Stateless cursor for information management system

• US 20030182278A1
• Filed: 03/25/2003
• Published: 09/25/2003
• Est. Priority Date: 03/25/2002
• Status: Abandoned Application

• Current Assignee: Jeffrey W. Valk
• Original Assignee: Jeffrey W. Valk
• Inventors: Valk, Jeffrey W.
• Application Number:
  US10/396,544
• Publication Number:
  US 20030182278A1
• Time in Patent Office: Days
• US Class Current: 707/3
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 16/289 Object oriented databases
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 9/445 Program loading or initiating bootstrapping G06F9/4401; security arrangements for program loading or initiating G06F21/57
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 9/451 Execution arrangements for user interfaces
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 9/45508 Runtime interpretation or emulation, e g. emulator loops, bytecode interpretation
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 9/468 Specific access rights for resources, e.g. using capability register
• CPC Class Codes: G06Q 10/10 Office automation; Time management

Abstract

A method of providing search results to a user over the Internet is provided. A query request is received at a server from the user via a web page interface. A search is performed on a data repository based on the query request. A set of search results is generated based on the search. A subset of the search results is generated based on a specified block size. A first meta-information set is generated, which describes at least the query request and the subset. The subset of the search results and the first meta-information set are sent to the user. Computer resources are freed up at the server which were used to perform the search, generate the search results, generate the subset, and generate the first meta-information set so that the server may use its computer resources for other searches by other users.

Claims

1. A method of providing search results to a user over the Internet, comprising:

receiving a first query request at a server from the user, wherein the user is interacting with the server via a web page interface running on a browser at a user computer;

performing a first search on a data repository based on the first query request;

generating a first set of search results based on the first search;

generating a first subset of the first search results based on a specified block size;

generating a first meta-information set describing at least the first query request and the first subset;

sending the first subset of the first search results to the user;

sending the first meta-information set to the user for storage by the user; and

freeing up computer resources at the server used to perform the first search, used to generate the first search results, used to generate the first subset, and used to generate the first meta-information set so that the server may use its computer resources for other searches by other users.

2. The method of claim 1, further comprising:

receiving a second request for a second subset of the first search results at the server from the user via the web page interface, wherein the second subset is logically adjacent to the first subset in the first search results;

receiving at least a portion of the first meta-information set at the server from the user;

determining the first query request and the first subset by the server based on the first meta-information set;

re-performing the first search based on information about the first query request derived from the first meta-information set;

re-generating the first search results based on the re-performed first search;

generating the second subset of the re-generated first search results based on information about the first subset derived from the first meta-information set; and

sending the second subset of the re-generated first search results to the user.

3. The method of claim 2, further comprising:

generating a second meta-information set describing at least the first query request and the second subset;

sending the second meta-information set to the user for storage by the user;

displaying the second subset of the first search results at the user computer using the browser; and

freeing up computer resources at the server used to re-perform the first search, used to re-generate the first search results, used to generate the second subset, and used to generate the second meta-information set so that the server may use its computer resources for other searches by other users.

4. The method of claim 2, wherein the second subset is logically previous to the first subset in the first search results.

5. The method of claim 2, wherein the second subset is logically subsequent to the first subset in the first search results.

6. The method of claim 2, wherein the first search results from the first search differs from the re-generated first search results from the re-performed first search because data entries in the data repository have changed.

7. The method of claim 2, wherein the first search results from the first search are the same as the re-generated first search results from the re-performed first search because data entries relevant to the first query request are unchanged.

8. A method for providing a requested information subset to a client by a stateless server from an information set in a data repository, the method comprising:

initiating an information-transfer communication with the client based on a request by the client;

receiving a query for the requested information subset from the client, the query including a set of meta-information for the information set and a set of criteria;

obtaining the requested information subset by the server based on the received set of criteria and meta-information;

generating a set of meta-information corresponding to the obtained information subset;

providing the client with the generated meta-information and at least a portion of the obtained requested information subset based on the received set of criteria and meta-information; and

terminating the initiated information-transfer communication with the client wherein a state of the information set is not maintained by the server subsequent to the terminating.

