Method for locating digital information files
AssigneeXerox Corporation
InventorsHinrich Schüetze, James E. Pitkow
Life of this patent
Estimating the term…
Abstract
Improved method, data structure and computer readable medium for searching for digital information files. Files referenced by URLs may be quickly located by finding a minimum unique prefix for the desired URL, breaking the prefix into substrings, and traversing a trie data structure to find indices to another trie data structure that will yield the physical location of the stored digital information file. A node data structure may be used to construct the trie data structures, and may be compressed to allow the tries to occupy less memory, thus allowing the tries to be maintained in memory and less access to storage devices. The result is faster retrieval times for digital information files.
Claims19
A method of retrieving digital information files comprising the steps of:
- (a) determining a minimum unique prefix for a resource name associated with a digital information file;
- (b) determining at least one index for the minimum unique prefix;
- (c) traversing a trie data structure based on the at least one index to determine a physical location of said digital information file;
- and
- (d) retrieving said digital information file from said physical location.
A method of retrieving a digital information file comprising the steps of:
- (a) translating a resource name into at least one index and traversing a trie data structure based on the at least one index to verify whether the resource name associated with a digital information file indicates that the digital information file is located in a storage device;
- (b) checking a local memory for said digital information file if said resource name is not located in said trie;
- (c) searching for said digital information file on a computer network if said digital information file is not in said local memory;
- and
- (d) retrieving said digital information file from its physical location.
A machine readable medium having instructions stored thereon that when executed by a processor cause a system to:
- (a) determine a minimum unique prefix for a resource name associated with a digital information file;
- (b) determine at least one index for the minimum unique prefix;
- (c) traverse a trie data structure based on the at least one index to determine a physical location of said digital information file;
- and
- (d) retrieve said digital information file from said physical location.
Dependencies are inferred from the claim text.