Microsoft Technology Licensing, LLC

Christopher M Vaughan

Amit Gupta

Carlos Yeung

Christophe Marle

Oliver Wallace

Jane T Kim

Nathan J E Furtwangler

Ronald Forbes

Various embodiments provide a Web browser that employs a relevancy algorithm to make an educated guess as to the likelihood of a user's intended destination when the user begins to enter text into a browser's address bar. In one or more embodiments, the relevancy algorithm employs various parameters and assigns weights to the parameters to arrive at a collection of suggestions to provide to the user. By using various rules, associated weightings, and the relevancy algorithm, relevant suggestions can be provided to a user to facilitate their navigation activities.

Relevancy sorting of user's browser history

Embodiments present a common access mechanism that can be used by one or more applications to access different data sources in a storage layer and have data stored in the data sources returned to the one or more applications. The common access mechanism can be presented by a data model that is implemented by a query and aggregation layer of an extensible querying/scheduling system. At least some individual data sources store data in different formats and have their own specific access mechanisms of which the one or more applications are unaware. In embodiments, the data model creates one or more data providers that are individually associated with individual data sources and knowledgeable of how to access data stored in an associated data source. At least some of the data providers receive queries for data and execute the queries using a different thread than the data model. At least some of the data providers are creatable on a thread that is a same thread as the data model.

Extensible data provider querying and scheduling system

Embodiments provide a query and aggregation layer that is communicatively coupled to, and independent of, a presentation layer and a storage layer. The query and aggregation layer includes a data model configured to expose an access mechanism that is usable to access different data sources in the storage layer. A search query is received from the presentation layer, and one or more data providers identified in the search query are ascertained. At least some of the data providers are creatable on a same thread as that of the data model. Also, the search query is issued to identified data providers in the query and aggregation layer effective to cause the identified data providers to execute the search query on data sources associated with the identified data providers. Additionally, search results are received at the data model from the identified data providers and returned to the presentation layer.

In one or more embodiments, a Web browser is configured to enable a user to open a new tab and, responsively, display one or more activities in a new tab page for the user. The user can then select, from the new tab page, one or more activities to be performed. In at least some embodiments, a user can select an object in a first tab page, open a new tab page, and select an activity on the new tab page that is to be performed relative to the selected object.

Displaying a user's default activities in a new tab page

Embodiments provide an independent layer between an application user interface and various data sources so that both the user interface and data sources can be added to, removed, or modified without affecting the other. The independent layer provides scalability to allow data sources and data providers to be plugged into a system in an easy manner. In one or more embodiments, the independent layer provides a common set of query APIs that can be used by client applications to make queries on one or more data sources. The independent layer then communicates the queries to one or more data providers associated with individual data sources. Queries are executed on the data sources and results are returned back up through the data providers and independent layer for consumption by a client application. In at least some embodiments, the client application comprises a web browser that makes use of the independent layer.

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Seattle, WA, United States of America

Christopher M Vaughan