Method and system for information processing using meta-archives

• US 20040003011A1
• Filed: 06/27/2002
• Published: 01/01/2004
• Est. Priority Date: 06/27/2002
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: International Business Machines Corporation
• Original Assignee: International Business Machines Corporation
• Inventors: Liu, Ying, Broussard, Scott J., Spring, Eduardo N.
• Granted Patent: US 7,925,661 B2
• Time in Patent Office: Days
• US Class Current: 707/204
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 16/10 File systems; File servers
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 16/951 Indexing; Web crawling techniques

Abstract

A method, system, apparatus, and computer program product are presented for a meta-archive information server that provides a set of operations or services for obtaining information from a meta-archive; these operations may include dynamic indexing, searching, comparing, or other operations. A meta-archive is a set of one or more archive files that are logically grouped in (or otherwise associated with) a container object, e.g., a file system folder, a directory, or another archive file. By allowing a user to derive sets of information from an entire meta-archive, a user can maintain more files within archives, thereby reducing file system disorganization. The meta-archive information server can be easily run over a specific meta-archive when necessary, thereby generating information dynamically, even if the archive files within a meta-archive change over time.

Claims

1. A method for processing information from a set of archive files, the method comprising:

receiving a request for information;

in response to receiving the request for information, identifying a container with which a set of archive files are associated; and

generating a response to the request for information comprising information derived the set of archive files.

2. The method of claim 1 further comprising:

determining an information operation specified by the request for information; and

performing the specified information operation with respect to each archive file in the set of archive files.

3. The method of claim 2 further comprising:

determining a list of constituent files in each archive file in the set of archive files; and

performing the specified information operation with respect to each constituent file in each archive file in the set of archive files.

4. The method of claim 2 wherein the specified information is selected from the group consisting of searching, indexing, and comparing.

5. The method of claim 1 further comprising:

associating an identifier for an archive file with each information entry in the response to the request for information in order to indicate an origin for the information entry.

6. The method of claim 1 further comprising:

associating an identifier for a constituent file within an archive file with each information entry in the response to the request for information in order to indicate an origin for the information entry.

7. A method of processing information for an archive file, the method comprising:

packaging a set of files into a Java archive file; and

inserting a set of Java classes into the Java archive file, wherein the Java classes respond to requests for information from a container with which a set of archive files are associated.

8. The method of claim 7 further comprising:

generating the set of files, wherein the set of files comprise Java source code documentation.

9. The method of claim 7 wherein the Java archive file is included in the set of archive files.

10. The method of claim 7 further comprising:

selecting the set of Java classes in accordance with information within the set of files.

11. An apparatus for processing information from a set of archive files, the apparatus comprising:

means for receiving a request for information;

means for identifying a container with which a set of archive files are associated in response to receiving the request for information; and

means for generating a response to the request for information comprising information derived the set of archive files.

12. The apparatus of claim 11 further comprising:

means for determining an information operation specified by the request for information; and

means for performing the specified information operation with respect to each archive file in the set of archive files.

13. The apparatus of claim 12 further comprising:

means for determining a list of constituent files in each archive file in the set of archive files; and

means for performing the specified information operation with respect to each constituent file in each archive file in the set of archive files.

14. The apparatus of claim 12 wherein the specified information is selected from the group consisting of searching, indexing, and comparing.

15. The apparatus of claim 11 further comprising:

means for associating an identifier for an archive file with each information entry in the response to the request for information in order to indicate an origin for the information entry.

16. The apparatus of claim 11 further comprising:

means for associating an identifier for a constituent file within an archive file with each information entry in the response to the request for information in order to indicate an origin for the information entry.

17. An apparatus for processing information for an archive file, the apparatus comprising:

means for packaging a set of files into a Java archive file; and

means for inserting a set of Java classes into the Java archive file, wherein the Java classes respond to requests for information from a container with which a set of archive files are associated.

18. The apparatus of claim 17 further comprising:

means for generating the set of files, wherein the set of files comprise Java source code documentation.

19. The apparatus of claim 17 wherein the Java archive file is included in the set of archive files.

20. The apparatus of claim 17 further comprising:

means for tailoring the set of Java classes in accordance with information within the set of files.

21. A computer program product in a computer readable medium for use in a data processing system for processing information from a set of archive files, the computer program product comprising:

means for receiving a request for information;

means for identifying a container with which a set of archive files are associated in response to receiving the request for information; and

means for generating a response to the request for information comprising information derived the set of archive files.

22. The computer program product of claim 21 further comprising:

means for determining an information operation specified by the request for information; and

means for performing the specified information operation with respect to each archive file in the set of archive files.

23. The computer program product of claim 22 further comprising:

means for determining a list of constituent files in each archive file in the set of archive files; and

means for performing the specified information operation with respect to each constituent file in each archive file in the set of archive files.

24. The computer program product of claim 22 wherein the specified information is selected from the group consisting of searching, indexing, and comparing.

25. The computer program product of claim 21 further comprising:

means for associating an identifier for an archive file with each information entry in the response to the request for information in order to indicate an origin for the information entry.

26. The computer program product of claim 21 further comprising:

means for associating an identifier for a constituent file within an archive file with each information entry in the response to the request for information in order to indicate an origin for the information entry.

27. A computer program product in a computer readable medium for use in a data processing system for processing information for an archive file, the computer program product comprising:

means for packaging a set of files into a Java archive file; and

means for inserting a set of Java classes into the Java archive file, wherein the Java classes respond to requests for information from a container with which a set of archive files are associated.

28. The computer program product of claim 27 further comprising:

means for generating the set of files, wherein the set of files comprise Java source code documentation.

29. The computer program product of claim 27 wherein the Java archive file is included in the set of archive files.

30. The computer program product of claim 27 further comprising:

means for tailoring the set of Java classes in accordance with information within the set of files.