a client application operable generate and display
user
interfaces displaying a content page generated by the e-commerce engine 124,
the
third-party server 130, and/or the content customization engine 122, receive
and
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interpret user input, send requests to and receive responses from the other
entities
of the network 102, facilitate user purchases of products, etc.
[0031] In an example, the client-side instances may be code interpretable
by
another user application, such as a web browser or a mobile application stored
and
operable by the user device 112. In an example, the content customization
engine
122 may reside on one or more servers, such as the enterprise server 120 and
the
user may interact with the content customization engine 122 via an application
operable by the user device 112 of the user, such as a web browser or mobile
application. Other variations are also possible and contemplated.
[0032] The enterprise server 120 may include one or more computing
devices
having data processing, storing, and communication capabilities. For example,
the
enterprise server 120 may include one or more hardware servers, server arrays,
storage devices and/or systems, etc. In some implementations, the enterprise
server 120 may include one or more virtual servers, which operate in a host
server
environment and access the physical hardware of the host server including, for
example, a processor, memory, storage, network interfaces, etc., via an
abstraction
layer (e.g., a virtual machine manager). In some implementations, the
enterprise
server 120 may include a web server (not shown), a REST (representational
state
transfer) service, or other server type, having functionality for satisfying
content
requests and receiving content from one or more computing devices that are
coupled
to the network 102 (e.g., the user device 112, etc.).
[0033] In the depicted implementation, the enterprise server 120 may
include
a content customization engine 122 and an e-commerce engine 124. The e-
commerce engine 124 is operable to provide an e-commerce service/marketplace
for
various products and may store and provide access to product information
(e.g.,
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images, descriptions, categories, specifications, reviews, ratings, retailers,
etc.) in a
data store, such as the data store 208 (e.g., see Figure 2A). For example, the
e-
commerce engine 124 may serve a content (e.g., webpages, structured data,
etc.)
page customized at least in part by the content customization engine 122, and
requested by the user devices 112, as discussed in further detail elsewhere
herein.
[0034] The e-commerce engine 124 may place and provide for
order
fulfillment for the products (e.g., print products, office products, consumer
products,
online services, home or business services, etc.) including order delivery
status and
item returns. In an example, a user 106 may place orders for and/or pay for
products, such as holiday cards, printer materials, other products, consumer
or
business services, etc., ordered on an e-commerce marketplace using a user
device
112.
[0035] In some implementations, the e-commerce engine 124 may
include
computer logic executable by the processor(s) 204 (e.g., see Figure 2A) to
receive,
manage, analyze, store, and provide access to inventory, sales, rewards, and
product data and for analyzing the data managed by it to generate analytics
and
reports for review by management to assess the performance and effectiveness
of
the enterprise server 120.
[0036] In some implementations, the e-commerce engine 124
and/or content
customization engine 122 may require users 106 to be registered to access the
services/functionality provided by them. For example, to access various
services/functionality provided by the e-commerce engine 124 and/or content
customization engine 122, they may require a user 106 to authenticate his/her
identity (e.g., by confirming a valid electronic address). In some instances,
the
entities 124 and/or 122 may interact with a federated identity server (not
shown) to
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register/authenticate users 106 and/or user devices 112. Once registered,
these
entities 124 and/or 122 may require a user 106 seeking access to authenticate
by
inputting credentials in an associated user interface, and responsive thereto,
may set
and/or provide authentication tokens, cookies, and/or other identification
data for
authenticating the identity of the user.
[0037] The content customization engine 122 includes computer logic
executable by the processor(s) 204 (e.g., see Figure 2A) to customize content
(e.g.,
a content page including customized results, which are customized to the user
based
on a tag expression) based on user interactions with interfaces presented by a
user
application. In particular, the content customization engine 122 may generate
and
resolve tag expressions to determine products relevant to the user. In some
implementations, the content customization engine 122 is executable to
determine
tags, build expressions using the tags, query for products using the
expressions,
filter the products, adapt the presentation of the products to the
capabilities of user
applications, provide the products to for presentation to the user 106, etc.
[0038] Figure 9 is an example data flow diagram 900 illustrating
interaction
data aggregation and content customization. The diagram 900 includes several
different example data sources 902a...n from which interaction data (e.g.,
which
describes an interaction by the user with a page) can be aggregated, including
a
mobile application 902a, a search engine 902b, a first-party site 902c, and a
third-
party application 902n. The sources 902a...n each provide interaction data 904
(e.g., search engine search terms used to identify target URL, target URL,
series of
URLs user selected to arrive at target page, referrer URL, etc.) to a content
customization module 122. The content customization module 122 processes the
received interaction data, generates and resolves tag expressions, and
determines
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customized content based on the resolution of the tag expressions, and
provides the
customized content for display to the user 106 on the user's user device 112.
Thus,
the system 100 is capable of determining the routing of a user and customizing
the
content based on that routing. Moreover, the above process is iterative and
can
further learn the user routing and preferences, and further customize the
content
(content may include results and may be referred to herein simply as results)
to the
user. It is also capable of being suspended and resumed, regardless of whether
the
user is using the same or a different user device 112.
[0039] Additional acts, structure, and/or functionality of the content
customization engine 122 are described below with reference to at least
Figures 2A-
8.
[0040] The mobile application 902a may include an application on a user
device 112, which tracks user behavior. For example, the mobile application
may be
a merchant application via which the user interacts with an enterprise server
120.
The search engine 902b may include, for example, an internet search engine
(e.g.,
Google, Bing, Yahoo, etc.) into which a user enters a search query. For
example,
the content customization module 122 may receive a search query from a search
engine 902b and use the search query to create tags, tag expressions, and
customize content as described herein. The first-party site 902c may include,
for
example, a website associated with an enterprise server 120, which tracks the
behavior of the user at each step of the user's interaction with the website.
For
example, the first-party site 902c may include a merchant website which tracks
the
path of the user as the user searches on the website, views products, views
categories, etc. The third-party application 902n may include, for example,
interaction data gathered by a third-party application regarding user
behavior. For
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example, a third-party application 902n may include a tracking application on
a
computer, browser, a user device, etc., which tracks the actions of a user.
[0041] Returning to Figure 1, the third-party server 130 may include one
or
more computing devices having data processing, storing, and communication
capabilities. For example, the third-party server 130 may include one or more
hardware servers, server arrays, storage devices and/or systems, etc. In some
implementations, the third-party server 130 may include one or more virtual
servers,
which operate in a host server environment and access the physical hardware of
the
host server including, for example, a processor, memory, storage, network
interfaces, etc., via an abstraction layer (e.g., a virtual machine manager).
In some
implementations, the third-party server 130 may include a web server (not
shown), a
REST (representational state transfer) service, or other server type, having
structure
and/or functionality for satisfying content requests (e.g., a request to send
a content
page to a user device associated with a user) and receiving content (e.g., a
content
page including results, products, etc.) from one or more computing devices
that are
coupled to the network 102 (e.g., the user device 112, etc.).
[0042] The third-party server 130 may store and/or execute software,
logic,
and/or routines to provide various services such as video, music and
multimedia
hosting, distribution, and sharing; email; social networking; blogging; micro-
blogging;
photo management; cloud-based data storage and sharing; federated identity
authentication service, a combination of one or more of the foregoing
service's; or
any other service where users store, retrieve, collaborate, and/or share
information,
purchase products, transact business, etc.
[0043] It should be understood that the system 100 illustrated in Figure
1 is
representative of an example system, and that a variety of different system
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environments and configurations are contemplated and are within the scope of
the
present disclosure. For instance, various functionality may be moved from a
server
to a client, or vice versa, data may be consolidated into a single data store
or further
segmented into additional data stores, and some implementations may include
additional or fewer computing devices, services, and/or networks, and may
implement various functionality client or server-side. Further, various
entities of the
system may be integrated into a single computing device or system or
additional
computing devices or systems, etc.
[0044] Figure 2A is a block diagram of an example computing system 200.
