Disclosure of Invention
In view of this, the present disclosure provides a method and an apparatus for displaying a cover of a multimedia resource, which can display a personalized video cover to a user based on a user behavior, and match the user's interest, thereby improving user experience.
According to an aspect of the present disclosure, a method for displaying a cover of a multimedia resource is provided, which includes:
acquiring behavior data of a user aiming at a first multimedia resource;
based on the behavior data, establishing a mapping pair between a first cover of the first multimedia asset and a first tag associated with the first cover;
determining a relevance of a second cover of a second multimedia resource to the user based on the mapping pair, the second cover of the second multimedia resource to be presented to the user, and a second tag associated with the second cover;
and displaying a second cover to the user according to the relevancy.
In one possible implementation, determining a relevance of a second cover of a second multimedia resource to a user based on the mapping pair, the second cover of the second multimedia resource to be presented to the user, and a second tag associated with the second cover includes:
determining a first relevance of the second label to the user based on the mapping pair;
determining a second degree of association of a second cover for a second label based on the second cover and the second label;
determining a relevance of the second cover to the user based on the first relevance and the second relevance.
In one possible implementation, determining a first relevance of the second tag to the user includes:
determining, based on the mapping pair, a user behavior of the user for a first cover with a second label and a time of the user behavior from a current time;
attenuating the weight of the user behavior based on the time of the user behavior from the current moment, and determining the short-term weight of the user behavior;
determining a first relevance of the second label to the user based on the user behavior and the short-term weight.
In one possible implementation, the relevance of the second cover to the user is determined using the following formula:
wherein, S (p)
i) An ith second cover p representing a second multimedia asset
iRelevance for the user; h (t)
k) Representing a second cover p
iOf the kth second tag t
kFor a first degree of relevance to the user, n represents a second cover p
iThe number of the second tags, k is in the range of 1-n; g (p)
i,t
k) Representing a second cover p
iFor the second label t
kA second degree of correlation; w (q)
j) Representing user to have a second label t
kOf the jth first cover q
jThe number of user actions; h (q)
j) Indicating that the user is directed to the jth first cover q
jThe user behavior is away from the time of the current moment; decapay represents the attenuation coefficient; click (p)
i) Representing multiple users against having a second label t
kSecond cover p
iThe number of actions of (c);
representing multiple users against having a second label t
kAll the second covers p
iAll of the number of actions.
In one possible implementation, the behavior data includes: and the user behaviors of the user aiming at the first multimedia resource in the specified time and the corresponding user behavior quantity.
In one possible implementation, the user behavior includes: one or more of a click, play, comment, search for a first multimedia asset.
According to another aspect of the present disclosure, there is provided a multimedia resource cover exhibition apparatus, comprising:
the behavior data acquisition module is used for acquiring behavior data of a user aiming at the first multimedia resource;
a mapping pair establishing module for establishing a mapping pair between a first cover of the first multimedia resource and a first tag associated with the first cover based on the behavior data;
a relevancy determination module for determining a relevancy of a second cover of a second multimedia resource to a user based on the mapping pair, the second cover of the second multimedia resource to be presented to the user, and a second tag associated with the second cover;
and the cover display module is used for displaying a second cover to the user according to the relevancy.
In one possible implementation manner, the relevancy determination module includes:
a first relevance determination submodule, configured to determine a first relevance of the second tag for the user based on the mapping pair;
a second relevancy determination submodule for determining a second relevancy of a second cover to the second tag based on the second cover and the second tag;
a third relevancy determination sub-module for determining relevancy of the second cover to the user based on the first relevancy and the second relevancy.
In one possible implementation manner, the first correlation determination sub-module includes:
a behavior determination submodule for determining, based on the mapping pair, a user behavior of the user for a first cover with a second label and a time from the user behavior to a current time;
the weight determination submodule is used for attenuating the weight of the user behavior based on the time of the user behavior from the current moment and determining the short-term weight of the user behavior;
a fourth relevance determination submodule configured to determine a first relevance of the second label for the user based on the user behavior and the short-term weight.
