Abstract: A computer system for conducting electronic commerce. The system provides multiple electronic shopping carts for each user. Each electronic shopping cart has an indication of items currently within the electronic shopping cart and billing and shipment information. The system generates a display that identifies each of the electronic shopping carts and sends the generated display to a user computer system. The system then receives a selection of one of the identified electronic shopping carts from the user computer system and receives a selection of an item from the user computer system. In response to receiving the selection of the item, the system adds the item to the selected electronic shopping cart. The system then receives an indication to checkout the items in the selected electronic shopping cart from the user computer system.

Abstract: A facility for navigating within a body of data using one of a number of distinct browse graphs is described. Initially, a navigation request is received. Based upon information contained in the received navigation request, the facility selects one of the plurality of browse graphs. In response to user input the facility browses the body of data using the selected browse graph.

Abstract: A method and system for placing an order to purchase an item via the Internet. The order is placed by a purchaser at a client system and received by a server system. The server system receives purchaser information including identification of the purchaser, payment information, and shipment information from the client system. The server system then assigns a client identifier to the client system and associates the assigned client identifier with the received purchaser information. The server system sends to the client system the assigned client identifier and an HTML document identifying the item and including an order button. The client system receives and stores the assigned client identifier and receives and displays the HTML document. In response to the selection of the -order button, the client system sends to the server system a request to purchase the identified item.

Abstract: A computer-implemented process identifies specific nodes within a browse tree or other hierarchical browse structure based on historical actions of online users, and calls such nodes to the attention of users during navigation of the browse structure. The system and method are particularly useful for assisting users in locating popular products and/or product categories within a catalog of an online merchant, but may be used in connection with browse structures used to locate other types of items. In one embodiment, node popularity levels are determined periodically (e.g., once per day) based on user activity data that represents users' affinities for such nodes (items and/or item categories). Popular nodes are called to the attention of users, preferably by automatically “elevating” such nodes for display within the browse tree. The node elevation process may also be used to elevate nodes that are predicted to be of interest to a particular user.

Abstract: A method and system for conducting an auction. The auction system provides a mechanism that allows the winning bidder to receive a discount from the winning bid amount when a certain discount criteria is met. The discount criteria is met when the winning bidder was the first bidder to place the bid at the auction. That is, the bidder who places the first bid will receive a discount (e.g., 10%) if that bidder is ultimately successful in winning the auction. The mechanism, tracks whether each auction is subject to a “first bidder discount” and whether the winning bidder was the first bidder. The offering of a first bidder discount and the amount of any discount may be at the discretion of the seller of the item.

Abstract: An electronic gift certificate system is disclosed which distributes electronic gift certificates in the form of e-mail documents that include hyperlinks for automating the redemption process. When a gift certificate recipient selects such a hyperlink, the recipient's computer automatically transmits a claim code to the merchant's Web site, and the site responds by automatically crediting the recipient's personal account with the gift certificate amount. When the recipient subsequently makes a purchase from the merchant's Web site, the recipient's account balance is automatically applied to the purchase price.

Abstract: According to the invention, a system and method for extracting information from a semistructured information source. The system includes a listing stack for holding extracted information. A means for matching at least one extractor to the semistructured information to return a list of potential matches is also included. The system can also include a means for iterating through the list of potential matches and a means for retrieving information from a particular match in the list of potential matches. A means for adding a particular match into the listing stack can also be part of the system.

Abstract: A system for facilitating online searches suggests query autocompletion strings (terms and/or phrases) to users during the query entry process, wherein the suggested strings are based on specific attributes of the particular database access system being searched. A string extraction component associated with a database access system, such as a web site of an online merchant, periodically generates a dataset that contains the autocompletion strings for the system. The datasets are preferably biased to favor the database items that are currently the most popular (e.g., best selling or most frequently viewed), and may be customized to particular users or user groups. The datasets are transmitted to users' computing devices, which may include handheld and other wireless devices that lack a full keyboard.

Abstract: A method and system for generating notifications of auctions based on user notification requests. In one embodiment, the notification system receives from users selection specifications that specify the types of auctions for which the user is to be notified. The selection specifications may include a category of the auctions, keywords for identifying auctions, and values for attributes associated with the category. When the notification system receives a selection specification, it determines whether that selection specification is the same as or nearly the same as other selection specifications that have been received. The notification system periodically determines whether any new auctions satisfy a selection specification by submitting a query to an auction database and then notifies the users when new auctions are identified.

Abstract: According to the invention, a method is provided for forming an information closure of a plurality of rows in a listing stack built by a wrapper program for accessing semistructured information. This method includes removing a first row from the listing stack and computing a cross product of the fields in the first row. A step of adding this cross product to a list of accepted rows can also be part of the method. For each remaining row in the listing stack, the method includes a step of computing a selective cross product according to a plurality of steps. In one step, a result is initialized to empty. Then, for each row in the list of accepted rows, a step of determining for a first new row from the accepted row, extended with the non-empty fields of the remaining row is performed. The method can also include a step of determining a second new row from the remaining row, extended with the non-empty fields in the accepted row. Thereupon, a step of adding the two new rows to the result can be performed.