The example computing system 200 may represent the computer architecture of a
user device 112, an enterprise server 120, and/or a third-party server 130,
depending on the implementation. As depicted, the computing system 200 may
include a processor(s) 204, a memory(ies) 206, a communication unit 202, a
data
store 208, input device(s) 214, and a display 216, which may be
communicatively
coupled by a communication bus 212. The computing system 200 depicted in
Figure
2A is provided by way of example and it should be understood that it may take
other
forms and include additional or fewer components without departing from the
scope
of the present disclosure. For instance, various components of the computing
devices may be coupled for communication using a variety of communication
protocols and/or technologies including, for instance, communication buses,
software
communication mechanisms, computer networks, etc. While not shown, the
computing system 200 may include various operating systems, sensors,
additional
processors, and other physical configurations.
[0045] The processor(s) 204 may execute software instructions by
performing
various input, logical, and/or mathematical operations. The processor(s) 204
may
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have various computing architectures to process data signals including, for
example,
a complex instruction set computer (CISC) architecture, a reduced instruction
set
computer (RISC) architecture, and/or an architecture implementing a
combination of
instruction sets. The processor(s) 204 may be physical and/or virtual, and may
include a single core or plurality of processing units and/or cores. In some
implementations, the processor(s) 204 may be capable of generating and
providing
electronic display signals to a display device, supporting the display of
images,
capturing and transmitting images, performing complex tasks including various
types
of feature extraction and sampling, etc. In some implementations, the
processor(s)
204 may be coupled to the memory(ies) 206 via the bus 212 to access data and
instructions therefrom and store data therein. The bus 212 may couple the
processor(s) 204 to the other components of the enterprise server 120
including, for
example, the memory(ies) 206, the communication unit 202, the input device(s)
214,
the display 216, and the data store 208.
[0046] The memory(ies) 206 may store and provide access to data to the
other components of the computing system 200. The memory(ies) 206 may be
included in a single computing device or a plurality of computing devices. In
some
implementations, the memory(ies) 206 may store instructions and/or data that
may
be executed by the processor(s) 204. For example, as depicted in Figure 2A,
the
memory(ies) 206 may store the content customization engine 122, the e-commerce
engine 124, and their respective components, depending on the configuration.
The
memory(ies) 206 is also capable of storing other instructions and data,
including, for
example, an operating system, hardware drivers, other software applications,
databases, etc. The memory(ies) 206 may be coupled to the bus 212 for
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communication with the processor(s) 204 and the other components of computing
system 200.
[0047] The memory(ies) 206 include a non-transitory computer-usable
(e.g.,
readable, writeable, etc.) medium, which can be any non-transitory apparatus
or
device that can contain, store, communicate, propagate or transport
instructions,
data, computer programs, software, code, routines, etc., for processing by or
in
connection with the processor(s) 204. In some implementations, the memory(ies)
206 may include one or more of volatile memory and non-volatile memory. For
example, the memory(ies) 206 may include, but is not limited to, one or more
of a
dynamic random access memory (DRAM) device, a static random access memory
(SRAM) device, a discrete memory device (e.g., a PROM, FPROM, ROM), a hard
disk drive, an optical disk drive (CD, DVD, Blue-rayTM, etc.). It should be
understood
that the memory(ies) 206 may be a single device or may include multiple types
of
devices and configurations.
[0048] The bus 212 can include a communication bus for transferring data
between components of a computing device or between computing devices, a
network bus system including the network 102 or portions thereof, a processor
mesh, a combination thereof, etc. In some implementations, the content
customization engine 122, the e-commerce engine 124, and various other
components operating on the enterprise server 120 (operating systems, device
drivers, etc.) may cooperate and communicate via a communication mechanism
included in or implemented in association with the bus 212. The software
communication mechanism can include and/or facilitate, for example, inter-
process
communication, local function or procedure calls, remote procedure calls, an
object
broker (e.g., CORBA), direct socket communication (e.g., TCP/IP sockets) among
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software modules, UDP broadcasts and receipts, HTTP connections, etc. Further,
any or all of the communication could be secure (e.g., SSH, HTTPS, etc.).
[0049] The communication unit 202 may include one or more interface
devices (I/F) for wired and wireless connectivity with the network 102 and the
other
components of the system 100, for example, the user device 112, the enterprise
server 120, the third-party server 130, etc. For instance, the communication
unit 202
may include, but is not limited to, CAT-type interfaces; wireless transceivers
for
sending and receiving signals using WiFiTM; Bluetooth , IrDATM, Z-WaveTM,
ZigBee , cellular communications, etc.; USB interfaces; various combinations
thereof; etc. The communication unit 202 may include radio transceivers (e.g.,
5G+,
4G, 3G, 2G, etc.) for communication with the network 102, and radio
transceivers for
WiFiTM and close-proximity/personal area (e.g., Bluetooth , NFC, etc.)
connectivity,
geo-location transceivers (e.g., GPS) for receiving and providing location
information
for the corresponding device, and the like. The communication unit 202 may be
coupled to the other components of the computing system 200 via the bus 212.
The
communication unit 202 may be coupled to the network 102 as illustrated by the
signal line 210. In some implementations, the communication unit 202 can link
the
processor(s) 204 to the network 102, which may in turn be coupled to other
processing systems. The communication unit 202 can provide other connections
to
the network 102 and to other entities of the system 100 using various standard
communication protocols, including, for example, those discussed elsewhere
herein.
[0050] The data store 208 is an information source for storing and
providing
access to data. The data stored by the data store 208 may be organized and
queried using various criteria including any type of data stored by them, such
as a
user/customer identifier, rewards account number, product identifier, product
name,
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product category, tags, locations, merchant, user device, electronic address,
where
products were purchased from, etc. The data store 208 may include data tables,
databases, or other organized collections of data. Examples of the types of
data
stored by the data store 208 may include, but are not limited to, user profile
data
220, category data 222, product data 224, tag expression data 226, tag data
228, tag
learning data 230, SKU mapping data 232, and/or template data 234, as
discussed
elsewhere herein.
[0051] The data store 208 may be included in the computing system 200 or
in
another computing system and/or storage system distinct from but coupled to or
accessible by the computing system 200. The data store 208 can include one or
more non-transitory computer-readable mediums for storing the data. In some
implementations, the data store 208 may be incorporated with the memory(ies)
206
or may be distinct therefrom. In some implementations, the data store 208 may
store data associated with a database management system (DBMS) operable on the
computing system 200. For example, the DBMS could include a structured query
language (SQL) DBMS, a NoSQL DMBS, various combinations thereof, etc. In
some instances, the DBMS may store data in multi-dimensional tables comprised
of
rows and columns, and manipulate, i.e., insert, query, update and/or delete,
rows of
data using programmatic operations.
[0052] The user profile data 220 describes the users of the system 100.
The
user profile data 220 includes the user accounts of the users and stores
attributes
describing the users. Non-limiting examples of user attributes include an e-
mail
address, IP address, demographics data, user id, rewards account number,
product
identifier, etc. In some implementations, the user profile data 220 includes
information learned from user behavior (e.g., interaction data) through
various
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computer-learning methods, as discussed elsewhere herein. In some
implementations, the user profile data 220 includes information provided by a
user,
such as a username, password, preference data, payment information, etc.
[0053] The user profile data 220 may include interaction data tracking
current
and past interactions with the enterprise server 120 and, in some
implementations,
other servers (e.g., a third-party server 130). The interaction data includes
history
data, which is an aggregation of past behavior of the user. Non-limiting
examples of
past user behavior include webpages the user 106 has visited, items (e.g.,
pages,
elements on a page, etc.) the user 106 has interacted with (e.g., typed,
clicked,
hovered over, etc.), Internet searches the user 106 has made, etc.
[0054] The category data 222 includes a set of product categories. Each
category may include a plurality of products. The products included in the
categories
may be linked with the products in the product data 224. Each category may be
characterized using one or more tags. The tags characterizing the categories
may
be linked with the tags in the tag data 228.