9. The method of claim 8, wherein the obtaining further comprises:

determining a state of the information set in the data repository based on the received meta-information and set of criteria, and

obtaining the requested information subset based on the determining.

10. The method of claim 9, wherein the obtaining the requested information subset based on the determining further comprises:

re-determining the state of the most recently updated information set by the server from the data repository wherein the requested information subset is obtained from the re-determined information set.

11. The method of claim 8, wherein the received set of meta-information for the information set was previously forwarded to the client by the server based on a previous request by the client for obtaining another requested information subset from the information set.

12. The method of claim 8, wherein the received criteria is at least one of a user-inputted criteria and a system default criteria.

13. A method for obtaining by a client from a stateless server a requested subset of an information set in a data repository, the method comprising:

initiating an information-transfer communication with the server based on a request by the client;

forwarding a query for the requested subset to the server, the query including a set of meta-information for the information set and a set of criteria, wherein the server obtains the requested subset based on the received set of criteria and meta-information and the server generates a set of meta-information corresponding to the obtained subset; and

receiving the generated meta-information and at least a portion of the obtained requested subset based on the received set of criteria and meta-information,

wherein the initiated information-transfer communication with the client is terminated by the server subsequent to the receiving and wherein a state of the information set is not maintained by the server subsequent to the terminating.

14. The method of claim 13, wherein the server obtains the requested subset by determining a state of the information set in the data repository based on the received meta-information and set of criteria.

15. The method of claim 14 wherein the received requested subset is from the most recently updated version of the information set.

16. The method of claim 15, wherein the forwarded set of meta-information for the information set was previously provided to the client by the server based on a previous request by the client for obtaining another requested information subset of the information set.

17. The method of claim 16, wherein the forwarded criteria is at least one of a user-inputted criteria and a system default criteria.

18. A method for obtaining a requested subset of an information set in a data repository for a client by a stateless server, the method comprising:

receiving from the client a set of meta-information describing an obtained subset of the information set, and a set of criteria;

determining a state of the information set by the stateless server using the received meta-information; and

obtaining the requested subset based on the determined state of the information set and based on the set of criteria.

19. The method of claim 18, wherein the obtained subset is a set of information records previously obtained from the data repository by the server wherein each information record includes at least one record attribute.

20. The method of claim 19, wherein the record attributes in the information records are categorized into at least one property category.

21. The method of claim 20, wherein each record attribute has an attribute value wherein the record attributes are sorted by the server based on the attribute values in one of an ascending and a descending sorting direction order.

22. The method of claim 21, wherein each information record includes a record identification attribute having a unique identification designation.

23. The method of claim 22, wherein the information records in the information set were first sorted by the server based on the attribute values of record attributes in a user-selected property category, and wherein each set of sorted record attributes having identical attribute values were further sorted based on the unique identification designation of their corresponding information record.

24. The method of claim 23, further comprising:

forwarding a meta-information set for the obtained subset of the sorted information records set by the server to the client prior to the receiving,

wherein the received set of meta-information by the server is the most recently forwarded meta-information for the obtained subset of the sorted information records set forwarded to client by the server.

25. The method of claim 24, further comprising:

receiving a client-request by the server for forwarding to the client the requested subset of the information records;

generating a result set by the server based on the obtaining wherein the result set includes the obtained requested subset of the information records and a generated meta-information set corresponding to the obtained requested subset of the information records; and

forwarding the generated result set to the client.

26. The method of claim 25, wherein the generated meta-information set comprises at least one of:

a first meta-information identifying a property category of the record attributes in each of the information records by which the information records were sorted by the server based on the attribute values of each record attribute;

a second meta-information indicating at least one of a descending and ascending sorting direction for the sorted attribute values of the identified property category;

a third meta-information for the number of the information records included in the result set forwarded to the client;

a fourth meta-information for the number of the information records obtained by the server;

an attribute value of the sorted record attribute of a first information record in the sorted subset of the information records forwarded to the client;

a unique identification designation of the first information record;

an attribute value of the sorted record attribute in a last information record in the sorted subset of the information records; and

a unique identification designation of the last information record.

