US 8,805,785 B2Granted

Shared storage of categorization, labeling or tagging of objects in a collaboration system

AssigneeOracle International Corporation

InventorsRamesh Vasudevan, Percy Mehta

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Abstract

A computer that is programmed with collaboration software receives a new value of an attribute (or property or characteristic) which is specific to a label (or tag or category) as applied to an object managed by the computer. The computer does not use the new value to overwrite a corresponding old value in existing metadata. Instead, the computer is programmed to hold the new value in an incremental label application for the object. The computer is further programmed to respond to a request for the object's label application, by retrieving the incremental label application, and a full application of said label to said object. The computer uses attribute values in the incremental label application to update corresponding attribute values in a copy of the full label application, in a time sequence based on the time of creation of incremental label applications, thereby to generate a current label application.

Claims20

Dependent claims

A non-transitory computer-readable storage medium comprising a plurality of instructions to be executed in a computer for versioning of tags, the plurality of instructions comprising:

instructions to receive information identifying a new first value of a first attribute of a tag applied to an object comprised among a plurality of objects in a memory of the computer, the information identifying no change to existing values of other attributes of the tag;
wherein the object is of any type selected from at least a message type, a document type, a contact type, a discussion type, or a meeting type;
wherein the other attributes are different from the first attribute;
instructions responsive to receipt of the information, to automatically create for the object an incremental tag application comprising the new first value for the first attribute of the tag applied to the object and lacking the existing values of the other attributes of the tag applied to the object;
instructions to automatically store in the memory, the incremental tag application in association with existing metadata comprising a full tag application to the object, the full tag application comprising an existing second value of a second attribute and an existing first value of the first attribute;
instructions to receive a command to retrieve a current tag application for the object;
instructions responsive to receipt of the command, to automatically prepare the current tag application by at least:
retrieving the incremental tag application, retrieving the full tag application, and constructing the current tag application to comprise the new first value for the first attribute retrieved from the incremental tag application and the existing values of the other attributes retrieved from the full tag application;
and
instructions to automatically store in said memory, said current tag application.

7 more elements

An apparatus for versioning tags, the apparatus comprising a computer, the computer comprising a processor and a memory coupled to the processor, the computer further comprising:

means for receiving information identifying a new first value of a first attribute of a tag applied to an object comprised among a plurality of objects in the memory of the computer, the information identifying no change to existing values of other attributes of the tag;
wherein the object is of any type selected from at least a message type, a document type, a contact type, a discussion type, or a meeting type;
wherein the other attributes are different from the first attribute;
means for creating, in the memory of the computer, for the object an incremental tag application comprising the new first value for the first attribute of the tag applied to the object and lacking the existing values of the other attributes of the tag applied to the object;
means for storing in the memory of the computer, the incremental tag application in association with existing metadata comprising a full tag application to the object, the full tag application comprising an existing second value of a second attribute and an existing first value of the first attribute;
means for receiving a command to retrieve a current tag application for the object;
means for preparing the current tag application by at least:
retrieving the incremental tag application, retrieving the full tag application, and constructing the current tag application to comprise the new first value for the first attribute retrieved from the incremental tag application and the existing values of the other attributes retrieved from the full tag application;
and
means for storing in said memory of said computer, said current tag application.

7 more elements

A computer-implemented method for versioning tags, the method comprising:

receiving information identifying a new first value of a first attribute of a tag applied to an object comprised among a plurality of objects in a memory of a computer, the information identifying no change to existing values of other attributes of the tag;
wherein the object is of any type selected from at least a message type, a document type, a contact type, a discussion type, or a meeting type;
wherein the other attributes are different from the first attribute;
creating, in the memory of the computer, for the object an incremental tag application comprising the new first value for the first attribute of the tag applied to the object and lacking the existing values of the other attributes of the tag applied to the object;
storing in the memory of the computer, the incremental tag application in association with existing metadata comprising a full tag application to the object, the full tag application comprising an existing second value of a second attribute and an existing first value of the first attribute;
receiving a command to retrieve a current tag application for the object;
preparing the current tag application by at least:
retrieving the incremental tag application, retrieving the full tag application, and constructing the current tag application to comprise the new first value for the first attribute retrieved from the incremental tag application and the existing values of the additional attributes retrieved from the full tag application;
and
storing in said memory of said computer, said current tag application.

7 more elements

Dependencies are inferred from the claim text.