Hybrid metadata and folder based file access

• US 10,691,639 B1
• Filed: 07/05/2019
• Issued: 06/23/2020
• Est. Priority Date: 07/05/2019
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: 5Th Kind, LLC
• Original Assignee: 5Th Kind, LLC
• Inventors: Cronan, Stephen
• Primary Examiner(s): Beausoliel, Jr., Robert W
• Assistant Examiner(s): Santos, Pedro J
• Application Number:
  US16/503,926
• Time in Patent Office: 354 Days
• Field of Search: 707827, 707829, 707830, 707821, 707822, 707828
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 16/13 File access structures, e.g. distributed indices arrangements of input from, or output to, record carriers G06F3/06

Abstract

A hybrid file system provides access to files based on metadata-defined paths, user-defined paths, and/or hybrid metadata-defined paths. A metadata-defined path may be defined based on file metadata, and may provide access to files that are tagged with the same metadata that is used to specify the metadata-defined path. Some of the same files may be alternatively accessed using user-defined paths that provide access to the directories where the files are stored. Some of the same files may be alternatively accessed using a hybrid metadata-user-defined path that appends a directory structure to the metadata-defined path in order to provide direct access to a subset of files from the metadata-defined path that are placed into the metadata-user-defined path without accessing other files from the metadata-defined path.

Claims

1. A method comprising:

tagging each file from a first set of a plurality of files with a first set of metadata, wherein said tagging comprises storing the first set of metadata as part of each file of the first set of files, and wherein the first set of metadata is different than a path or location where each file of the first set of files is stored on at least one storage device;

tagging each file from a different second set of the plurality of files with a second set of metadata;

storing the plurality of files to the at least one storage device;

defining a first access path to access the first set of files stored at one or more first paths or locations on the at least one storage device using metadata from the first set of metadata that differs from the one or more first paths or locations, wherein the metadata from the first set of metadata that forms the first access path differs from directories and subdirectories of the at least one storage device in which the plurality of files are stored;

defining a second access path to access the second set of files stored at one or more second paths or locations on the at least one storage device using metadata from the second set of metadata;

receiving an access request that is specified using the first set of metadata;

providing access to the first set of files from the one or more first paths or locations on the storage device in response to the first set of metadata specified in the access request matching the first set of metadata that is tagged to each file of the first set of files; and

providing access to at least a subset of the first set of files from the storage device in response to an access request comprising a third access path that is defined using metadata from the first set of metadata appended with a user-specified path.

2. The method of claim 1 further comprising:

creating a taxonomy with a plurality of key-value pairs;

wherein tagging the first set of files comprises selecting a first set of the plurality of key-value pairs via a first traversal of the taxonomy; and

wherein tagging the second set of files comprises selecting a second set of the plurality of key-value pairs via a second traversal of the taxonomy.

3. The method of claim 1,

wherein tagging the first set of files comprises associating a first set of key-value pairs from a metadata taxonomy with each file of the first set of files without modifying content of the first set of files;

and

wherein tagging the second set of files comprises associating a different second set of key-value pairs from the metadata taxonomy with each file of the second set of files without modifying content of the second set of files.

4. The method of claim 1 further comprising:

creating one or more directories off the first access path based on the user-specified path, wherein the user-specified path differs from the first set of metadata and the first paths or locations on the at least one storage device;

receiving a selection of the subset of the first set of files entered into the one or more directories; and

defining the third access path using the metadata from the first set of metadata appended with the user-specified path.

5. The method of claim 4,

wherein defining the first access path comprises generating the first access path based on file metadata without any user-specified paths;

and

wherein defining the third access path comprises generating the third access path by supplementing the file metadata with the user-specified path.

6. The method of claim 4 further comprising:

receiving a modified version of a particular file of the first set of files to conclude the access request comprising the first access path;

removing the particular file from the storage device;

storing the modified version of the particular file on the storage device; and

linking the modified version of the particular file to the first access path and the third access path.

7. The method of claim 4,

wherein the first access path and the third access path specify different paths;

and

wherein the first access path and the third access path provide access to a same single stored instance of each file of the subset of the first set of files on the storage device without duplication of the subset of the first set of files.

8. The method of claim 1,

wherein storing the plurality of files comprises:

storing a first file of the first set of files to a first directory;

storing a second file of the first set of files to a different second directory, wherein the first directory and second directory are different than the first access path; and

wherein providing access to the first set of files comprises;

accessing at least the first file in the first directory and the second file in the second directory in response to the access request comprising the first access path.

9. The method of claim 8 further comprising:

defining a fourth access path to directly access the first directory; and

providing access to the first file in the first directory in response to an access request comprising the third access path, wherein the first access path is a metadata-defined path and the fourth access path is a user-defined path.

10. The method of claim 1, wherein storing the plurality of files comprises:

storing each file of the first set of files and the second set of files to a common directory; and

differentiating access to the first set of files and the second set of files based on the first access path linking to the first set of metadata of the first set of files, and the second access path linking to the second set of metadata of the second set of files.

11. The method of claim 1 further comprising:

defining the third access path by appending one or more user-defined directories to the first set of metadata used to define the first access path; and

linking the subset of the first set of files to the third access path;

providing access to at least the subset of the first set of files in response to an access request comprising the first access path or the third access path.

