Numeric value decay for efficient relevance computation

• US 10,083,235 B2
• Filed: 11/14/2013
• Issued: 09/25/2018
• Est. Priority Date: 01/18/2013
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Ip Ot Sub Ulc
• Original Assignee: Open Text Sa Ulc (Open Text Corporation)
• Inventors: Pidduck, Patrick Thomas Sidney
• Primary Examiner(s): Trujillo, James
• Assistant Examiner(s): Le, Jessica N
• Application Number:
  US14/079,785
• Publication Number:
  US 20140207747A1
• Time in Patent Office: 1,776 Days
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 16/951 Indexing; Web crawling techniques
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 16/953 Querying, e.g. by the use of web search engines

Abstract

Search engines today are capable of incorporating numeric scoring modifiers from controlling applications into their relevance computations. Challenges arise in keeping these modifiers current, given that they may change over time. Embodiments provide a new way to compute numeric value decay for efficient relevance computation without having to rely on a controlling application. The controlling application can set a value for a modifier of an object managed by the controlling application and the controlling application can perform operations on the modifier. However, the controlling application does not need to keep track of the modifier and compute the modifier value independently. Rather, a search engine is configured to perform decay computation(s) and adjust the modifier value on a regular basis or on demand. The search engine ensures that modifier values for all the objects indexed by the search engine are always valid—within acceptable ranges and with acceptable adjustments.

Claims

1. A method, comprising:

creating, by a decay computation component of a search engine of a search system, a modifier value in a modifier type metadata field of a first object stored in a repository, the search engine implementing a modifier having a numeric data type representing a degree of popularity or frequency of use, the modifier type metadata field representing the modifier, the repository communicatively connected to the search system, the decay computation component embodied on a non-transitory computer readable medium of the search system, the search engine communicatively connected to an application over a network connection, wherein the modifier type metadata field of the first object stored in the repository is defined by the application, the search engine configured for computing relevance of the first object with respect to a search query based at least in part on the modifier value in the modifier type metadata field of the first object stored in the repository, the decay computation component of the search engine configured for adjusting values in modifier type metadata fields of objects stored in the repository; and

adjusting, by the decay computation component of the search engine, the modifier value in the modifier type metadata field of the first object stored in the repository towards a resting value, the resting value representing a numeric point at which the modifier value in the modifier type metadata field of the first object stored in the repository is to approach or reach, the adjusting performed by the decay computation component of the search engine;

on a periodic basis,

in response to a demand to perform a computation to update the modifier value in the modifier type metadata field of the first object stored in the repository, or

in response to a triggering event.

2. The method according to claim 1, wherein the repository comprises an indexed object storage, the indexed object storage storing a plurality of objects searchable by the search engine, the method further comprising:

searching, by the search engine, the plurality of objects using the modifier value.

3. The method according to claim 1, wherein the adjusting comprises adding a constant or multiplying a factor to the modifier value and wherein the decay computation component of the search engine is configured for ensuring that the modifier value does not exceed a maximum value.

4. The method according to claim 1, wherein the adjusting comprises subtracting a constant from the modifier value or reducing the modifier value by a factor and wherein the decay computation component of the search engine is configured for ensuring that the modifier value does not fall below a minimum value.

5. The method according to claim 1, wherein the adjusting comprises computing a time interval and reducing the modifier value by half at the computed time interval.

6. The method according to claim 1, wherein the adjusting the modifier value in the modifier type metadata field of the first object is performed by the decay computation component of the search engine in response to a transaction issued by the application and received by the search engine.

7. The method according to claim 1, wherein the search engine is communicatively connected to a plurality of controlling applications, the method further comprising adjusting the modifier value in the modifier type metadata field of the first object in response to indexing or index update transactions issued by the plurality of controlling applications.

