Message multicasting

• Main Authors: GAKU YAMAMOTO, YUHICHI NAKAMURA
• Format: Patent
• Language: English
• Published: 22.03.2000
• Edition: 7
• Subjects: CALCULATING; COMPUTER SYSTEMS BASED ON SPECIFIC COMPUTATIONAL MODELS; COMPUTING; COUNTING; DATA PROCESSING SYSTEMS OR METHODS, SPECIALLY ADAPTED FORADMINISTRATIVE, COMMERCIAL, FINANCIAL, MANAGERIAL, SUPERVISORYOR FORECASTING PURPOSES; ELECTRIC DIGITAL DATA PROCESSING; PHYSICS; SYSTEMS OR METHODS SPECIALLY ADAPTED FOR ADMINISTRATIVE,COMMERCIAL, FINANCIAL, MANAGERIAL, SUPERVISORY OR FORECASTINGPURPOSES, NOT OTHERWISE PROVIDED FOR

When multicasting a message to agents, a message monitor 5 executes the steps of: receiving preferential destination information designated by a user and a message; determining to which agents the message is to be sent, by referring to the preferential destination information; and sending the message to the agents determined as destinations. This preferential destination information designated by a user is the information representing a user's "taste" which is represented, for instance, by an agent name and a priority (or weight). It is also possible that the destination determining step comprises a step of referring to a messaging policy data defining priorities of agents to which the message can be sent. By doing so, it becomes possible to reflect a policy of a market's sponsor on message sending. Moreover, it is also possible to transform it so that a message destination is determined by referring only to a messaging policy data rather than preferential destination information designated by a user. Application is to online shopping on WWW.