Abstract: A system and method are provided for presenting large numbers of items on a display screen. In particular, a display is created of a set of items in a catalog containing item information such as item image data and item description. The method includes generating the set of items based on a first relationship, such as a function that maximizes similarity, and storing them as a set of ordered items; selecting a first item and storing it in a set of placed items; placing image data for the first item in the display; and for each of the remaining items, selecting a next item and placing the image data for the next item at a position in the display according to a second relationship between a description of the next item and descriptions of the set of placed items.

Abstract: The present invention comprises a system and method for presenting large numbers of items on a display screen. According to one aspect of the present invention, information is harvested from a plurality of sites and over a plurality of times and aggregated into a single item set. According to another aspect of the present invention, this information is supplemented by data derived from sorting and classification tasks performed by humans. According to another aspect of present invention, this information is used to derive similarities between items and to derive a hierarchical classification of items into a hierarchical set of categories. According to another aspect of the present invention, one or more series of catalog displays are created which display these items arranged by different criteria and at different scales.

Abstract: The present invention comprises a system and method for presenting large numbers of items on a display screen. According to one aspect of the present invention, information is harvested from a plurality of sites and over a plurality of times and aggregated into a single item set. According to another aspect of the present invention, this information is supplemented by data derived from sorting and classification tasks performed by humans. According to another aspect of present invention, this information is used to derive similarities between items and to derive a heterarchical classification of items into a hierarchical set of categories. According to another aspect of the present invention, one or more series of catalog displays are created which display these items arranged by different criteria and at different scales. According to another aspect of the present invention, these catalog displays are divided into a set of image and data files that can be sent to a client node incrementally during a session.