WIRE-a WWW-based information retrieval and extraction system

Locating and retrieving specific data from the World Wide Web (WWW) is an important problem. Existing search engines often return too much useless data and are generally incapable of automatically extracting specific information such as names and email addresses. We describe WIRE, a WWW-based information retrieval and extraction system whose goal is to accurately retrieve and organize specific information from the World Wide Web. WIRE employs several innovative techniques. First, queries of WIRE are tree structured. This not only provides an order in which Web pages are to be searched/retrieved but also provides a context for more accurate retrieval. Second, WIRE employs a library of search templates based on the structure of HTML files to extract specific information. These templates can be complemented by user-provided search examples and patterns for better results. Third, WIRE has a filter mechanism to filter our undesired information to further improve retrieval accuracy.