[0055] The product data 224 includes a plurality of product records
respectively describing products available via the e-commerce engine 124.
Users
may interact with customized interfaces presented by the system 100 to browse
and/or purchase products. Each product record may describe the various aspects
of
the products. Each record may include one or more product tags characterizing
the
product. The product tags may be linked with the tags in the tag data 228.
Each
record may also include unique product identifiers, names, descriptions,
manufacturer info, specifications, photos, videos, reviews, ratings, etc. for
products.
[0056] The tag expression data 226 includes tag expressions generated by
the content customization engine 122. In some implementations, each tag
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expression is assigned to a particular user 106, such as the visiting user.
The tag
expression may additionally and/or alternatively be associated with a
particular
category, calendar, product, page (e.g., webpage, interface, etc.), for
example. In
some implementations, the tag expression data 226 is linked to user profile
data 220
to associate the tag expressions with corresponding users.
[0057] A tag expression is a logical expression combining tags with
Boolean
logic operators. Example Boolean logic operators include, but are not limited
to,
AND ("&&"), OR ("II"), NOT ("!"), parentheses, etc. In some implementations,
the tag
expression (e.g., the configuration and ordering of the tags, operators, etc.)
is
dynamically built for and/or adapted to a particular user, object, content
item, etc.
For example, the example tag expression may be generated dynamically by the
tag
expression engine 258 (e.g., see Figures 2A and 2B). In an example, a tag
expression may be: (('dress' && 'wedding') && 'white' 11 ('football' &&
'university')) &&
rFlashplayer'. The example tag expression may result from a user being
interested
in both weddings and sports (not necessarily together), but whose user device
112
lacks Flashplayer capability.
[0058] The tag data 228 includes a list of tags which can be associated
with
page items, such as but not limited to categories, products, product
attributes (e.g.,
specifications, images, reviews, related products, etc.), page components
(e.g., a
menu, a tool bar, other content regions, etc.), applications, page modes,
users 106,
etc. Tags may be (user) defined by a stakeholder, such as an administrator or
developer, may be dynamically determined by analyzing present and historical
data,
may be learned over time from user 106 interaction, product descriptions,
content
items, etc. In a further example, when an administrator adds a page, or code
for
creating a page, to the e-commerce engine 124, the page or code, or an
associated
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,
data source, such as the data store 208, may include certain predefined tag(s)
and/or certain predefined tag expression(s) configured to pull products
matching
certain category tag(s), or products matching certain product tag(s), so that
when the
page is loaded/code is executed, the corresponding products will be determined
by
the resolver(s) 260 and provided in an interface by the e-commerce engine 124
and/or the application being used by the user on his/her user device 112.
[0059]
A tag may include a word or symbol characterizing the item, such page
and/or page element (e.g., link, container, product, menu item, etc.), system,
season,
date, merchandiser, location, etc., to which it is associated. In an example,
tags may
include key value pairs. The key may correspond to a classification and the
value
may define the value for that classification. Non-limiting examples are as
follows:
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Key Value
Site: Premium, standard, etc.
Year: 2014, 2013, 2012, etc.
Category: Product category names, such
as Cards,
Merry Christmas, Holiday, etc.
Custom: User/merchandiser-specific,
etc., sale-
related, etc.
System: Device info, Application
info, 3D, 2D,
system requirements, etc.
Country: Mexico, Canada, US, etc.
Province/State: British Columbia, Ontario,
Texas, etc.
Special day: Company-specific, a
designated holiday,
etc.
Fulfillment: A certain vendor ID,
requirements, SKU
mapping ID, etc.
[0060] In some implementations, the tags in the tag data 228
include a list of
synonyms which can be used by the content customization engine 122 to
determine
a tag based on a keyword or piece of data about a webpage, etc., as discussed
elsewhere herein. In some implementations, the tag data 228 maps the
relationships between tags. For instance, the tag data 228 maps the ontology
of the
tags reflecting how the tags are related. Non-limiting examples include the
relationships between categories and subcategories of tags.
[0061] Tag learning data 230 reflects tags being learned by the
content
customization engine 122 based on user interactions and the page content, such
as
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but not limited to product categories, products, advertisements, etc. In some
implementations, the content customization engine 122 may learn tags based on
a
comparison between keywords extracted from interaction data and keywords
associated with pages rendered for display based on content determined by the
content customization engine 122.
[0062] More particularly, in some implementations, the tag learning data
may
include an association between a tag from the tag data 228 and a keyword,
which
has been learned by the system due to previous interactions by users 106. The
keyword may reflect a value for that tag. For example, if a user 106 visited a
page
with the keyword "white dress" and then visited a page about weddings, the
tagging
module 260 (see Figure 2B) may learn that dresses, or more particularly, white
dresses are a sub-category of weddings and include that sub-categorization as
a
value for a category tag in a tag expression to retrieve more pertinent
content for the
user and/or store that association in the tag learning data 230 for further
learning.
The tag learning data 228 may include confidence scores for the tag values
being
learned for the various tag categories, and once a sufficient confidence score
threshold has been met, the value may be associated with the tag in the tag
data
228.
[0063] SKU mapping data 232 includes information regarding the stock
keeping unit ("SKU") of a product. The SKU includes attributes for tracking
the
identity of a product. As different vendors may have different SKUs for the
same
product, the SKU mapping data associates the different SKUs so the e-commerce
engine 124 can place an order with the appropriate vendor via the vendor's
server
for the correct product. Stated another way, SKUs describing the same product
may
vary between different sources, so the SKU mapping data 232 stores the
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associations between the different SKUs so that the product can easily be
recognized across different servers, for example. In an example, the SKU
mapping
data 232 may map the SKUs of a product for a merchant and for a supplier so
they
can be easily cross-referenced by the merchant and/or the supplier. In some
implementations, the SKU mapping data 232 may be linked with the product data
224. For example, a particular product may have a set of information about it
stored
in a table, including keywords, tags, and SKUs for the product according to
different
sources.
[0064] Template data 234 includes templates associated with different
contents. In some implementations, template data 234 may include different
levels
of formatting for certain products, where specific format to be used to
display the
products is determined by the site mode selector 262. For example, the site
mode
selector 262 may determine that a particular mode should be presented to the
user
106 based on a mode tag included in a tag expression, so the site mode
selector
262 retrieves a template corresponding to the particular mode specified by the
mode
tag, populates the template with certain content retrieved based on the tag
expression, and presents the personalized content/page to the user 106.
[0065] In an example, a 3-D depiction of a product and a 2-D depiction of
a
product may be stored in the data store 208. If the user's application is
capable of
rendering the 3-D depiction of the product satisfactorily to the user, the
site mode
selector 262 will select the 3-D template and populate it with the 3-D
depiction of the
product, which the user's application will then render to the user. However,
if the
user's application is not capable of satisfactorily rendering the 3-D
depiction of the
product, the site mode selector 262 will select the 2-D template and populate
it with
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the 2-D depiction of the product so the user's application does not bog down,
freeze,
crash, or otherwise incorrectly display the product.
[0066] The input device(s) 214 may include any device for inputting
information into the computing system 200. In some implementations, the input
device(s) 214 may include one or more peripheral devices. For example, the
input
device(s) 214 may include a keyboard (e.g., a QWERTY keyboard), a pointing
device (e.g., a mouse or touchpad), microphone, an image/video capture device
(e.g., camera), etc. In some implementations, the input devices 214 may
include a
touch-screen display capable of receiving input from the one or more fingers
of the
user. For instance, the structure and/or functionality of one or more of the
input
device(s) 214 and the display 216 may be integrated, and a user of the
computing
system 200 may interact with the computing system 200 by contacting a surface
of
the display 216 using one or more fingers. In this example, the user could
interact
with an emulated (i.e., virtual or soft) keyboard displayed on the touch-
screen display
216 by using fingers to contact the display in the keyboard regions.