8. A system, comprising:

a search engine communicatively connected to an application executing on one or more server machines, the search engine implementing a modifier having a numeric data type representing a degree of popularity or frequency of use; and

an indexed object storage communicatively connected to the search engine,

the indexed object storage storing a plurality of objects searchable by the search engine,

the plurality of objects including a first object having a modifier type metadata field, the modifier type metadata field representing the modifier,

wherein the modifier type metadata field of the first object stored in the repository is defined by the application,

the search engine configured for computing relevance of the first object with respect to a search query based at least in part on the modifier value in the modifier type metadata field of the first object stored in the repository,

wherein the search engine comprises a decay computation component embodied on a non-transitory computer readable medium,

the decay computation component of the search engine configured for adjusting a modifier value in the modifier type metadata field of the first object stored in the repository towards a resting value,

the resting value representing a numeric point at which the modifier value in the modifier type metadata field of the first object stored in the indexed object storage is to approach or reach,

the adjusting performed by the decay computation component of the search engine;

on a periodic basis,

in response to a demand to perform a computation to update the modifier value in the modifier type metadata field of the first object stored in the repository, or

in response to a triggering event.

9. The system of claim 8, wherein the search engine further comprises a relevance computation component for computing a relevance of the first object relative to a query received from the application based at least in part on the modifier value in the modifier type metadata field of the first object as adjusted by the decay computation component.

10. The system of claim 8, wherein the decay computation component of the search engine adjusts the modifier value in the modifier type metadata field of the first object by adding a constant or multiplying a factor to the modifier value and ensures that the modifier value does not exceed a maximum value.

11. The system of claim 8, wherein the decay computation component of the search engine adjusts the modifier value in the modifier type metadata field of the first object by subtracting a constant from the modifier value or reducing the modifier value by a factor and ensues that the modifier value does not fall below a minimum value.

12. The system of claim 8, wherein the decay computation component of the search engine adjusts the modifier value in the modifier type metadata field of the first object by computing a time interval and reducing the modifier value by half at the computed time interval.

13. The system of claim 8, wherein the decay computation component of the search engine adjusts the modifier value in the modifier type metadata field of the first object in response to a transaction issued by the application and received by the search engine.

14. The system of claim 8, wherein the search engine is communicatively connected to a plurality of controlling applications and wherein the decay computation component of the search engine is further configured for adjusting the modifier value in the modifier type metadata field of the first object in response to indexing or index update transactions issued by the plurality of controlling applications.

15. A computer program product comprising at least one non-transitory computer readable medium storing instructions executable by a search engine embodied on one or more server machines operating in a network to cause the search engine to perform:

creating, by a decay computation component of the search engine, a modifier value in a modifier type metadata field of a first object stored in a repository, the search engine implementing a modifier having a numeric data type representing a degree of popularity or frequency of use, the modifier type metadata field representing the modifier,

the search engine communicatively connected to an application over a network, wherein the modifier type metadata field of the first object stored in the repository is defined by the application,

the search engine configured for computing relevance of the first object with respect to a search query based at least in part on the modifier value in the modifier type metadata field of the first object stored in the repository,

the decay computation component of the search engine configured for adjusting values in modifier type metadata fields of objects stored in the repository; and

adjusting the modifier value in the modifier type metadata field of the first object stored in the repository towards a resting value,

the resting value representing a numeric point at which the modifier value in the modifier type metadata field of the first object stored in the repository is to approach or reach,

the adjusting performed by the decay computation component of the search engine;

on a periodic basis,

in response to a demand to perform a computation to update the modifier value in the modifier type metadata field of the first object stored in the repository, or

in response to a triggering event.

16. The computer program product of claim 15, wherein the repository comprises an indexed object storage, the indexed object storage storing a plurality of objects searchable by the search engine, wherein the instructions are further executable by the search engine to perform:

searching the plurality of objects using the modifier value.

17. The computer program product of claim 15, wherein the adjusting comprises adding a constant or multiplying a factor to the modifier value and wherein the decay computation component of the search engine is configured for ensuring that the modifier value does not exceed a maximum value.

18. The computer program product of claim 15, wherein the adjusting comprises subtracting a constant from the modifier value or reducing the modifier value by a factor and wherein the decay computation component of the search engine is configured for ensuring that the modifier value does not fall below a minimum value.

19. The computer program product of claim 15, wherein the adjusting comprises computing a time interval and reducing the modifier value by half at the computed time interval.

20. The computer program product of claim 15, wherein the adjusting the modifier value in the modifier type metadata field of the first object is performed by the decay computation component of the search engine in response to a transaction issued by the application and received by the search engine.