In one possible implementation, the relevance of the second cover to the user is determined using the following formula:
wherein, S (p)
i) Denotes the ith second cover p
iRelevance for the user; h (t)
k) Denotes the kth second tag t
kFor a first degree of relevance to the user, n represents a second cover p
iThe number of the second tags, k is in the range of 1-n; g (p)
i,t
k) Denotes the ith second cover p
iFor the second label t
kA second degree of correlation; w (q)
j) Representing user to have a second label t
kOf the jth first cover q
jThe number of user actions; h (q)
j) Indicating that the user is directed to the jth first cover q
jThe user behavior is away from the time of the current moment; decapay represents the attenuation coefficient; click (p)
i) Representing multiple users against having a second label t
kSecond cover p
iThe number of actions of (c);
representing multiple users against having a second label t
kAll the second covers p
iAll of the number of actions.
In one possible implementation, the behavior data includes: and the user behaviors of the user aiming at the first multimedia resource in the specified time and the corresponding user behavior quantity.
In one possible implementation, the user behavior includes: one or more of a click, play, comment, search for a first multimedia asset.
According to another aspect of the present disclosure, there is provided a multimedia resource cover exhibition apparatus, including: a processor; a memory for storing processor-executable instructions; wherein the processor is configured to perform the above method.
According to another aspect of the present disclosure, there is provided a non-transitory computer-readable storage medium having instructions therein, which when executed by a processor of a terminal and/or a server, enable the terminal and/or the server to perform the above-described method.
According to the method and the device for displaying the cover of the multimedia resource, the mapping pair between the cover and the label can be established according to the behavior data of the user for the multimedia resource, the correlation degree of the cover of the multimedia resource to be displayed for the user is determined, and the cover is displayed for the user according to the correlation degree, so that the displayed video cover is matched with the interest of the user, and the user experience is improved.
Other features and aspects of the present disclosure will become apparent from the following detailed description of exemplary embodiments, which proceeds with reference to the accompanying drawings.
Detailed Description
Various exemplary embodiments, features and aspects of the present disclosure will be described in detail below with reference to the accompanying drawings. In the drawings, like reference numbers can indicate functionally identical or similar elements. While the various aspects of the embodiments are presented in drawings, the drawings are not necessarily drawn to scale unless specifically indicated.
The word "exemplary" is used exclusively herein to mean "serving as an example, embodiment, or illustration. Any embodiment described herein as "exemplary" is not necessarily to be construed as preferred or advantageous over other embodiments.
Furthermore, in the following detailed description, numerous specific details are set forth in order to provide a better understanding of the present disclosure. It will be understood by those skilled in the art that the present disclosure may be practiced without some of these specific details. In some instances, methods, means, elements and circuits that are well known to those skilled in the art have not been described in detail so as not to obscure the present disclosure.
Example 1
Fig. 1 is a flowchart illustrating a multimedia asset cover presentation method according to an exemplary embodiment. The method can be applied to a server. As shown in fig. 1, a method for displaying a cover of a multimedia resource according to an embodiment of the present disclosure includes:
in step S11, behavior data of the user for the first multimedia resource is acquired;
in step S12, a mapping pair between a first cover of the first multimedia asset and a first tag associated with the first cover is established based on the behavior data.
For example, when a user browses a video through a video-like application, user interaction behavior data in a user request may be obtained, where the user behavior data may include interaction behaviors of the user for searching, clicking, playing, or commenting on a first multimedia resource (e.g., a video), and behavior data corresponding to occurrence times of the interaction behaviors. Wherein the first multimedia asset can be a video asset with user behavior, the first multimedia assetThe set of sources P may be denoted as P ═ v1,v2,…,vMIn which v is1,v2,…,vMA first multimedia resource may be represented, M representing the number of first multimedia resources, M being greater than 1.
In one possible implementation, the behavior data may include: and the user behaviors of the user aiming at the first multimedia resource in the specified time and the corresponding user behavior quantity. The specified time may be a preset time, and for example, the specified time may be set to 30 days. Behavior data that is more distant from the current time than the specified time may be disregarded, thereby reducing the system burden. The present disclosure is not limited to specific settings for the designated time.