[0067] The display 216 may display electronic images and data output by
the
computing system 200 for presentation to a user 106. The display 216 may
include
any conventional display device, monitor or screen, including, for example, an
organic light-emitting diode (OLED) display, a liquid crystal display (LCD),
etc. In
some implementations, the display 216 may be a touch-screen display capable of
receiving input from one or more fingers of a user 106. For example, the
display 216
may be a capacitive touch-screen display capable of detecting and interpreting
multiple points of contact with the display surface. In some implementations,
the
computing system 200 may include a graphics adapter (not shown) for rendering
and
outputting the images and data for presentation on display 216. The graphics
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adapter (not shown) may be a separate processing device including a separate
processor and memory (not shown) or may be integrated with the processor(s)
204
and memory(ies) 206.
[0068] As depicted in Figure 2A, the computing system 200 may include a
content customization engine 122 and an e-commerce engine 124. These
components 122 and 124 may be communicatively coupled by the bus 212 and/or
the processor(s) 204 to one another and/or the other components 202, 204, and
208
of the computing system 200. In some implementations, one or more of the
components 122 and 124 may include computer logic executable by the
processor(s) 204 to provide their acts and/or functionality. In any of the
foregoing
implementations, these components 122 and 124 may be adapted for cooperation
and communication with the processor(s) 204 and other components of the
computing system 200.
[0069] The content customization engine 122 is coupled to the e-commerce
engine 124 to exchange information and coupled to the data store 208 to store,
retrieve, and/or manipulate data stored therein. Likewise, the e-commerce
engine
124 is coupled to the content customization engine 122 to exchange information
and
coupled to the data store 208 to store, retrieve, and/or manipulate data
stored
therein.
[0070] Figure 2B is a block diagram of an example content customization
engine 122. As depicted, the content customization engine 122 includes an
interaction handler 252, a tagging module 254, a capability engine 256, a tag
expression engine 258, one or more resolvers 260, a site mode selector 262,
and a
SKU mapper 264.
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_
[0071] The components 252, 254, 256, 258, 260, 262, 264, and/or
124 may
be communicatively coupled by the bus 212 and/or the processor(s) 204 to one
another and/or the other components 202, 204, and 208 of the computing system
200. In some implementations, one or more of the components 252, 254, 256,
258,
260, 262, 264, and/or 124 may include computer logic executable by the
processor(s) 204 to provide their acts and/or functionality. In any of the
foregoing
implementations, these components 252, 254, 256, 258, 260, 262, 264, and/or
124
may be adapted for cooperation and communication with the processor(s) 204 and
other components of the computing system 200, such as the data store 208
and/or
the memory(ies) 206.
[0072] The interaction handler 252 may include computer logic
executable by
the processor(s) 204 to receive user interactions from a user device 112,
determine
user identity, and communicate with other components of the content
customization
engine 122 and/or the e-commerce engine 124. The interaction handler 252 may
receive interaction data from the user device 112 and stores the interaction
data in
the data store 208 (e.g., the interaction handler 252 may associate and store
the
association of the interaction data with a user profile of the user as user
profile data
220 in the data store 208) as user profile data 220 and/or provide the
interaction data
to the other components of the content customization engine 122. The
interaction
handler 252 may use the interaction data, among other things, to identify
users
and/or associate the interaction data with the corresponding users, as
described in
reference to at least Figure 3 below, for example. The interaction handler 252
may
pass requests to other components of the content customization engine 122 to
instruct the other components to modify and/or use the interaction data to
perform
their operations.
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[0073] The tagging module 254 may include computer logic executable by
the
processor(s) 204 to determine tags. In some implementations, the tag key
associated with a particular page may be predefined and the tagging module 254
may dynamically determine the value for the tag key. In some implementations,
the
tagging module 254 may determine both the tag key and value. In some
implementations, the tag may be fully predefined and the tagging module 254
may
identify the tag for use in the tag expression. The tagging module 254 may
determine the tags based on the interaction data received from the user's user
device 112 and processed by the interaction handler 252. For instance, the
tagging
module 254 receives interaction data from the interaction handler 252 and/or
from
the data store 208 and uses the interaction data to determine tags for the
objects
that are the subject of the interaction data. Objects may include a URL, a
product, a
product category, a page of a site, a topic, an advertisement, a merchant, a
user,
etc.
[0074] In some implementations, the tagging module 254 may automatically
tag a page or aspects of a page with tags, which, when interacted with, may be
identified and used by the tag expression engine 258 to build the tag
expression. In
an example, the tagging module 254 may tag unique URLs served by the e-
commerce engine 124 with tags customized to the URLs by storing the
association
between the tags in the memory(ies) 206 and/or the data store 208 for later
access
by the other components of the content customization engine 122. In some
implementations, a page and/or its aspects may be manually tagged by a
stakeholder, such as an administrator and/or developer, and the tagging module
254
may determine these tags and provide them to the tag expression engine 258. In
some implementations, the tagging module 254 may be capable of learning new
tag
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CA 02907123 2015-09-29
values as discussed elsewhere herein, for instance with reference to Figures
4A and
4B.
[0075] Additional structure, acts, and/or functionality of the tagging
module
254 may be described below with reference to Figures 3-9.
[0076] The capability engine 256 may include computer logic executable by
a
processor(s) 204 to determine the capabilities of a user device 112 and set
the value
of a corresponding tag based thereon. In some instances, the value may reflect
the
specific level of computing ability of the user's system (e.g., application
and/or user
device 112). In some implementations, the capability engine 256 may store the
capabilities of the applications used by the user in the user's profile data
220. The
tag set by the capability engine 256 may be used by the site mode selector 262
to
match the capabilities of the user device 112 with the system requirements of
a
particular content item.
[0077] The capability engine 256 may be coupled to the tagging module 254
to send and receive data and/or instructions. For instance, the tagging module
254
may instruct the capability engine 256 to investigate the capability of a
user's system
and set the corresponding tag value (e.g., tag value for a system tag). The
capability
engine 256 may be coupled to the data store 208 to store, retrieve, and/or
manipulate data.
[0078] The tag expression engine 258 may include computer logic
executable
by a processor(s) 204 to build tag expressions. The tag expression engine 258
uses
the tags associated with the interaction data to create a tag expression as
described
in further detail in reference to Figure 3-6 below. The tag expression engine
265
may be coupled to receive the tag(s) from the tagging module 254, the data
store
208, or another component. The tag expression engine 258 can assign the tag
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'
expression(s) to the user associated with the interaction data. The tag can
store the
association between tag expressions and users in the data store 208 as tag
expression data 226. Tag expressions may uniquely characterize the context of
the
target page, such as the URL being presently accessed by the user. Non-
limiting
examples of various tag expressions are discussed elsewhere herein.
[0079] In some implementations, the tag expression engine 258
may receive a
capability tag, as determined by the capability engine 256, to build the tag
expression. The tag expression engine 258 can store tag expressions as tag
expression data 226 in the data store 208 for later access and/or retrieval by
it
and/or other components of the content customization engine 122 and/or may be
coupled to and provide the tag expressions directly to the other components of
the
content customization engine 122 as needed, such as the resolver(s) 260.
[0080] Additional structure, acts, and/or functionality of the
tag expression
engine 258 may be described below with reference to Figures 3-9.
[0081] The resolver(s) 260 may include computer logic
executable by a
processor(s) 204 to resolve tag expressions. The resolver(s) may be coupled to
the
other components of the content customization engine 122 to exchange data, and
may be coupled to the data store 208 to store, retrieve, and/or otherwise
manipulate
data. The resolver(s) 260 may be coupled to the e-commerce engine 124 and/or
the
user applications to provide products determined by them based on the
resolution of
tag expressions, which may be presented in interfaces rendered by the user
applications.
[0082] The resolver(s) 260 may receive a tag expression from
the tag
expression engine 258 and/or the data store 208 and processes the tag
expression
to determine which content to provide for display on the user's user device
112. The
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resolver(s) 260 may send the resolved content to the site mode selector 262,
the e-
commerce engine 124, the user's user application, etc., for processing
thereby. In
some implementations, the resolver(s) 260 may store the resolved content in
the
data store 208 for access by other components of the content customization
engine
122 and/or the e-commerce engine 124, as described elsewhere herein.
