WEBCUTTER - A SYSTEM FOR DYNAMIC AND TAILORABLE SITE MAPPING

Conventional information discovery tools can be classified as being ei ther search oriented or browse oriented. In the context of the Web, se arch-oriented tools employ text-analysis techniques to find Web docume nts based on user-specified queries, whereas browse-oriented ones empl oy site mapping and visualization techniques to allow users to navigat e through the Web. This paper presents a unique approach that tightly integrates searching and browsing in a manner that improves both parad igms. When browsing is the primary task, it enables semantic content-b ased tailoring of Web maps in both the generation as well as the visua lization phases. When search is the primary task, it enables to contex tualize the results by augmenting them with the documents' neighborhoo ds. The approach is embodied in WebCutter, a client-server system full y integrated with Web software. WebCutter consists of a map generator running off a standard Web server and a map visualization client imple mented as a Java applet runnable from any standard Web-browser and req uiring no installation or external plug-in application. WebCutter is i n beta stage and is in the process of being integrated into the Lotus Domino.Applications product line. (C) 1997 Published by Elsevier Scien ce B.V.