In one possible implementation, the user behavior may include one or more of a click, play, comment, search for the first multimedia asset. The present disclosure is not limited to a particular type of user behavior.
In one possible implementation, a mapping pair between a first cover of a first multimedia asset and a first tag associated with the first cover may be established based on behavioral data of a user. The first cover can be a cover adopted by a first multimedia resource when a user generates user behavior aiming at the first multimedia resource; the first label may be a label corresponding to the first cover. For example, if the first multimedia resource that the user clicks to play (generate the user behavior) is a certain action video, the first cover is a cover picture that the application presents to the user when the user views the action video, the first tag is a tag corresponding to the tendency of the cover picture, such as "action", or a tag of a person in the cover picture, such as "lie XX".
In one possible implementation, the mapping pair between the first cover and the first label may be represented as tm=f(Vm) Wherein V ismRepresenting a first multimedia asset vmFirst cover of (v)mBelong to the set P ({ v)1,v2,…,vM}) M has a value in the range of 1 to M; f represents a mapping function; t is tmThe representation corresponds to a first cover VmThe first tag of (1). Thus, there may be a first set of tags T ═ { f (V)1),f(V2),…,f(VM)}. Wherein each first cover may be manually labeled with a first label, the first label corresponding to the first cover may be determined by dictionary lookup to determine a mapping pair between the first cover and the first label.
Determining a relevance of a second cover of a second multimedia asset to the user based on the mapping pair, the second cover of the second multimedia asset to be presented to the user, and a second tag associated with the second cover in step S13;
in step S14, a second cover is presented to the user according to the relevance.
Fig. 2 is a flowchart illustrating a step S13 of a multimedia asset cover presentation method according to an exemplary embodiment. As shown in fig. 2, in one possible implementation, step S13 includes:
in step S131, determining a first relevance of the second label to the user based on the mapping pair;
in step S132, determining a second degree of association of a second cover with respect to a second tag based on the second cover and the second tag;
in step S133, a relevance of the second cover for the user is determined based on the first relevance and the second relevance.
For example, based on the mapping pairs representing the interest tendency of the user, the relevance of one or more second covers of a second multimedia resource (e.g., a video resource) to be presented to the user can be obtained, so that the covers meeting the interest of the user are selected from the second covers to be presented to the user. The second multimedia resource can be a video resource to be displayed to the user in the interface of the video application; the second cover can be one or more covers of the second multimedia resource, and can be a cover picture which is edited, intercepted or customized by a user; the second label may be one or more labels associated with the second cover, for example, the second label may include a label corresponding to a propensity of the second cover, such as "action," and/or a label of a character in the second cover, such as "lie XX," and the like.
In one possible implementation manner, in step S131, based on the mapping pair between the first cover and the first tag, a first relevance of the second tag to the user may be obtained.
Fig. 3 is a flowchart illustrating a step S131 of a multimedia asset cover presentation method according to an exemplary embodiment. As shown in fig. 3, in one possible implementation, step S131 includes:
step 1311, determining user behaviors of the user for the first cover with the second label and time of the user behaviors from the current moment based on the mapping pairs;
step S1312, attenuating the weight of the user behavior based on the time of the user behavior from the current moment, and determining the short-term weight of the user behavior;
step S1313, determining a first relevance of the second label for the user based on the user behavior and the short-term weight.
For example, for a second label associated with a second cover, a mapping pair (t) between the first cover and the first label may bem=f(Vm) If there is a first tag identical to the second tag, a first cover page associated with the first tag may be obtained, and a user behavior of the user for the first cover page, such as clicking, playing, etc., and a time from the user behavior to the current time may be determined.
In one possible implementation, the short-term weight of the user behavior may be determined by attenuating the weight of the user behavior based on the time of the user behavior from the current time. The weight attenuation of the user behavior with longer time from the current moment is considered to be larger, and the short-term weight of the user behavior is considered to be lower; conversely, the weight attenuation of the user behavior with shorter time from the current moment is smaller, and the short-term weight of the user behavior is higher. Based on the user behavior and the short-term weight of the user behavior, a first relevance of the second label to the user may be determined.