[0083] In some implementations, the resolver(s) 260 may determine which
products embodied by the product data 224 match a given tag expression. For
example, the tag expression may state that a user is interested in creating a
photo
book in print, which includes color photographs, text, and that can be printed
within
24 hours. The resolver(s) 260, using the tag expression, determines
corresponding
content, such as a set of matching products, and the content for presentation
(e.g., in
conjunction with other components of the system 100), as discussed elsewhere
herein.
[0084] In some implementations, a resolver(s) 260 may embody a calendar
resolver configured to resolve a calendar. The resolver(s) 260 receives a tag
expression and uses it to render a calendar matching the requirements of the
tag
expression. For example, if a tag expression indicates that a user is from
Canada,
works for Company A, and is a fan of Manchester United, the resolver(s) 260
would
render a calendar for the user which includes Canadian holidays, specific
calendar
information for Company A (as, for example, retrieved from a company website
or
entered by an administrator), and dates that Manchester United is playing. The
following table depicts further non-limiting examples describing possible
expressions
and the dates which may be output and used by the calendar resolver to
generate a
calendar.
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Template Expression Description
Canada Holiday 'Country:Canada' && 'Year:2014' Get all Canadian holiday
for 2014
Canada Holiday ('merry christmas' && '2014')11 Get all Canadian holiday
with BC holiday (ProvinceState:BC' && '2014') and BC holiday for 2014
[0085] In some implementations, the resolver(s) 260 may embody a category
resolver configured to resolve one or more categories. The resolver(s) 260
receives
a tag expression and interprets it to determine which category(ies) match the
category(ies) and Boolean logic of the tag expression, and may then query for
products matching the interpretation of the expression. In the below examples,
each
tag expression includes at least one category variation. As shown, resolution
of the
tag expression 'happy holidays' 11 'custom' would result in the retrieval by a
resolver(s) 260 of all products with 'happy holidays' or 'custom' tags; and
resolution
of the tag expression ('merry Christmas' && '2014')11 'custom' would result in
the
retrieval by a resolver(s) 260 of all products with 'merry Christmas' and
'2014' tags or
'custom' tag. Thus, users determined as interested in Christmas may be
presented
with products relating specifically to Christmas and users interested more
broadly in
the holidays may be presented with products relating thereto.
Template Expression Description
Happy Holidays 'happy holidays' 11 'custom' Get all products with
'happy holidays' or
'custom' tags
Merry Christmas ('merry Christmas' && '2014')11 Get all products with
'custom' 'merry Christmas' and
'2014' tags or 'custom' tag.
[0086] In an example, a resolver(s) 260 may heuristically determine a
category based on interaction data. For instance, if a dynamically generated
tag
expression (e.g., generated based on search terms input by a user) specifies
that a
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user is interested in dresses, which are long and white, and in flowers, the
resolver(s) 260, can, using the tag data 228, resolve categories of wedding
and
dresses and query for dresses tagged with both of those tags.
[0087] In some implementations, the tag expression engine 258 may set and
include various tags in a tag expression based on the user's interactions. For
example, if a user searched for premium cards, the tag expression engine 258
may
include a corresponding tag in the tag expression so premium cards may be
displayed. If the user searched for customizable cards, the tag expression
engine
265 may include a corresponding tag in the tag expression so customizable
cards
may be displayed. In further examples, the type of products and/or categories
may
be based on which links were selected by the user, and the tag expression
engine
258 may build the tag expression based on tags corresponding to the unique
links.
Other variations are also possible and contemplated.
[0088] Figure 7 is an example graphical user interface 700 showing a
category as resolved by the resolver(s) 260. In the depicted implementation, a
user
has selected to view a page for cards & stationary 702 on the interface, in
response
to which the resolver(s) 260 has selected products matching a category "Merry
Christmas", which may be determined based on tags and logic expressing the
season, year, an category of cards, or based on the category tag "Merry
Christmas",
etc., as discussed elsewhere herein. In some implementations, the products
within
this category may also be resolved by the resolver(s) 260 based on the tag
expression. The interface 700 includes list of products, such as product 706,
that
correspond to the category.
[0089] In some implementations, the resolver(s) 260 may dynamically
resolve
content based on the tag expression. For example, the resolver(s) 260 may be
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capable of recognizing new tags in a tag expression and resolving appropriate
content based on those tags and the tag expression.
[0090] In some implementations, the resolver(s) 260 may retrieve a tag
expression from, for example, the data store 208, which may be stored in
association
with the user's user profile, may determine content, which satisfies the tag
expression, and may send the content for display to the user.
[0091] In some implementations, the resolver(s) 260 may interact with the
tagging module 254 to recognize that a tag in the tag expression has been
dynamically created and may intelligently resolve content based on the dynamic
tag.
For example, the tagging module 254 may recognize the tag as a dynamic tag and
determine other possible tags and/or keywords that may match the dynamic tag,
for
instance, by matching the tag to known synonymous tags. The resolver(s) 260
may
then query for content matching the matching tag(s). Numerous other variations
are
also possible as discussed elsewhere herein.
[0092] The site mode selector 262 may include computer logic executable
by
a processor(s) 204 to select a site mode. The site mode selector 262 may
couple to
and access, retrieve, and/or manipulate the product data 224, the tag
expression
data 226, and the template data 234, from the data store 208, for example. The
site
mode selector 262, the e-commerce engine 124, the user application, and/or
another
component may select a particular template from the template data 234 based on
the tag expression and, in some implementations, may populate the template
with
products returned by the resolver(s) 260. In some implementations, the
templates in
the data store 208 may be indexed by capability level, and the template may be
selected based on a corresponding tag (e.g., a system tag) in the tag
expression
used to resolve the content, as discussed elsewhere herein.
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.-
[0093] A site mode is any particular style of page, site, or
interface (e.g.,
affecting a user interface displaying a content page). In some
implementations, a
site mode includes a method of displaying and/or organizing data on a webpage
selected based on a tag expression, which may include a capability tag
reflecting
capabilities of the user device 112 associated with the user. For example, a
site
mode may include three dimensional content organized on a webpage in a
particular
manner. In some implementations, a site mode includes a particular type of
webpage customized based on a tag expression. For example, a site mode may
display a particular type of webpage corresponding to a tag expression, such
as a
"signature-card" content page as in Figure 8A (as opposed to the regular card
content page in Figure 8B).
[0094] In some implementations, the site mode selector 262 may
select a
particular site mode based on a corresponding tag included in the tag
expression.
For instance, a resolver(s) 260 may resolve that the products being retrieved
should
be presented using a specific site mode based on a site tag included in the
tag
expression, and may signal the site mode selector 262 to select the
corresponding
site mode. As a further example, a site mode may be specified that is
customized to
a specific company. The look and feel of the site may be designed specific for
that
company, and the interfaces generated may include corresponding graphical
elements.
[0095] In a further example, an interface can be partially
and/or completely
customized based on the URL that the user selected with which to access the
interface. A corresponding tag may be included in the tag expression, and the
resolver(s) 260 may trigger the site mode selector 262 to customize the
interface
accordingly based on the tag. The below table includes further examples of
such.
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Site mode Expression Description
Cards 'cards' Use standard mode
Signature-cards 'signature-cards' Use premium mode
[0096] An example graphical user interface 800 is shown in Figure 8A. As
depicted, the interface includes a page including resolved content items. The
template(s) used to format the page and/or its elements may be determined by
the
site mode selector 262, the reflecting the "mode" of the page. For example,
the
layout template for the depicted interface 800 is specific to "signature"
cards.
[0097] The interface displays content that is customized to a user based
on
the user's tag expression. In the depicted implementation, a tag expression
has
dictated that the interface includes signature holiday cards. The title of the
page 804
is customized based on the tag expression to indicate that the topic of the
page is
"signature cards & invitations". The interface 800 may also include
advertisements
and information customized based on the tag expression as in regions 806 and
808.
