Indexing multiple types of data to facilitate rapid re-indexing of one or more types of data

A computer program product comprising a tangible computer readable storage medium having computer usable program code embodied therewith for indexing a plurality of documents having content and metadata, each of the plurality of documents having a unique document identifier, the computer usable program code that is stored in a tangible medium comprising:

• computer usable program code operable to index the content of a plurality of documents to generate an inverted content index;
• computer usable program code operable to index the metadata of plurality of documents to generate a first metadata index, the first metadata index being an inverted index that is parallel with the content index;
• computer usable program code operable to store the metadata of the plurality of documents in a metadata store in native form and cross referenced with the unique document identifiers;
• computer usable program code operable to re-index the metadata of the plurality of documents from the metadata store to generate a second metadata index while maintaining the first metadata index available for searching, the second metadata index being an inverted index that is parallel with the content index;
• and
• computer usable program code operable to replace the first metadata index with the second metadata index.

A computer implemented indexing system for indexing a plurality of documents containing content and metadata, each of the plurality of documents having a unique document identifier, the system comprising:

• a processor;
• a computer readable storage medium operably coupled to the processor and containing computer useable program code which when run by the processor causes the processor to be operable to:
• index the content of the plurality of documents to generate an inverted content index;
• index the metadata of the plurality of documents to generate a first metadata index, the first metadata index being an inverted index that is parallel with the content index;
• store the metadata of the plurality of documents in a metadata store in native form and cross referenced with the unique document identifiers;
• re-index the metadata of the plurality of documents from the metadata store to generate a second metadata index while maintaining the first metadata index available for searching, the second metadata index being an inverted index that is parallel with the content index;
• and
• replace the first metadata index with the second metadata index.

A computer implemented method for an indexing system for a plurality of documents containing first and second types of data, each of the plurality of documents having a unique document identifier, the method comprising:

• receiving indexing settings at an indexing engine of the indexing system, the indexing settings including indexing settings for the first type of data and indexing settings for the second type of data;
• indexing the first type of data of the documents with the indexing engine to generate an inverted first data type index in accordance with the indexing settings for the first type of data;
• indexing the second type of data of the documents to generate a second data type index with the indexing engine in accordance with the indexing settings for the second type of data, the second type index being an inverted index that is parallel with the first data type index;
• storing the second data type of the plurality of documents in a native data store in native form separate from the plurality of documents and cross referenced with document identifiers;
• and
• providing the first and second data type indexes to a search engine by the indexing engine to allow searching of the indexes.

A computer program product comprising a tangible computer readable storage medium having computer usable program code embodied therewith, the computer usable program code that is stored in a tangible medium comprising:

• computer usable program code operable to receive indexing settings at an indexing engine of the indexing system, the indexing settings including indexing settings for the first type of data and indexing settings for the second type of data;
• computer usable program code operable to index the first type of data of the documents with the indexing engine to generate an inverted first data type index in accordance with the indexing settings for the first type of data, the first data type index being an inverted index;
• computer usable program code operable to index the second type of data of the documents to generate a second data type index with the indexing engine in accordance with the indexing settings for the second type of data, the second data type index being an inverted index and parallel with the first data type index;
• computer usable program code operable to provide the first and second data type indexes to a search engine by the indexing engine to allow searching of the indexes.