In a possible implementation, if the second multimedia asset to be presented to the user has N second covers (of which the ith second cover may be denoted as p)iI takes a value of 1-N); and a second cover piHaving n second tags (wherein the k second tag can be denoted as t)kAnd k takes the value of 1-n), the first correlation can be obtained by using the following formula (1):
in the formula (1), h (t)k) Can represent a second tag tkA first degree of correlation for the user; w (q)j) Can represent the user as having a second label tkOf the jth first cover qjThe number of user actions; h (q)j) Can represent that the user aims at the jth first cover qjThe user behavior is away from the time of the current moment; decade may denote the attenuation coefficient.
In one possible implementation, escapeH(qj)The number of user actions w (q) can be representedj) The attenuation coefficient decay may be smaller than 1, for example, the decay may be 0.5-0.95, for example, the decay may be 0.9. As can be seen, the longer the user behavior is from the current time, the smaller the short-term weight item is, the lower the first relevance of the second tag to the user is; conversely, the shorter the time from the user behavior to the current moment, the larger the short-term weight item is, the higher the first relevance of the second tag to the user is.
In one possible implementation, the tag may have a second tag t
kAll the first covers q of
jWeighted sum of user behavior
And log the summation result to perform time attenuation, so as to obtain a second label t
kFirst degree of correlation h (t) for a user
k). Having a second tag t in the user pair
kWhen the behavior frequency of the video resource is too much, the frequency attenuation can avoid the overlarge data fluctuation, so that the first correlation degree h (t)
k) The data of (2) is smoother.
In this way, a first degree of relevance of the second tag to the user may be obtained.
In one possible implementation manner, in step S132, based on the second cover and the second tag, a second degree of correlation of the second cover to the second tag may be determined.
For example, for a different second tag, the relevance to the second cover may be different, e.g., for tags of people in the second cover (e.g., "lie XX" and "X"), it may be that "lie XX" appears more frequently in the second multimedia resource, and the relevance to the second cover is higher; and the fewer occurrences of "X" the less relevant the label is to the second cover.
In one possible implementation, the second degree of correlation may be obtained by using the following equation (2):
in the formula (2), g (p)
i,t
k) Can represent a second cover p
iFor the second label t
kA second degree of correlation; click (p)
i) Can represent a plurality of users aiming at having a second label t
kSecond cover p
iThe number of actions of (c);
can represent a plurality of users aiming at having a second label t
kAll behavior numbers of all second covers.
For example, multiple second cover sheets of a second multimedia asset may correspond to the same second tag tkMultiple users are directed to having a second label tkSecond cover piBehavior ofThe number of users is a second label tkThe larger the proportion of all the behavior numbers of all the second covers is, the second cover p can be considered to beiFor the second label tkSecond degree of correlation g (p)i,tk) The higher.
In this way, a second degree of correlation of the second cover to the second label may be obtained.
In one possible implementation, based on the first correlation h (t)k) And a second degree of correlation g (p)i,tk) The second cover p can be determinediRelevance to user S (p)i)。
In one possible implementation, the second cover p may be determined using the following equation (3)iRelevance for the user:
in the formula (3), S (p)
i) An ith second cover p representing a second multimedia asset
iRelevance for the user; h (t)
k) Representing a second cover p
iOf the kth second tag t
kFor a first degree of relevance to the user, n represents a second cover p
iThe number of the second tags, k is in the range of 1-n; g (p)
i,t
k) Representing a second cover p
iFor the second label t
kA second degree of correlation; w (q)
j) Representing user to have a second label t
kOf the jth first cover q
jThe number of user actions; h (q)
j) Indicating that the user is directed to the jth first cover q
jThe user behavior is away from the time of the current moment; decapay represents the attenuation coefficient; click (p)
i) Representing multiple users against having a second label t
kSecond cover p
iThe number of actions of (c);
representing multiple users against having a second label t
kAll the second covers p
iAll of the number of actions.
For example, a second tag t may be obtainedkFirst degree of correlation h (t) for a userk) And a second cover piFor the second label tkSecond degree of correlation g (p)i,tk) And then all the second labels t with the value range of 1 to n are comparedkSumming to obtain the second cover piRelevance for the user.