In an example, the user may have selected the link 802 and, responsive
thereto, the
content customization engine 122 generated a corresponding tag expression
based
on the electronic address (e.g., URL) of the page 800 and retrieved the
products
displayed in regions 806 and 808. In another example, the user may have landed
on
the page 800 by searching for it using a search engine (e.g., provided by the
third-
party server 13) and be redirected to the page 800. Responsive to this, the
content
customization engine 122 generated a corresponding tag expression based on the
user's navigation history and/or the electronic address (e.g., URL) of the
current
page 800 and retrieved the products displayed in regions 806 and 808.
[0098] A further example graphical user interface 850 is shown in Figure
8B.
The interface 850 displays the same type of content (e.g., greeting cards) as
that in
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Figure 8A, however the template reflects a different mode as selected by the
site
mode selector 262. The template for the depicted interface 850 is for standard
holiday cards. The interface 850 includes content regions 856 and 858, which
may
be resolved based on the tag expression for the specific mode depicted. The
title
854 is customized based on the tag expression to indicate that the page topic
is
standard "cards & invitations". The user may have arrived at this page based
on the
selection of link 852, a search, a referrer link, or another routing.
[0099] Returning to figure 2B, the SKU mapper 264 may include computer
logic executable by a processor(s) 204 to map different product SKUs
referencing
the same product. The different product SKUs may correspond to different
computing systems and/or vendor operations to which the SKUs correspond, such
as the enterprise server 120 and one or more third-party servers 130.
[0100] In some implementations, the mappings may be entered by a
stakeholder, such as a vendor desiring to map its product SKU to the product
SKU of
a product stored in the product data 224. The e-commerce engine 124, in an
implementation, may provide a corresponding interface to the stakeholder for
mapping its product SKU to a product SKU corresponding to the e-commerce
engine
124.
[0101] The SKU mapper 264 receives product SKU (e.g., a unique
identifier)
associated with one vendor and may query the SKU mapping data 232 associated
with that product SKU to determine which other product SKUs match. For
example,
the SKU mapper 264 may map the product SKU for a product available for
purchase
on an enterprise server 120 to the manufacturer of the product based on the
stored
attributes (e.g., vendor, product ID, product SKU ID, etc.) of each SKU
object. The
SKU mapper 264 may be coupled to the data store 208 to store, retrieve and/or
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manipulate data, and/or may be coupled to the other components of the content
customization engine 222 and/or the e-commerce engine 124 to exchange data.
[0102] In a further example, the SKU mapper 264 include an expression and
may use the expression to query the SKU mapping data 232 in the data store 208
to
determine an appropriate product SKU. In some implementations, a resolver(s)
260
may signal the SKU mapper 264 to identify the SKU based on a fulfillment tag
or
merchant tag (e.g., identifying a certain vendor) included in the tag
expression, which
may be provided by the resolver(s) 260 and/or the SKU mapper 264 to the e-
commerce engine 124 for use thereby to place the order with the vendor for the
product using the proper product SKU, which advantageously saves the vendor
time
as the vendor can be certain of the product SKU and forgo having to verify it
before
fulfilling the order.
[0103] Figure 3 is a flowchart of an example method 300 for generating
results
including products based on one or more tag expressions. In block 302, the
interaction handler 252 receives interaction data describing one or more
interactions
by a user with one or more applications (e.g., with one or more pages
presented on
a user devices of the user by, for example, an application). As discussed
elsewhere
herein, interaction data may include but is not limited to a target page URL,
a user's
click stream, referrer URL, and/or search terms used to find a target page
URL, etc.,
depending on the implementation. Non-limiting examples of applications include
a
mobile app, a first-party website, third-party website, a native application,
etc. In
some implementations, interaction data may be transmitted by a data
aggregation
application, such as an advertising and/or analytics widget embedded in an
application (e.g., browser, a mobile app, etc.). In some implementations,
interaction
data may include requests for content from an application operable on a user
device
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(e.g., a browser, a mobile app, etc.), such as a request for a webpage, an
asynchronous request for a structure dataset (e.g., JSON, XML, etc.), etc.
[0104] In block 304, the interaction handler 252 may associate
interaction data
with the user. In some implementations, the interaction handler 252 may
determine
unique identifier for the user and associate the interaction data with the
unique
- identifier, which the interaction handler 252 and/or other components of
the content
customization engine 122 may utilize when handling the interaction data.
[0105] In some implementations, the user may be identifiable using an
authentication token and/or cookie (e.g., set by the when the user
authenticated with
the content customization engine 122), which the interaction handler 252 may
use to
identify the user. The interaction handler 252 may then associate the
interaction
data with a unique identifier corresponding to the user, so the content
customization
engine 122 may keep track of which user the interaction data corresponds to.
In
some implementations, the interaction handler 252 or another component may
parse
user attributes from the interaction data, such as but not limited to the
user's (general
or specific) geographic location, the application and/or device the user is
using to
interact with the content customization engine 122, which the interaction
handler 252
or another component may, in some cases, use to identify and/or further
determine
attributes (e.g., a location, etc.) for the user. As a further example, if the
user
specific identity is unknown to the interaction handler 252, the interaction
handler
252 or another component may determine an approximate identity for the user
based
on the user's location, type of user device 112 the user is using, the
application the
user is using, information accessible from the data aggregators (e.g., based
on an IP
address associated with the user), etc.
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[0106] In block 306, the tag expression engine 258 may build tag
expression(s) for the user based on the interaction(s) described by the
interaction
data. In some implementations, the tag expression engine 258 may use tags
derived from the interaction data with which to build the expression by
coupling
together tags (existing tags, new tags, etc. as described elsewhere herein)
using
Boolean logic operators in a logical expression .
[0107] In some implementations, a tag expression may be built based on
the
interaction of the user with a specific page. In an example, the user may, via
an
application (e.g., a browser, a mobile app, etc.) operable by the user device
112,
arrive at a page served at least in part by the e-commerce engine 124 for
display by
the application. The user's navigation history may be received by the
interaction
handler 252, processed, and used by the tag expression engine 258 to build a
tag
expression (e.g., a tag or predetermined tag is incorporated into the tag
expression)
describing the context for the user's visit to the page.
[0108] In an example, the user may, via an application (e.g., browser,
mobile
app, etc.) operable by the user device 112, request a specific electronic
address
(e.g., URL) associated with particular product or group of products, which the
e-
commerce engine 124 may serve to the user device 112 of the user for display
by
the application. Upon loading the requested page associated with the address,
the
tag expression engine 258 may dynamically build a tag expression including
tags
reflecting the context of the webpage, such as the root the user took to get
to the
address, the content of the webpage, calendar information such as the time of
year
of the request and whether that specific date is a special date (e.g.,
holiday, the day
of a special sale, the relevant birthday, etc.).
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[0109] In some implementations, the tag expression engine 258 may build a
tag expression for a particular user over time. For instance, on a first
visit, the tag
expression engine 258 may initialize a tag expression for the user based on
the
context of the first visit, and then on a second visit, third visit, and
further subsequent
visits the tag expression engine 258 may use and/or further develop the tag
expression. This is particularly advantageous in a case where the user may be
accessing an online service provided by the enterprise server 120 from
different
devices at different times during the day and/or week, as it allows the
content
customization engine 122 to provide the user with a consistent, customized
user
experience regardless of the user device 112 being used. Alternatively, in
some
implementations, the tag expression engine 258 may build a discrete tag
expression
for each visit of the user.