27. The method of claim 26, wherein the set of criteria comprises:

a user-inputted limit criteria for instructing the server to limit the scope of the generated result set to the user-inputted limit criteria;

a first criteria having a first criteria value for identifying a property category of the record attributes in each of the information records by which the information records are to be sorted by the server based on the attribute values of each record attribute;

a second criteria for instructing the server to sort the attribute values of the identified property category in at least one of a descending and ascending sorting direction, and

a third criteria having a third criteria value for setting the maximum number of information records to be included in the result set forwarded to the client.

28. The method of claim 27, wherein the first, second, and third criteria are each at least one of a user-inputted criteria and a system-default criteria.

29. The method of claim 27, wherein at least one of the first, second, and third criteria are respectively the first, second, and third meta-information previously forwarded to the client by the server.

30. The method of claim 27, wherein the received meta-information further comprises:

a first-sort property value wherein the first-sort property value is the attribute value of the sorted record attribute of the first information record in the latest sorted subset of the information records forwarded to the client by the server;

a first-sort identification value wherein the first identification value is the unique identification designation of the most recently updated first information record forwarded to the client by the server;

a last-sort property value wherein the last-sort property value is the attribute value of the sorted record attribute in a last information record in the most recently updated sorted subset of the information records forwarded to the client by the server; and

a last-sort identification value wherein the last-sort identification value is the unique identification designation of the most recently updated last information record forwarded to the client by the server.

31. The method of claim 30, further comprising:

re-determining the state of the most recently updated version of the information set by the server from the data repository;

generating a sorted re-determined information set based on a first sorting of the information records in the re-determined information record set based on the attribute values of record attributes of the first criteria value, wherein each set of the first sorted record attributes having identical attribute values are re-sorted based on the unique identification designation of their corresponding information record.

32. The method of claim 31, wherein the set of criteria further includes a navigating criteria instructing the server that the requested subset of the information records are at a subsequent logical ordering location relative to the obtained subset of the information records in the most recently updated sorted information record set forwarded to client by the server.

33. The method of claim 31, wherein the set of criteria further includes a navigating criteria instructing the server that the requested subset of the information records is at a prior logical ordering location relative to the obtained subset of the information records in the most recently updated sorted information record set forwarded to client by the server.

34. The method of claim 32, wherein the second criteria instructs the server to sort the attribute values of the identified property category in an ascending order.

35. The method of claim 34, wherein the last-sort property value is at least one of a null-value and a non-specified value.

36. The method of claim 35, wherein the obtaining further comprises:

generating a first subset of the sorted re-determined information set wherein the first subset includes information records in the re-determined information set with the first criteria value of null;

generating a second subset of the sorted re-determined information set wherein the second subset includes information records in the re-determined information set with the unique identification designation value greater than the received last-sort identification value;

generating a third subset of the sorted re-determined information set wherein the third subset includes information records in the re-determined information set with the first criteria value of non-null;

generating a fourth subset from the first subset and the second subset wherein the fourth subset includes information records common to both the first subset and the second subset; and

generating a fifth subset from the fourth subset and the third subset wherein the fifth subset includes all information records in the fourth subset and the third subset.

37. The method of claim 36 further comprising:

a first sorting of the information records in the fifth subset based on the attribute values of record attributes of the first criteria value, wherein each set of the first sorted record attributes in the fifth subset having identical attribute values are further sorted based on the unique identification designation of their corresponding information record,

and a second sorting of the first sorted information records in the fifth subset based on the sorting direction of the second criteria.

38. The method of claim 37, further comprising:

comparing the number of information records in the second sorted fifth subset with the third criteria value;

including in the result set all information records in the second sorted fifth subset if the number of information records in the second sorted fifth subset is at least one of a lesser than and equal to the third criteria value; and

including in the result set only the first logically ordered information records in the second sorted fifth subset up to a number equal to the third criteria value if the number of information records in the second sorted fifth subset exceeds the third criteria value.