In one possible implementation, the relevance of all second covers of the second multimedia asset to the user may be determined in the manner described above. And, the relevancy may be ranked, and the second cover with the highest relevancy may be considered as the cover in which the user is most interested, and the second cover may be presented to the user at the front end.
According to the embodiment of the disclosure, a mapping pair between a cover and a label can be established according to behavior data of a user for multimedia resources, the correlation between the user and a video cover is calculated, the correlation of the cover of the multimedia resources to be displayed to the user for the user is determined, the video cover is subjected to personalized sequencing, and the cover is displayed to the user according to the correlation, so that the displayed video cover is matched with the interest of the user, thousands of people are achieved, and the matching degree of the user and rich information of videos is improved; and the video covers can be sorted in real time, the behavior data of the user can be fed back in real time, and the user experience is improved.
Table 1 is a diagram illustrating an application scenario of a multimedia asset cover presentation method according to an exemplary embodiment.
As shown in table 1, in this exemplary application scenario, the second multimedia asset to be presented to the user may have a second cover P1 (click volume click of multiple users is 200), P2 (click volume click of multiple users is 100), P3 (click volume click of multiple users is 50), and a second cover P1 may have second tags t1, t 2; second cover P2 may have second tabs t2, t 3; second cover P3 may have second tabs t1, t3, and the second degree of association of second cover P1 with respect to second tab t1 may be that the number of clicks of multiple users for second cover P1 with second tab t 1/the number of clicks of multiple users for all second covers with second tab t1 (200+50) ═ 0.8; likewise, the second degree of association of the second cover P1 for the second tag t2 may be (200)/(200+100) ═ 0.67.
In this exemplary application scenario, the first degree of relevance of the second tag t1 for the user may be 0.6; the first degree of relevance of the second tag t2 for the user may be 0.5; the first degree of relevance of the second tag t3 to the user may be 0.3, and the degree of relevance of the second cover P1 to the user may be 0.6 × 0.8+0.5 × 0.67 — 0.815. In the same manner, a correlation of the second cover P2 for the user of 0.43 can be obtained; the relevance of the second cover P3 to the user is 0.25.
The second covers P1, P2 and P3 are ranked according to the relevance of the user (0.815>0.43>0.25), and according to the ranking result, the second cover P1 with the highest relevance can be used as the cover displayed to the user.
Through the method, the relevance between the user and the video cover can be calculated, and the video cover is subjected to personalized sequencing and display, so that the displayed video cover is matched with the interest of the user, the personalized display of the video cover is realized, and the user experience is improved.
Example 2
FIG. 4 is a block diagram illustrating a multimedia asset cover presentation, according to an exemplary embodiment. As shown in fig. 4, the multimedia resource cover exhibiting apparatus includes: a behavior data acquisition module 41, a mapping pair establishment module 42, a relevancy determination module 43, and a cover presentation module 44.
A behavior data obtaining module 41, configured to obtain behavior data of a user for a first multimedia resource;
a mapping pair establishing module 42 for establishing a mapping pair between a first cover of the first multimedia asset and a first tag associated with the first cover based on the behavior data;
a relevance determining module 43, configured to determine a relevance of a second cover of a second multimedia resource to the user based on the mapping pair, the second cover of the second multimedia resource to be presented to the user, and a second tag associated with the second cover;
and a cover display module 44, configured to display the second cover to the user according to the relevancy.
FIG. 5 is a block diagram illustrating a multimedia asset cover presentation, according to an exemplary embodiment. As shown in fig. 5, in a possible implementation manner, the correlation determination module 43 includes:
a first relevance determining submodule 431, configured to determine a first relevance of the second label to the user based on the mapping pair;
a second relevancy determination submodule 432, configured to determine a second relevancy of a second cover to the second tag based on the second cover and the second tag;
a third relevancy determination submodule 433, configured to determine a relevancy of the second cover to the user based on the first relevancy and the second relevancy.