Abstract: A method and system for conducting an electronic discussion relating to a topic. The discussion system of the present invention receives a selection of an item that is to be the topic of the discussion. The discussion system then receives comments relating to the selected item and generates a message that includes a description of the selected item and the received comments. The discussion system then sends the generated message to participants of the discussion. The discussion system receives from a participant who received the generated message additional comments that are to be added to the generated message. The discussion system sends the generated message along with received additional comments to the participants of the discussion.

Abstract: A computer-implemented process identifies popular nodes (items and/or item categories) within a browse tree or other hierarchial browse structure based on historical actions of online users, and calls such nodes to the attention of users during navigation of the browse tree. The system and method are particularly useful for assisting users in locating popular products and/or product categories within a catalog on an online merchant, but may be used with browse structures for navigating other types of content. Node popularity levels are determined periodically (e.g. once per day) based on recent user activity data that reflects users' affinities for specific nodes. Popular nodes are called to the attention of users, preferably by automatically “elevating” such nodes for display within the browse tree. The node elevation process may also be used to elevate nodes that are predicted to be of interest to a user, regardless of node popularity levels.

Abstract: A computer-implemented system and method are provided for identifying popular nodes within a browse tree or other hierarchical browse structure based on historical actions of online users, and for calling such nodes to the attention of users during navigation of the browse tree. The system and method are particularly useful for assisting users in locating popular products and/or product categories within a catalog of an online merchant, but may be used in connection with browse structures used to locate other types of items. Node popularity levels are determined periodically (e.g., once per day) based on recent user activity data that represents users' affinities for such nodes. Such activity data may include, for example, the number of times each item was purchased, and/or the number of times each category was selected for display, within a selected period of time. Popular nodes are called to the attention of users by automatically “elevating” the nodes for display within the browse tree.

Abstract: A method for distributing a live auction over the Internet to remote bidders. A human proxy attends the live auction in order to monitor the auction and compose status updates that are distributed to remote bidders via the Internet in real time to allow the remote bidders to follow the auction. Remote bidders may place bids for items that are transmitted via the Internet to the human proxy, who may then submit the bids to the auctioneer, components that facilitate distribution of the live auction over the Internet include: an auction console, an auction sever, collector/redistributor nodes, and client programs.

Abstract: A method and apparatus accepts a query to update or delete rows in a temporal table of a database. The query may describe which rows are to be updated, a calculation for the value to be used to update each row of the table, and a period of validity, during which the changes are to take place. The method and apparatus creates a sequence of queries and SQL program elements that together can make up an SQL program that will execute the query received. The SQL program can split any row of the table to be updated into multiple rows so that each of the multiple rows of the table to be changed have an effective period during which no changes occur in the table to be changed or any other tables referenced in the query received and no effective periods span the beginning or the end of the period of validity. The specified change may then be made to the resulting rows, and rows that are adjacent in time with identical values may be collapsed into a single row.

Abstract: According to the invention, a method is provided for forming an information closure of a plurality of rows in a linkage stack built by a wrapper program for accessing semistructured information. This method includes removing a first row from the linkage stack and computing a cross product of the fields in the first row. A step of adding this cross product to a list of accepted rows can also be part of the method. For each remaining row in the linkage stack, the method includes a step of computing a selective cross product according to a plurality of steps. In one step, a result is initialized to empty. Then, for each row in the list of accepted rows, a step of determining for a first new row from the accepted row, extended with the non-empty fields of the remaining row is performed. The method can also include a step of determining a second new row from the remaining row, extended with the non-empty fields in the accepted row. Thereupon, a step of adding the two new rows to the result can be performed.

Abstract: According to the invention, a system and method for extracting information from a semistructured information source. The system includes a listing stack for holding extracted information. A means for matching at least one extractor to the semistructured information to return a list of potential matches is also included. The system can also include a means for iterating through the list of potential matches and a means for retrieving information from a particular match in the list of potential matches. A means for adding a particular match into the listing stack can also be part of the system.

Abstract: A method and system for querying hierarchically classified data. The system first receives a query request and then identifies classifications of the data that may satisfy the received query request. The system then displays the identified classifications. In response to selection of a displayed classification, the system displays sub-classifications when the selected classification has sub-classifications and displays the data within the classification when the selected classification has no sub-classifications. In another aspect, the system generates search results for items that are hierarchically classified. For classifications within the hierarchy of classifications, the system generates a search entry containing terms describing the items within that classification. The system then receives a search criteria. The system selects as initial search results those search entries whose terms most closely match the received search criteria.

Abstract: A method and apparatus converts an original query into a sequenced query that takes into account a range of values of a variable defined by a start and end point in performing the query. The start or end points are calculated if necessary and a query to collect all of the start and end points may be generated, and a query is generated that produces a constant set of start and end points defining consecutive periods, such that all the data in the tables related to the original query is constant over each of these periods. These two queries are merged into the original query to produce a sequenced query capable of execution on various database software and capable of taking into account the range of values of the variable in performing the original query.

Abstract: A computer-implemented service recommends products or other items to a user based on a set of items known to be of interest to the user, such as a set of items currently in the user's electronic shopping cart. In one embodiment, the service identifies items that are currently in the user's shopping cart, and uses these items to generate a list of additional items that are predicted to be of interest to the user, wherein an additional item is selected to include in the list based in-part upon whether that item is related to more than one of the items in the user's shopping cart. The item relationships are preferably determined by an off-line process that analyzes user purchase histories to identify correlations between item purchases. The additional items are preferably displayed to the user when the user views the contents of the shopping cart.