39. The method of claim 34, wherein the last-sort property value is a specified non-null value.

40. The method of claim 39, wherein the obtaining further comprises:

generating a first subset of the sorted re-determined information set wherein the first subset includes information records in the re-determined information set with the first criteria value equal to the received last-sort property value;

generating a second subset of the sorted re-determined information set wherein the second subset includes information records in the re-determined information set with the unique identification designation value greater than the received last-sort identification value;

generating a third subset of the sorted re-determined information set wherein the third subset includes information records in the re-determined information set with the first criteria value greater than the received last-sort property value;

generating a fourth subset from the first subset and the second subset wherein the fourth subset includes information records common to both the first subset and the second subset; and

generating a fifth subset from the fourth subset and the third subset wherein the fifth subset includes all information records in the fourth subset and the third subset.

41. The method of claim 40, further comprising:

a first sorting of the information records in the fifth subset based on the attribute values of record attributes of the first criteria value, wherein each set of the first sorted record attributes in the fifth subset having identical attribute values are further sorted based on the unique identification designation of their corresponding information record,

and a second sorting of the first sorted information records in the fifth subset based on the sorting direction of the second criteria.

42. The method of claim 41, further comprising:

comparing the number of information records in the second sorted fifth subset with the third criteria value;

including in the result set all information records in the second sorted fifth subset if the number of information records in the second sorted fifth subset is at least one of a lesser than and equal to the third criteria value; and

including in the result set only the first logically ordered information records in the second sorted fifth subset up to a number equal to the third criteria value if the number of information records in the second sorted fifth subset exceeds the third criteria value.

43. The method of claim 32, wherein the second criteria instructs the server to sort the attribute values of the identified property category in a descending order.

44. The method of claim 43, wherein the last-sort property value is at least one of a null-value and a non-specified value.

45. The method of claim 44, wherein the obtaining further comprises:

generating a first subset of the sorted re-determined information set wherein the first subset includes information records in the re-determined information set with the first criteria value of null;

generating a second subset of the sorted re-determined information set wherein the second subset includes information records in the re-determined information set with the unique identification designation value less than the received last-sort identification value; and

generating a third subset of the sorted re-determined information set wherein the third subset includes information records common to both the first subset and the second subset.

46. The method of claim 45, further comprising:

a first sorting of the information records in the third subset, based on a first sorting of the information records in the re-determined information record set based on the attribute values of record attributes of the first criteria value, wherein each set of the first sorted record attributes in the third subset having identical attribute values are further sorted based on the unique identification designation of their corresponding information record; and

a second sorting of the first sorted information records in the third subset based on the sorting direction of the second criteria.

47. The method of claim 46, further comprising:

comparing the number of information records in the second sorted third subset with the third criteria value;

including in the result set all information records in the second sorted third subset if the number of information records in the second sorted third subset is at least one of a lesser than and equal to the third criteria value; and

including in the result set only the first logically ordered information records in the second sorted third subset up to a number equal to the third criteria value if the number of information records in the second sorted third subset exceeds the third criteria value.

48. The method of claim 43, wherein the last-sort property value is a specified non-null value.

49. The method of claim 48, wherein the obtaining further comprises:

generating a first subset of the sorted re-determined information set wherein the first subset includes information records in the re-determined information set with the first criteria value equal to the received last-sort property value;

generating a second subset of the sorted re-determined information set wherein the second subset includes information records in the re-determined information set with the unique identification designation value less than the received last-sort identification value;

generating a third subset of the sorted re-determined information set wherein the third subset includes information records in the re-determined information set with the first criteria value less than the received last-sort property value;

generating a fourth subset of the sorted re-determined information set wherein the fourth subset includes information records in the re-determined information set with the first criteria value of null;

generating a fifth subset from the first subset and the second subset wherein the fifth subset includes information records common to both the first subset and the second subset; and

generating a sixth subset from the fifth, fourth and third subsets wherein the sixth subset includes all information records in the fifth, fourth and third subsets.

50. The method of claim 49, further comprising:

a first sorting of the information records in the sixth subset based on the attribute values of record attributes of the first criteria value, wherein each set of the first sorted record attributes in the sixth subset having identical attribute values are further sorted based on the unique identification designation of their corresponding information record; and

a second sorting of the first sorted information records in the sixth subset based on the sorting direction of the second criteria.