As shown in fig. 5, in a possible implementation manner, the first correlation determination submodule 431 includes:
a behavior determination submodule 4311, configured to determine, based on the mapping pair, a user behavior of the user for the first cover with the second label and a time from a current time of the user behavior;
the weight determining submodule 4312 is configured to attenuate the weight of the user behavior based on a time of the user behavior from a current time, and determine a short-term weight of the user behavior;
a fourth relevance determining sub-module 4313, configured to determine a first relevance of the second label to the user based on the user behavior and the short-term weight.
In one possible implementation, the relevance of the second cover to the user is determined using the following formula:
wherein, S (p)
i) Denotes the ith second cover p
iRelevance for the user; h (t)
k) Denotes the kth second tag t
kFor a first degree of relevance to the user, n represents a second cover p
iThe number of the second tags, k is in the range of 1-n; g (p)
i,t
k) Denotes the ith second cover p
iFor the second label t
kA second degree of correlation; w (q)
j) Representing user to have a second label t
kOf the jth first cover q
jThe number of user actions; h (q)
j) Indicating that the user is directed to the jth first cover q
jThe user behavior is away from the time of the current moment; decapay represents the attenuation coefficient; click (p)
i) Representing multiple users against having a second label t
kSecond cover p
iThe number of actions of (c);
representing multiple users against having a second label t
kAll the second covers p
iAll of the number of actions.
In one possible implementation, the behavior data includes: and the user behaviors aiming at the first multimedia resource and the corresponding user behavior quantity in the appointed time.
In one possible implementation, the user behavior includes: one or more of a click, play, comment, search for the first multimedia asset.
According to the embodiment of the disclosure, the mapping pair between the cover and the label can be established according to the behavior data of the user for the multimedia resource, the correlation degree of the cover of the multimedia resource to be shown to the user for the user is determined, and the cover is shown to the user according to the correlation degree, so that the shown video cover is matched with the interest of the user, and the user experience is improved.
Example 3
Fig. 6 is a block diagram illustrating a multimedia asset cover presentation device 1900 according to an exemplary embodiment. For example, the apparatus 1900 may be provided as a server. Referring to FIG. 6, the device 1900 includes a processing component 1922 further including one or more processors and memory resources, represented by memory 1932, for storing instructions, e.g., applications, executable by the processing component 1922. The application programs stored in memory 1932 may include one or more modules that each correspond to a set of instructions. Further, the processing component 1922 is configured to execute instructions to perform the above-described method.
The device 1900 may also include a power component 1926 configured to perform power management of the device 1900, a wired or wireless network interface 1950 configured to connect the device 1900 to a network, and an input/output (I/O) interface 1958. The device 1900 may operate based on an operating system stored in memory 1932, such as Windows Server, Mac OS XTM, UnixTM, LinuxTM, FreeBSDTM, or the like.
In an exemplary embodiment, a non-transitory computer readable storage medium is also provided that includes instructions, such as the memory 1932 that includes instructions, which are executable by the processing component 1922 of the apparatus 1900 to perform the above-described method.
The present disclosure may be systems, methods, and/or computer program products. The computer program product may include a computer-readable storage medium having computer-readable program instructions embodied thereon for causing a processor to implement various aspects of the present disclosure.
The computer readable storage medium may be a tangible device that can hold and store the instructions for use by the instruction execution device. The computer readable storage medium may be, for example, but not limited to, an electronic memory device, a magnetic memory device, an optical memory device, an electromagnetic memory device, a semiconductor memory device, or any suitable combination of the foregoing. More specific examples (a non-exhaustive list) of the computer readable storage medium would include the following: a portable computer diskette, a hard disk, a Random Access Memory (RAM), a read-only memory (ROM), an erasable programmable read-only memory (EPROM or flash memory), a Static Random Access Memory (SRAM), a portable compact disc read-only memory (CD-ROM), a Digital Versatile Disc (DVD), a memory stick, a floppy disk, a mechanical coding device, such as punch cards or in-groove projection structures having instructions stored thereon, and any suitable combination of the foregoing. Computer-readable storage media as used herein is not to be construed as transitory signals per se, such as radio waves or other freely propagating electromagnetic waves, electromagnetic waves propagating through a waveguide or other transmission medium (e.g., optical pulses through a fiber optic cable), or electrical signals transmitted through electrical wires.
