Cache system and method for generating uncached objects from cached and stored object components

• US 20020103970A1
• Filed: 01/31/2001
• Published: 08/01/2002
• Est. Priority Date: 08/15/2000
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Aware Incorporated (Crowley Holdings Preferred LLC)
• Original Assignee: Aware Incorporated (Crowley Holdings Preferred LLC)
• Inventors: Tzannes, Alexis Paul, Reiter, Edmund Campion, Gut, Ron Abraham
• Granted Patent: US 7,006,099 B2
• Time in Patent Office: Days
• US Class Current: 711/118
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 12/0802 Addressing of a memory level in which the access to the desired data or data block requires associative addressing means, e.g. caches
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 12/0875 with dedicated cache, e.g. instruction or stack
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 16/10 File systems; File servers
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 2212/455 Image or video data
• CPC Class Codes: G06T 1/60 Memory management

Abstract

Methods and apparatus for constructing objects within a cache system thereby allowing the cache system to respond to requested objects that are not initially available within the cache system. One embodiment of the invention caches image files, where the images are divided into components and stored in a format that allows identification and access to the components. The cache system determines that an object, such as an image file, is missing from the cache memory, locates sufficient components from the cache memory and/or external storage, and constructs the object from the located components.

Claims

1. In a data processing system having a cache, a method for generating uncached objects comprising:

(a) locating at least one component that is related to an uncached object; and

(b) constructing, by the cache, the uncached object from the located at least one component.

2. The method of claim 1 wherein step b further comprises obtaining the located at least one component.

3. The method of claim 1 further comprising obtaining the at least one component from the cache and a second component from a storage system.

4. The method of claim 1 further comprising obtaining the at least one component and the second components from a storage system.

5. The method of claim 1 further comprising deriving the at least one component from an object.

6. The method of claim 1 further comprising storing the constructed object in the cache.

7. The method of claim 1 further comprising generating, by the cache, a request for the object.

8. The method of claim 1 wherein the object is an image file.

9. The method of claim 8 wherein the image file is a JPEG-2000 file.

10. The method of claim 1 wherein the at least one component is an image file.

11. The method of claim 10 wherein the image file is a JPEG-2000 file.

12. The method of claim 1 wherein the object is a web page.

13. The method of claim 1 wherein the at least one component is a web page.

14. The method of claim 1 wherein the object is a document.

15. The method of claim 1 wherein the at least one component is a document.

17. The cache system of claim 16 wherein obtaining the at least one component further comprises obtaining the at least one component from an object.

18. The cache system of claim 16 wherein the object is an image file.

19. The cache system of claim 18 wherein the image file is a JPEG-2000 file.

20. The cache system of claim 16 wherein the component is an image file.

21. The cache system of claim 20 wherein the image file is a JPEG-2000 file.

22. The cache system of claim 16 wherein the object is a web page.

23. The cache system of claim 16 wherein the component is a web page.

24. The cache system of claim 16 wherein the object is a document.

25. The cache system of claim 16 wherein the component is a document.

26. The cache system of claim 16 wherein a request is generated by the cache system.

27. The cache system of claim 16 wherein the cache system is a server.

28. The cache system of claim 27 wherein the request is generated by a client.

29. The cache system of claim 16 wherein the logic element determining the requested object is missing from the cache memory:

(a) further determining if the components to construct the requested object are in the cache memory; and

(b) further determining the components missing from the cache memory required from the storage device to construct the object.

30. The cache system of claim 29 wherein the cache system is generating the request for an object.

16. A cache system comprising:

a cache memory storing one or more objects;

logic element determining that an object is missing from the memory; and

a processor obtaining at least one component related to the missing object and constructing the object in response to the logic element determining that the object is missing from the cache memory.

31. In an image server having a cache, a method for obtaining an image comprising:

(a) obtaining the image from the cache, if the image is present within the cache, otherwise,

(b) constructing the image from one or more cached image components, if the cache has one or more cached image components from which the image can be produced, otherwise,

(c) determining whether to construct the image using an uncached image component stored in a remote storage.

32. The method of claim 31 further comprising constructing the image from the uncached image component stored in remote storage and one or more cached image components, upon determining to construct the image using the uncached image component.

33. The method of claim 31 further comprising constructing the image from the remote stored image component upon determining to construct the image using the uncached image component stored in the remote storage.

34. The method of claim 31, further comprising obtaining the image from the remote storage if it is determined not to construct the image.

35. The method of claim 31 wherein the image is a JPEG 2000 image.

37. The method of claim 36 wherein the image is a compressed image.

36. In an image server having a cache, a method for obtaining an image comprising obtaining the image from the cache, if the image is present within the cache, otherwise constructing the image from image components obtained from one of the cache only, remote storage only, and a combination of the cache and the remote storage.