51. The method of claim 50, further comprising:

comparing the number of information records in the second sorted sixth subset with the third criteria value;

including in the result set all information records in the second sorted sixth subset if the number of information records in the second sorted sixth subset is at least one of a lesser than and equal to the third criteria value; and

including in the result set only the first logically ordered information records in the second sorted sixth subset up to a number equal to the third criteria value if the number of information records in the second sorted sixth subset exceeds the third criteria value.

52. The method of claim 33, wherein the second criteria instructs the server to sort the attribute values of the identified property category in an ascending order.

53. The method of claim 52, wherein the last-sort property value is at least one of a null-value and a non-specified value.

54. The method of claim 53, wherein the obtaining further comprises:

generating a first subset of the sorted re-determined information set wherein the first subset includes information records in the re-determined information set with the first criteria value of null;

generating a second subset of the sorted re-determined information set wherein the second subset includes information records in the re-determined information set with the unique identification designation value less than the received first-sort identification value; and

generating a third subset of the sorted re-determined information set wherein the third subset includes information records common to both the first subset and the second subset.

55. The method of claim 54, further comprising:

a first sorting of the information records in the third subset based on the attribute values of record attributes of the first criteria value, wherein each set of the first sorted record attributes in the third subset having identical attribute values are further sorted based on the unique identification designation of their corresponding information record; and

a second sorting of the first sorted information records in the third subset based on a sorting direction order opposite to the sorting direction order of the second criteria.

56. The method of claim 55, further comprising:

comparing the number of information records in the second sorted third subset with the third criteria value;

including in the result set all information records in the second sorted third subset if the number of information records in the second sorted third subset is at least one of a lesser than and equal to the third criteria value; and

including in the result set only the first logically ordered information records in the second sorted third subset up to a number equal to the third criteria value if the number of information records in the second sorted third subset exceeds the third criteria value.

57. The method of claim 56, further comprising:

a first sorting of the information records in the result set based on the attribute values of record attributes of the first criteria value, wherein each set of the first sorted record attributes in the third subset having identical attribute values are further sorted based on the unique identification designation of their corresponding information record; and

a second sorting of the first sorted result set based on the sorting direction order of the second criteria.

58. The method of claim 52, wherein the last-sort property value is a specified non-null value.

59. The method of claim 58, wherein the obtaining further comprises:

generating a first subset of the sorted re-determined information set wherein the first subset includes information records in the re-determined information set with the first criteria value equal to the received first-sort property value;

generating a second subset of the sorted re-determined information set wherein the second subset includes information records in the re-determined information set with the unique identification designation value less than the received first-sort identification value;

generating a third subset of the sorted re-determined information set wherein the third subset includes information records in the re-determined information set with the first criteria value less than the received first-sort property value;

generating a fourth subset of the sorted re-determined information set wherein the fourth subset includes information records in the re-determined information set with the first criteria value of null;

generating a fifth subset from the first subset and the second subset wherein the fifth subset includes information records common to both the first subset and the second subset; and

generating a sixth subset from the fifth, fourth and third subsets wherein the sixth subset includes all information records in the fifth, fourth and third subsets.

60. The method of claim 59, further comprising:

a first sorting of the information records in the sixth subset based on the attribute values of record attributes of the first criteria value, wherein each set of the first sorted record attributes in the sixth subset having identical attribute values are further sorted based on the unique identification designation of their corresponding information record; and

a second sorting of the first sorted information records in the sixth subset based on a sorting direction order opposite to the sorting direction order of the second criteria.

61. The method of claim 60, further comprising:

comparing the number of information records in the second sorted sixth subset with the third criteria value;

including in the result set all information records in the second sorted sixth subset if the number of information records in the second sorted sixth subset is at least one of a lesser than and equal to the third criteria value; and

including in the result set only the first logically ordered information records in the second sorted sixth subset up to a number equal to the third criteria value if the number of information records in the second sorted sixth subset exceeds the third criteria value.

62. The method of claim 61, further comprising:

a first sorting of the information records in the result set based on the attribute values of record attributes of the first criteria value, wherein each set of the first sorted record attributes in the third subset having identical attribute values are further sorted based on the unique identification designation of their corresponding information record; and

a second sorting of the first sorted result set based on the sorting direction order of the second criteria.