The computer-readable program instructions described herein may be downloaded from a computer-readable storage medium to a respective computing/processing device, or to an external computer or external storage device via a network, such as the internet, a local area network, a wide area network, and/or a wireless network. The network may include copper transmission cables, fiber optic transmission, wireless transmission, routers, firewalls, switches, gateway computers and/or edge servers. The network adapter card or network interface in each computing/processing device receives computer-readable program instructions from the network and forwards the computer-readable program instructions for storage in a computer-readable storage medium in the respective computing/processing device.
The computer program instructions for carrying out operations of the present disclosure may be assembler instructions, Instruction Set Architecture (ISA) instructions, machine-related instructions, microcode, firmware instructions, state setting data, or source or object code written in any combination of one or more programming languages, including an object oriented programming language such as Smalltalk, C + + or the like and conventional procedural programming languages, such as the "C" programming language or similar programming languages. The computer-readable program instructions may execute entirely on the user's computer, partly on the user's computer, as a stand-alone software package, partly on the user's computer and partly on a remote computer or entirely on the remote computer or server. In the case of a remote computer, the remote computer may be connected to the user's computer through any type of network, including a Local Area Network (LAN) or a Wide Area Network (WAN), or the connection may be made to an external computer (for example, through the Internet using an Internet service provider). In some embodiments, the electronic circuitry that can execute the computer-readable program instructions implements aspects of the present disclosure by utilizing the state information of the computer-readable program instructions to personalize the electronic circuitry, such as a programmable logic circuit, a Field Programmable Gate Array (FPGA), or a Programmable Logic Array (PLA).
Various aspects of the present disclosure are described herein with reference to flowchart illustrations and/or block diagrams of methods, apparatus (systems) and computer program products according to embodiments of the disclosure. It will be understood that each block of the flowchart illustrations and/or block diagrams, and combinations of blocks in the flowchart illustrations and/or block diagrams, can be implemented by computer-readable program instructions.
These computer-readable program instructions may be provided to a processor of a general purpose computer, special purpose computer, or other programmable data processing apparatus to produce a machine, such that the instructions, which execute via the processor of the computer or other programmable data processing apparatus, create means for implementing the functions/acts specified in the flowchart and/or block diagram block or blocks. These computer-readable program instructions may also be stored in a computer-readable storage medium that can direct a computer, programmable data processing apparatus, and/or other devices to function in a particular manner, such that the computer-readable medium storing the instructions comprises an article of manufacture including instructions which implement the function/act specified in the flowchart and/or block diagram block or blocks.
The computer readable program instructions may also be loaded onto a computer, other programmable data processing apparatus, or other devices to cause a series of operational steps to be performed on the computer, other programmable apparatus or other devices to produce a computer implemented process such that the instructions which execute on the computer, other programmable apparatus or other devices implement the functions/acts specified in the flowchart and/or block diagram block or blocks.
The flowchart and block diagrams in the figures illustrate the architecture, functionality, and operation of possible implementations of systems, methods and computer program products according to various embodiments of the present disclosure. In this regard, each block in the flowchart or block diagrams may represent a module, segment, or portion of instructions, which comprises one or more executable instructions for implementing the specified logical function(s). In some alternative implementations, the functions noted in the block may occur out of the order noted in the figures. For example, two blocks shown in succession may, in fact, be executed substantially concurrently, or the blocks may sometimes be executed in the reverse order, depending upon the functionality involved. It will also be noted that each block of the block diagrams and/or flowchart illustration, and combinations of blocks in the block diagrams and/or flowchart illustration, can be implemented by special purpose hardware-based systems which perform the specified functions or acts, or combinations of special purpose hardware and computer instructions.
Having described embodiments of the present disclosure, the foregoing description is intended to be exemplary, not exhaustive, and not limited to the disclosed embodiments. Many modifications and variations will be apparent to those of ordinary skill in the art without departing from the scope and spirit of the described embodiments. The terms used herein were chosen in order to best explain the principles of the embodiments, the practical application, or technical improvements to the techniques in the marketplace, or to enable others of ordinary skill in the art to understand the embodiments disclosed herein.