SYSTEM AND METHOD FOR SELECTIVELY GENERATING TABULAR DATA FROM SEMI-STRUCTURED CONTENT

1 . A method for acquiring specified web-based data in a tabular format, the method comprising the steps of:

executing a module by a processor to perform a web searching operation to acquire web pages containing data; and

placing the predefined data into columns of a structural table to form a modifiable table, the characteristics and positions of the modifiable table columns being subsequently determined by a user.

2 . The method of claim 1 wherein the step of performing a web searching operation comprises the step of providing at least one example URL to initiate the web searching operation.

3 . The method of claim 1 wherein the step of placing the predefined data into columns of a modifiable table comprises the step of executing a tabulation application to automatically generate a structural table having columns for placement of web page data.

4 . The method of claim 3 wherein the step of placing the predefined data into columns of a modifiable table is executed by the tabulation application.

5 . The method of claim 3 wherein the step of executing a tabulation application resident in the computer to automatically generate a structural table comprises the step of analyzing HTML coding in the web page data to identify fields and lists to determine initial column format in the structural table.

6 . The method of claim 5 further comprising the step of displaying hidden data in a column of the structural table.

7 . The method of claim 1 wherein the step of placing the predefined data into columns of a modifiable table comprises the steps of:

analyzing the acquired web pages by using at least one software expert to determine similarity;

aggregating at least two web pages determined to contain similar data into a respective web page cluster; and

extracting data from a web page cluster and placing similar web page data into the same column of the modifiable table.

8 . The method of claim 7 wherein column selections in the modifiable table may be based on information obtained by analyzing HTML data extracted from the web page cluster.

9 . The method of claim 1 further comprising the step of merging two table columns into one table column.

10 . The method of claim 1 further comprising the step of specifying a heading for at least one of the table columns.

11 . The method of claim 1 further comprising the step of removing at least one column from the modifiable table.

12 . The method of claim 1 further comprising the steps of:

selecting at least one cell in a column intended for modification;

cutting and pasting at least a portion of the data into the selected cell; and

changing the formatting of remaining cells in the column to conform to the format of the selected cell.

13 . The method of claim 1 further comprising the step of using modified table characteristics to produce an agent for use in the placement of web data into the table columns.

14 . A computer readable storage medium having embodied thereon a program, the program being executable by a processor to perform a method for acquiring specified web-based data in a tabular format, the method comprising:

performing a web searching operation to acquire web pages having predefined data; and

placing the predefined data into columns of a modifiable table, the characteristics and positions of the table columns being determined by a user.

15 . The computer readable storage medium of claim 15 , the method further comprising providing at least one example URL to initiate the web searching operation.

16 . The computer readable storage medium of claim 15 wherein the method further comprises the step of modifying the modifiable table by at least one of: adding a header to a table column, deleting a table column, adding a table column, merging two table columns, filtering HTML data from column data, pushing a column left, and pushing a column right.

17 . The computer readable storage medium of claim 15 wherein the method further comprises the step of analyzing HTML data extracted from the acquired web pages to determine the configuration of a column in the modifiable table.

18 . A device suitable for acquiring specified web-based data and converting to a modifiable table, the device comprising:

means for acquiring web-based data;

a memory for storing a tabulation application that, when executed, functions to convert the acquired web-based data into a modifiable table; and

a display for displaying at least one of the web-based data and the modifiable table to a user.

19 . The device of claim 18 wherein the means for acquiring comprises one of a wired network connection and a wireless network connection.

20 . The device of claim 18 further comprising an input device whereby the user can implement modifications to a selected one of the web-based data and the modifiable table.