Method and apparatus for display of information prefetching and cache status having variable visual indication based on a period of time since prefetching
US6182133A · kind A · utility
Assignee
Inventor
Key dates
| Filing date | Feb 6, 1998 |
| Grant date | Jan 30, 2001 |
| Priority date | — |
| Expiry date | Feb 6, 2018 |
Classification
- Technology area (CPC Y)Emerging Cross-Sectional Technologies
- CPC primaryY10S707/99938
- WIPO fieldComputer technology
- WIPO sectorElectrical engineering
Abstract
A technique, specifically apparatus and accompanying methods for use therein, that, through continual computation, harnesses available computer resources during periods of low processing activity and low network activity, such as idle time, for prefetching, e.g., web pages, or pre-selected portions thereof, into local cache of a client computer. As the browser prefetches and stores each web page (or component thereof) in its local cache, the browser provides a suitable and preferably visual indication, through its graphical user interface, to a user that this item has been fetched and stored. Consequently, the user can quickly and visually perceive that a particular item (i.e., a "fresh" page or portion) has just been prefetched and which (s)he can now quickly access from local cache. As such additional items are cached, the browser can change the color of the displayed hotlink associated with each of the items then stored in cache so as, through color coding, to reflect their relative latency ("aging") in cache.
Source: USPTO / EPO open patent data. Objective bibliographic and citation counts.