Method and apparatus for retrieving information distributed over nonconsecutive pages

Claim 1

A videotex information retrieval system, comprising, a host computer including database means for storing information and organizing said information into a series of numbered pages, each of which incorporates page number data designating said pages by consecutive page numbers in said series, and pointer data designating the number of a next page in a non-numerical browse order; said browse order specifying a sequence of various ones of said pages, each one of the pages in the sequence having a common categorical level according to a system of categories of subject matter assigned to said pages; a plurality of service computer means located remotely of said host computer; a plurality of terminal means including display means for displaying said pages one at a time; communication means for transmitting said pages to said terminal means for display thereby pertaining to a selected service computer for establishing a communication path to a selected one of said terminal means, and for extending the communication path over a gateway path between said host computer and a selected one of said service computers; said terminal means including consecutive page number request for requesting said pages to be displayed sequentially in said consecutive page numbers in said series; said terminal means including browse request means for requesting said pages to be displayed sequentially in said browse order; means operating in response to said browse request means to consult said pointer data of the currently displayed page for the purpose of determining the next page number in said browse sequence and to cause said communication means to transmit the page so numbered to said terminal for display thereby; said database means further organizing said pages hierarchically into groups, one or more pages of each group being designated as the first level for that group, and any remaining pages of each group being designated as one or more sublevels for that group, said sublevels of each group having a designated order in said hierarchy; and said pointer data arranged so that said browse sequence reaches said groups in a designated order, reaches those pages which are at any given level or sublevel of any of said groups in said designated order by groups, reaches any of said first level pages of any of said groups before any of said sublevel pages of any of said groups, and reaches said sublevel pages of any of said groups before any lower order sublevel pages of any of said groups according to hierarchical order.