[0110] In block 310, a resolver(s) 260 may generate customized results
(customized results may also referred to herein simply as result(s)) including
products based on the tag expression(s) (e.g., a customized result includes a
product customized to the user based on the tag expression and tags associated
with each result) responsive to a determination at block 308 to generate
results. In
some implementations, a resolver(s) 260 may interpret the tags included in the
tag
expression(s) and the product data 224 in the data store 208 for products with
corresponding tags. By way of example and not limitation, a set of products
may
each include a set of product tags describing the characteristics of that
product,
which may be stored in the data store 208 as product data 224, as discussed
elsewhere herein. The results may be utilized in a number of ways, such as
stored
in the data store 208 for later access and/or retrieval, incorporated into
interfaces
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generated and provided to the user for display (e.g., by the e-commerce engine
124,
etc.), incorporated into messages (e.g., emails, texts, social network posts,
etc.), etc.
[0111] The resolver(s) 260 may generate customized results including the
page items matching the tags and Boolean logic operators in the tag
expression.
For example, a customized result generated by the resolver(s) 260 may include
any
number of page items, or arrangement thereof, that correspond to the tag
expression.
[0112] The customized results may be displayed on a customized content
page for the user. The content page is customized to the user based on the tag
expression in such a way that the user sees relevant information displayed in
a
relevant way on a relevant interface, for example.
[0113] It should be understood that this method 300 is compatible and may
be
combined, in whole or in part, with the other methods and operations discussed
herein including methods 400, 500, and 600. In some instances, various blocks
and/or sequences of blocks of the methods 400, 500, and/or 600 are extensions
of
the various blocks of the method 300.
[0114] Figures 4A and 4B are flowcharts of an example method 400 for
determining tags and dynamically building a tag expression. In block 402, the
interaction handler 252 receives interaction data, such as a navigation
stream. The
navigation stream may describe a series of one or more user actions that the
user
has taken using an application operable by the user's user device 112 to
arrive at the
target page. In an example, the navigation stream may include a referrer data,
such
as a referrer URL and/or search terms used at the referrer site to find the
target
page.
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[0115] In block 404, the interaction handler 252 determines the target
page.
In some implementations, the user using an application operable by the user's
user
device 112 may submit a request for data associated with the product page,
such as,
but not limited to, a page associated with a product or a category of
products, to the
e-commerce engine 124, and the interaction handler 252 may determine that page
as the target page. In some implementations, the user may access a given
product
category page using a mobile application, and the interaction handler 252 may
determine that page as the target page. Other variations are also possible and
contemplated.
[0116] In block 406, the tagging module 254 may determine whether
predetermined tag(s) exist (e.g., exist and/or are already associated/pre-
associated
with the target page) for the target page and/or for item(s) from the
navigation
stream. If the determination in block 406 is affirmative (e.g., a target page
and an
existing tag are already associated), the tagging module 254 retrieves the
predetermined tag(s) in block 408 from a data source, such as the memory(ies)
206
and/or the data store 208, and the method 400 then proceeds to block 426,
which is
discussed further below. In an example, a merchant may predefine certain tags
for a
given page, such as the target page, which the tag expression engine 258 may
use
to build the tag expression, as discussed elsewhere herein.
[0117] If the determination in block 406 is negative, the tagging module
254
determines whether to dynamically determine tag(s) from the navigation stream
at
block 410. If the determination in block 410 is negative, the tag expression
engine
258 outputs 412 the tag expression, or may throw an error if no tags were
determined by the method 400 and no corresponding tag expression was built.
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[0118] If the determination in block 410 is affirmative, the tagging
module 254
may determine 414 a set of keywords from the navigation stream (referred to
herein
as first keywords for clarity and ease of understanding) and then determine in
block
416 whether any of the first key words are mapped to existing tag(s). In some
implementations, certain keywords may be mapped to certain tags in the tag
data
228 stored in the data store 208, and the tagging module 254 may query the tag
data
228 for any tags corresponding to the keywords. If the determination in block
416 is
affirmative, the tagging module 254 may retrieve 408 those tags from a data
source,
such as the memory(ies) 206 and/or the data store 208, and the method 400 then
proceeds to block 426, which is further discussed below.
[0119] If the determination in block 416 is negative, the tagging module
254
may proceed to block 418 and determine a set of keywords associated with the
target page (referred to herein as second keywords for clarity and ease of
understanding). In some implementations, one or more keywords may be
predefined for the target page. For example, but not limitation, keywords
describing
the theme or subject of the target page, items included in the target page,
originality
and/or seasonality associated with the target page, etc., may be predefined
automatically by the e-commerce engine 124 and/or may be entered by a
stakeholder, such as an administrator or developer and stored in the data
store 208
as tag data 228 in association with the target page.
[0120] In some implementations, one or more keywords may be dynamically
generated based on the content of the target page, such as the subject of the
target
page, the summary of the target page, descriptive terms included in the
metadata,
hyperlinks included in the page, or more of words of the title, where
categories
associated with the page, an event associated with the page, etc.
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[0121] Responsive to determining the first keywords and the second
keywords, the tagging module 254 may compare the first and second keywords in
block 420 and may determine any matches in block 422. If any matches are
determined in block 422, the tagging module 254 may generate tag(s) (e.g., one
or
more new tags) based on the match(es) in block 424 (e.g., based on the
attributes of
the target page).
[0122] The method 400 then proceeds to block 426, in which the tag
expression engine 258 determines whether a tag expression already exists. If
the
determination in block 426 is negative, the tag expression engine 258 creates
a new
tag expression in block 428 and then proceeds to block 430. If the
determination in
block 426 is affirmative, the tag expression engine 258 proceeds to block 430
and
begins processing each of the tags received responsive to the operations in
blocks
408 and/or 424. In particular, the tag expression engine 258 determines
whether the
tag for consideration is compatible (e.g., belongs to the same category, type,
genre,
tone, etc.) with or more tags in the tag expression at block 430. If the
determination
in block 430 is affirmative, the tag expression engine 258 adds the tag to the
tag
expression using an AND Boolean type at block 432. In an example, if the tag
expression includes a first tag, such as a site tag or category tag, and the
tag under
consideration is a compatible tag, such as a date tag or a sub category tag
that
corresponds to a category tag, the tag expression engine 122 may concatenate
the
text of the existing expression with "AND" and the tag itself.
[0123] If the determination in block 430 is negative, the tag expression
engine
258 determines in block 434 whether the tag expression is empty, and if so
adds 436
the tag to the expression. Since the tag added to the expression is the only
tag in
the expression, no Boolean is necessary. The method 400 then proceeds to block
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442 process any additional tags. If the determination in block 434 is
negative, the
tag expression engine 258 adds the tag to the expression using an OR type
Boolean
at block 438. In an example, if the tag expression includes a first tag, such
as a site
tag or category tag, and the tag under consideration is a non-compatible tag,
such as
a custom tag or a sub category tag that does not correspond to a category tag,
the
tag expression engine 122 may concatenate the text of the existing expression
with
"OR" and the tag itself. It should be understood that the above examples are
provided by way of illustration and that other logic including more complex
Boolean
logic may be generated for the tag expression with the tags using various
combinations of the tags, parenthesis, and Booleans, and/or other suitable
known
logical operators, etc.
[0124] In block 440, the tag expression engine 258 determines whether any
additional tags remain to process, and if so, returns to block 430 to
iteratively
process the remaining tags. If no tags remain to process, the method 400
returns to
block 410 and the tagging module 254 determines whether to dynamically
determine
tag(s) from the navigation stream. In the case that the tag(s) have already
been
dynamically determined from the navigation stream, the method proceeds to 412
and
the tag expression engine 258 may output the tag expression 412. In some
implementations, tag expression engine 258 outputs 412 the tag expression to
one
or more of the resolvers 260 for processing thereby, as discussed elsewhere
herein.
[0125] Figure 5 is a flowchart of an example method 500 for resolving tag
expression(s) and generating and providing results. In block 502, one or more
resolvers 260 resolve one or more tag expressions generated by the tag
expression
engine 258 and determine in block 504 products based on the resolved
expression(s). In block 506, the resolver(s) 260 generate results including
the
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products. In some implementations, the resolver(s) 260 may filter the results,
as
well. Next, the site mode selector 222 determines 510 a mode for presenting
the
results. In some implementations, the mode may be determined based on the
application that is slated to receive the results, as discussed elsewhere
herein. Next,
the e-commerce engine 124 and/or the application operable on the user's user
device 112 may generate 512 an interface including the results based on the
mode.
