Method and Apparatus for Searching a Hierarchical Database and an Unstructured Database with a Single Search Query

A method of searching a hierarchical database and an inverted index, comprising:

• receiving a single search query that has syntax identifying an unstructured search string within a structured search query to automatically cause a search of the inverted index and use of the result to automatically search the hierarchical database;
• extracting the unstructured search string from the single search query;
• searching the inverted index according to the unstructured search string, wherein the inverted index includes virtual documents created from data stored in the hierarchical database, wherein each virtual document includes a unique identifier from the hierarchical database used to designate the data in the hierarchical database from which that virtual document was created, wherein a result of the inverted index search includes the unique identifiers of the virtual documents that meet the search;
• and
• for each of the unique identifiers in the result,
• generating a separate search query from the single search query by replacing the unstructured search string in the structured search query with that unique identifier, and
• searching the hierarchical database according to the separate search query