Indexing and searching of information including handler chaining
AssigneeMicrosoft Corporation
InventorsPrashant Kamani, Daniel D. Fisher
Life of this patent
Estimating the term…
Abstract
Embodiments are provided to manage information associated with a number of disparate information sources. In an embodiment, a system includes a data structure having a uniform metadata representation and a metadata handler for interacting with the data structure. The data structure can be associated with an underlying file or some other type of information source. In one embodiment, a number of handlers can be chained together to extract and return information according to a desired mode of operation. The embodiments provide extensibility and can be tailored according to a desired implementation. Other embodiments and implementations are available.
Claims20
A computer readable medium including executable instructions which, when executed, manage information by:
- defining an information source having a uniform representation of metadata and also including full-text search data (FTSData), wherein the information source can be linked to an underlying information source having a representative file format and the information source can be used to provide additional content for use in searching and indexing operations;
- calling an intermediate handler to extract metadata and FTSData from the information source;
- invoking a registered handler to extract metadata and other information from the underlying information source if the underlying information source exists;
- and,
- using the metadata and FTSData as part of the indexing and searching operations.
A system to manage information comprising:
- an information source that includes a uniform representation of metadata, wherein the information source can include FTSData and can be linked to an underlying information source;
- an intermediate handler configured to filter metadata from the information source;
- a chained handler configured to filter metadata from the underlying information source, wherein the intermediate handler can call on the chained handler to filter the metadata;
- and,
- an indexer to index the extracted metadata and any existing FTSData against the information source.
A method of managing information comprising:
- defining a data structure including a uniform representation of metadata, wherein the data structure can include an element defining free-form text that can be used to provide additional details about the data structure;
- extracting the metadata and free-form text from the data structure by invoking a metadata handler to extract the metadata and free-form text;
- chaining a second handler that is configured to extract underlying metadata from an underlying information source if in existence;
- and,
- performing an indexing operation by using the extracted metadata and free-form text to index against the data structure.
Dependencies are inferred from the claim text.