12. The method of claim 1 further comprising:

computing a checksum of each file of the plurality of files;

obtaining a first set of checksums for the first set of files in response to a query made using the first access path; and

retrieving a stored instance of each file of the first of files by matching the checksum of each stored instance to a checksum of the first set of checksums.

13. The method of claim 1,

wherein the first access path comprises a first portion with a first value corresponding to first metadata from the first set of metadata;

and

wherein the first access path further comprises a second portion, that is after the first portion, and that comprises a different second value corresponding to second metadata from the first set of metadata.

14. The method of claim 13 further comprising:

defining the third access path based on a directory structure that is created by a user;

wherein the third access path provides access to the subset of the first set of files; and

wherein the third access path comprises the first portion of the first access path, the second portion of the first access path, and a third portion that is based on the directory structure.

15. The method of claim 13 further comprising:

defining the third access path based on a directory structure that is created by a user;

wherein the third access path provides access to the subset of the first set of files; and

wherein the third access path comprises a first portion that is different than the first portion of the first access path, the first portion of the third access path comprising the directory structure.

16. A file system comprising:

at least one storage device;

a non-transitory computer-readable medium storing a set of processor-executable instructions; and

one or more processors configured to execute the set of processor-executable instructions, wherein executing the set of processor-executable instructions causes the one or more processors to;

tag each file from a first set of a plurality of files with a first set of metadata, wherein the set of processor-executable instructions to tag each file includes processor-executable instructions to store the first set of metadata as part of each file of the first set of files, and wherein the first set of metadata is different than a path or location where each file of the first set of files is stored on the storage device;

tag each file from a different second set of the plurality of files with a second set of metadata;

store the plurality of files to the storage device;

define a first access path to access the first set of files stored at one or more first paths or locations on the storage device using metadata from the first set of metadata that differs from the one or more first paths or locations, wherein the metadata from the first set of metadata that forms the first access path differs from directories and subdirectories of the at least one storage device in which the plurality of files are stored;

define a second access path to access the second set of files stored at one or more second paths or locations on the at least one storage device using metadata from the second set of metadata;

receive an access request that is specified using the first set of metadata;

provide access to the first set of files from the one or more first paths or locations on the storage device in response to the first set of metadata specified in the access request matching the first set of metadata that is tagged to each file of the first set of files; and

provide access to at least a subset of the first set of files from the storage device in response to an access request comprising a third access path that is defined using metadata from the first set of metadata appended with a user-specified path.

17. The file system of claim 16, wherein the processor-executable instructions further include processor-executable instructions to:

create one or more directories off the first access path based on the user-specified path, wherein the user-specified path differs from the first set of metadata and the first paths or locations on the storage device;

receive a selection of the subset of the first set of files entered into the one or more directories; and

define the third access path using the metadata from the first set of metadata appended with the user-specified path.

18. The file system of claim 16,

wherein the first access path comprises a first portion with a first value corresponding to first metadata from the first set of metadata;

wherein the first access path further comprises a second portion, that is after the first portion, and that comprises a different second value corresponding to second metadata from the first set of metadata;

wherein the processor-executable instructions further include processor-executable instructions to define the third access path based on a directory structure that is created by a user;

wherein the third access path provides access to the subset of the first set of files; and

wherein the third access path comprises the first portion of the first access path, the second portion of the first access path, and a third portion that is based on the directory structure.

19. The file system of claim 16,

wherein the first access path comprises a first portion with a first value corresponding to first metadata from the first set of metadata;

wherein the first access path further comprises a second portion, that is after the first portion, and that comprises a different second value corresponding to second metadata from the first set of metadata;

wherein the processor-executable instructions further include processor-executable instructions to define the third access path based on a directory structure that is created by a user;

wherein the third access path provides access to the subset of the first set of files; and

wherein the third access path comprises a first portion that is different than the first portion of the first access path, the first portion of the third access path comprising the directory structure.

20. A non-transitory computer-readable medium, storing a set of processor-executable instructions, which, when executed by one or more processors, cause the one or more processors to:

tag each file from a first set of a plurality of files with a first set of metadata, wherein the set of processor-executable instructions to tag each file includes processor-executable instructions to store the first set of metadata as part of each file of the first set of files, and wherein the first set of metadata is different than a path or location where each file of the first set of files is stored on a storage device;

tag each file from a different second set of the plurality of files with a second set of metadata;

store the plurality of files to the storage device;

define a first access path to access the first set of files stored at one or more first paths or locations on the storage device using metadata from the first set of metadata that differs from the one or more first paths or locations, wherein the metadata from the first set of metadata that forms the first access path differs from directories and subdirectories of the at least one storage device in which the plurality of files are stored;

define a second access path to access the second set of files stored at one or more second paths or locations on the at least one storage device using metadata from the second set of metadata;

receive an access request that is specified using the first set of metadata;

provide access to the first set of files from the one or more first paths or locations on the storage device in response to the first set of metadata specified in the access request matching the first set of metadata that is tagged to each file of the first set of files; and

provide access to at least a subset of the first set of files from the storage device in response to an access request comprising a third access path that is defined using metadata from the first set of metadata appended with a user-specified path.