63. The method of claim 33, wherein the second criteria instructs the server to sort the attribute values of the identified property category in a descending order.

64. The method of claim 63, wherein the last-sort property value is at least one of a null-value and a non-specified value.

65. The method of claim 64, wherein the obtaining further comprises:

generating a first subset of the sorted re-determined information set wherein the first subset includes information records in the re-determined information set with the first criteria value of null;

generating a second subset of the sorted re-determined information set wherein the second subset includes information records in the re-determined information set with the unique identification designation value greater than the received first-sort identification value;

generating a third subset of the sorted re-determined information set wherein the third subset includes information records in the re-determined information set with the first criteria value of non-null;

generating a fourth subset from the first subset and the second subset wherein the fourth subset includes information records common to both the first subset and the second subset; and

generating a fifth subset from the fourth subset and the third subset wherein the fifth subset includes all information records in the fourth subset and the third subset.

66. The method of claim 65 further comprising:

a first sorting of the information records in the fifth subset based on the attribute values of record attributes of the first criteria value, wherein each set of the first sorted record attributes in the fifth subset having identical attribute values are further sorted based on the unique identification designation of their corresponding information record; and

a second sorting of the first sorted information records in the fifth subset based on a sorting direction order opposite to the sorting direction order of the second criteria.

67. The method of claim 66, further comprising:

comparing the number of information records in the second sorted fifth subset with the third criteria value;

including in the result set all information records in the second sorted fifth subset if the number of information records in the second sorted fifth subset is at least one of a lesser than and equal to the third criteria value; and

including in the result set only the first logically ordered information records in the second sorted fifth subset up to a number equal to the third criteria value if the number of information records in the second sorted fifth subset exceeds the third criteria value.

68. The method of claim 67, further comprising:

a first sorting of the information records in the result set based on the attribute values of record attributes of the first criteria value, wherein each set of the first sorted record attributes in the third subset having identical attribute values are re-sorted based on the unique identification designation of their corresponding information record; and

a second sorting of the first sorted result set in the third subset based on the sorting direction of the second criteria.

69. The method of claim 63, wherein the last-sort property value is a specified non null-value.

70. The method of claim 69, wherein the obtaining further comprises:

generating a first subset of the sorted re-determined information set wherein the first subset includes information records in the re-determined information set with the first criteria value equal to the received first-sort property value;

generating a second subset of the sorted re-determined information set wherein the second subset includes information records in the re-determined information set with the unique identification designation value greater than the received first-sort identification value;

generating a third subset of the sorted re-determined information set wherein the third subset includes information records in the re-determined information set with the first criteria value greater than the received first-sort property value;

generating a fourth subset from the first subset and the second subset wherein the fourth subset includes information records common to both the first subset and the second subset; and

generating a fifth subset from the fourth subset and the third subset wherein the fifth subset includes all information records in the fourth subset and the third subset.

71. The method of claim 70 further comprising:

a first sorting of the information records in the fifth subset based on the attribute values of record attributes of the first criteria value, wherein each set of the first sorted record attributes in the fifth subset having identical attribute values are further sorted based on the unique identification designation of their corresponding information record; and

a second sorting of the first sorted information records in the fifth subset based on a sorting direction order opposite to the sorting direction order of the second criteria.

72. The method of claim 71 further comprising:

comparing the number of information records in the second sorted fifth subset with the third criteria value;

including in the result set all information records in the second sorted fifth subset if the number of information records in the second sorted fifth subset is at least one of a lesser than and equal to the third criteria value; and

including in the result set only the first logically ordered information records in the second sorted fifth subset up to a number equal to the third criteria value if the number of information records in the second sorted fifth subset exceeds the third criteria value.

73. The method of claim 72, further comprising:

a first sorting of the information records in the result set based on the attribute values of record attributes of the first criteria value, wherein each set of the first sorted record attributes in the third subset having identical attribute values are further sorted based on the unique identification designation of their corresponding information record; and

a second sorting of the first sorted result set based on the sorting direction order of the second criteria.

74. The method of claim 21, wherein each attribute value is represented by at least one of a character string, a numerical sequence, an alphanumerical string, indicating at least one of a date value, a time value, a binary sequence value and a Boolean value.