For example, the e-commerce engine 124 may generate a webpage catered to
display the results in a rich, 3-D format based on a determination that the
application
the user is using is capable of rendering the results to the user in a
satisfying way.
[0126] Figure 6 is a flowchart of an example method 600 for resolving a
tag
expression. In block 602, a resolver(s) 260 may determine whether the tag
expression includes a calendar expression type, and if so may determine in
block
604 calendar data such as but not limited to a date (e.g., a year, month,
etc.), a
season, etc., using the tag expression. For example, for the calendar data,
the
resolver(s) 260 may parse the tag expression for tag types that correspond to
a
calendar. The method 600 then proceeds to block 606.
[0127] If the determination in block 602 is negative, the method 600 may
proceed to block 606 and determine whether the tag expression includes a
category
expression type, and if so may determine in block 608 one or more
category(ies)
using the tag expression. For example, for the category(ies), the resolver(s)
260
may parse the tag expression for tag types defining one or more category(ies).
[0128] Next, the resolver(s) 260 may determine products matching the
calendar data and/or the category(ies) at block 610. In some implementations,
the
resolver(s) 260 may interpret the Boolean logic included in the tag expression
in
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conjunction with the calendar data and/or the category(ies) and use the
interpretation
of that logic to query the product data 224 in the data store for products
that match.
[0129] In the above description, for purposes of explanation, numerous
specific details are set forth in order to provide a thorough understanding of
the
present disclosure. However, it should be understood that the technology
described
herein can be practiced without these specific details. Further, various
systems,
devices, and structures are shown in block diagram form in order to avoid
obscuring
the description. For instance, various implementations are described as having
particular hardware, software, and user interfaces. However, the present
disclosure
applies to any type of computing device that can receive data and commands,
and to
any peripheral devices providing services.
[0130] In some instances, various implementations may be presented herein
in terms of algorithms and symbolic representations of operations on data bits
within
a computer memory. An algorithm is here, and generally, conceived to be a self-
consistent set of operations leading to a desired result. The operations are
those
requiring physical manipulations of physical quantities. Usually, though not
necessarily, these quantities take the form of electrical or magnetic signals
capable
of being stored, transferred, combined, compared, and otherwise manipulated.
It
has proven convenient at times, principally for reasons of common usage, to
refer to
these signals as bits, values, elements, symbols, characters, terms, numbers,
or the
like.
[0131] To ease description, some elements of the system 100 and/or the
methods are referred to using the labels first, second, third, etc. These
labels are
intended to help to distinguish the elements but do not necessarily imply any
particular order or ranking unless indicated otherwise.
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[0132] It should be borne in mind, however, that all of these
and similar terms
are to be associated with the appropriate physical quantities and are merely
convenient labels applied to these quantities. Unless specifically stated
otherwise as
apparent from the following discussion, it is appreciated that throughout this
disclosure, discussions utilizing terms including "processing," "computing,"
"calculating," "determining," "displaying," or the like, refer to the action
and processes
of a computer system, or similar electronic computing device, that manipulates
and
transforms data represented as physical (electronic) quantities within the
computer
system's registers and memories into other data similarly represented as
physical
quantities within the computer system memories or registers or other such
information storage, transmission or display devices.
[0133] Various implementations described herein may relate to
an apparatus
for performing the operations herein. This apparatus may be specially
constructed
for the required purposes, or it may comprise a general-purpose computer
selectively activated or reconfigured by a computer program stored in the
computer.
Such a computer program may be stored in a computer readable storage medium,
including, but is not limited to, any type of disk including floppy disks,
optical disks,
CD-ROMs, and magnetic disks, read-only memories (ROMs), random access
memories (RAMS), EPROMs, EEPROMs, magnetic or optical cards, flash memories
including USB keys with non-volatile memory or any type of media suitable for
storing electronic instructions, each coupled to a computer system bus.
[0134] The technology described herein can take the form of an
entirely
hardware implementation, an entirely software implementation, or
implementations
containing both hardware and software elements. For instance, the technology
may
be implemented in software, which includes but is not limited to firmware,
resident
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software, microcode, etc. Furthermore, the technology can take the form of a
computer program product accessible from a computer-usable or computer-
readable
medium providing program code for use by or in connection with a computer or
any
instruction execution system. For the purposes of this description, a computer-
usable or computer readable medium can be any non-transitory storage apparatus
that can contain, store, communicate, propagate, or transport the program for
use by
or in connection with the instruction execution system, apparatus, or device.
[0135] A data processing system suitable for storing and/or executing
program
code may include at least one processor coupled directly or indirectly to
memory
elements through a system bus. The memory elements can include local memory
employed during actual execution of the program code, bulk storage, and cache
memories that provide temporary storage of at least some program code in order
to
reduce the number of times code must be retrieved from bulk storage during
execution. Input or I/0 devices (including but not limited to keyboards,
displays,
pointing devices, etc.) can be coupled to the system either directly or
through
intervening I/0 controllers.
[0136] Network adapters may also be coupled to the system to enable the
data processing system to become coupled to other data processing systems,
storage devices, remote printers, etc., through intervening private and/or
public
networks. Wireless (e.g., Wi-FiTntransceivers, Ethernet adapters, and Modems,
are
just a few examples of network adapters. The private and public networks may
have
any number of configurations and/or topologies. Data may be transmitted
between
these devices via the networks using a variety of different communication
protocols
including, for example, various Internet layer, transport layer, or
application layer
protocols. For example, data may be transmitted via the networks using
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CA 02907123 2015-09-29
transmission control protocol / Internet protocol (TCP/IP), user datagram
protocol
(UDP), transmission control protocol (TCP), hypertext transfer protocol
(HTTP),
secure hypertext transfer protocol (HTTPS), dynamic adaptive streaming over
HTTP
(DASH), real-time streaming protocol (RTSP), real-time transport protocol
(RTP) and
the real-time transport control protocol (RTCP), voice over Internet protocol
(VOIP),
file transfer protocol (FTP), WebSocket (WS), wireless access protocol (WAP),
various messaging protocols (SMS, MMS, XMS, IMAP, SMTP, POP, WebDAV, etc.),
or other known protocols.
[0137] Finally, the structure, algorithms, and/or interfaces presented
herein
are not inherently related to any particular computer or other apparatus.
Various
general-purpose systems may be used with programs in accordance with the
teachings herein, or it may prove convenient to construct more specialized
apparatus
to perform the required method blocks. The required structure for a variety of
these
systems will appear from the description above. In addition, the specification
is not
described with reference to any particular programming language. It will be
appreciated that a variety of programming languages may be used to implement
the
teachings of the specification as described herein.
[0138] The foregoing description has been presented for the purposes of
illustration and description. It is not intended to be exhaustive or to limit
the
specification to the precise form disclosed. Many modifications and variations
are
possible in light of the above teaching. As will be understood by those
familiar with
the art, the specification may be embodied in other specific forms without
departing
from the spirit or essential characteristics thereof. Likewise, the particular
naming
and division of the modules, routines, features, attributes, methodologies and
other
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CA 02907123 2015-09-29
,
_
,
aspects are not mandatory or significant, and the mechanisms that implement
the
specification or its features may have different names, divisions and/or
formats.
[0139]
Furthermore, the modules, routines, features, attributes, methodologies
and other aspects of the disclosure can be implemented as software, hardware,
firmware, or any combination of the foregoing. Also, wherever a component, an
example of which is a module, of the specification is implemented as software,
the
component can be implemented as a standalone program, as part of a larger
program, as a plurality of separate programs, as a statically or dynamically
linked
library, as a kernel loadable module, as a device driver, and/or in every and
any
other way known now or in the future. Additionally, the disclosure is in no
way
limited to implementation in any specific programming language, or for any
specific
operating system or environment.
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