Index structure of metadata, method for providing indices of metadata, and metadata searching method and apparatus using the indices of metadata

• US 20040210946A1
• Filed: 05/14/2004
• Published: 10/21/2004
• Est. Priority Date: 07/23/2002
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Samsung Electronics Co. Ltd.
• Original Assignee: Samsung Electronics Co. Ltd.
• Inventors: Shin, Hyoseop
• Granted Patent: US 7,428,553 B2
• Time in Patent Office: Days
• US Class Current: 725/135
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 16/81 Indexing, e.g. XML tags; Data structures therefor; Storage structures
• CPC Class Codes: Y10S 707/99933 Query processing, i.e. searching
• CPC Class Codes: Y10S 707/99945 Object-oriented database structure processing
• CPC Class Codes: Y10S 707/99948 Application of database or data structure, e.g. distributed, multimedia, or image

Abstract

An index structure of metadata provided for searching for information on contents and a method for providing indices of the metadata, and a method and an apparatus for searching for the metadata using the index structure of the metadata are provided, in which the index structure of the metadata includes values of multi-keys and identification information of the metadata corresponding to the values of the multi-keys, wherein the multi-keys are structured by a combination of predetermined fields of the metadata.

Claims

1. A method of providing an index structure for metadata divided into fragments, the method comprising providing a list of multi-keys corresponding to a combination of fields of the metadata, and location information for defining a multi-key of the list.

2. The method as claimed in claim 1, further comprising providing values of the multi-key and identification information of the metadata corresponding to the values of the multi-key.

3. The method as claimed in claim 1, wherein the location information is expressed in XPath.

4. The method as claimed in claim 1, wherein at least a part of the location information is expressed as a predetermined code.

5. The method as claimed in claim 1, wherein the metadata is metadata as defined in the TVA Forum.

6. The method as claimed in claim 1, further comprising:

providing a sub-section including ranges of values of the multi-key and identification information on ones of the fragments of the metadata corresponding to the values of the multi-key; and

providing a section including representative key values representing the respective ranges of values of the multi-key.

7. The method as claimed in claim 6, wherein each of the representative key values is a value among the corresponding range of values of the multi-key.

8. A method of providing an index structure for metadata divided into fragments, the method comprising:

providing values of multi-keys; and

providing identification information of the metadata corresponding to the values of the multi-keys, wherein the multi-keys correspond to a combination of fields of the metadata.

9. The method as claimed in claim 8, further comprising a list of the multi-keys.

10. The method as claimed in claim 8, further comprising providing location information for defining the multi-keys, wherein at least a part of the location information is expressed as a predetermined code.

11. The method as claimed in claim 8, wherein the identification information of the metadata comprises identification information of ones of the fragments of the metadata corresponding to the values of the multi-keys.

12. The method as claimed in claim 8, wherein with respect to comparison of the values of a multi-key in size, the multi-key comprises fields (k1, k2, k3 . . . kn) of the metadata which are prioritized (k1>

k2>

k3>

. . . Kn), and the combined fields are compared in sequence, starting from a first field having a highest order of priority, wherein the values are compared on an arithmetic basis where the values of the multi-key are numerical or ranked in lexicographical order where the values of the multi-key are alphabetical.

13. A method of providing an index structure for metadata divided into fragments, the method comprising:

providing a key index list section comprising a list of multi-keys, each multi-key corresponding to a combination of fields of the metadata;

providing a key index section; and

providing a sub-key index section, wherein for a multi-key of the key index list;

the sub-key index section comprises ranges of values of the multi-key and identification information on ones of the fragments of the metadata corresponding to the values of the multi-key, and

the key index section comprises representative key values representing the respective ranges of values of the multi-key.

14. The method as claimed in claim 13, wherein the key index list section further comprises location information for defining the multi-keys, wherein at least a part of the location information is expressed as a predetermined code.

15. A method for providing a multi-key index of a tree structured metadata which is divided into a predetermined range of fragments, wherein the multi-key is formed by combining fields of the metadata, and the multi-key index of the metadata comprises values of multi-keys and identification information of the fragments corresponding to the values of the multi-keys.