Information searching system

• US 20040243575A1
• Filed: 07/09/2004
• Published: 12/02/2004
• Est. Priority Date: 01/16/2002
• Status: Abandoned Application

• Current Assignee: Fujitsu Limited
• Original Assignee: Fujitsu Limited
• Inventors: Ohashi, Tadashi
• Application Number:
  US10/886,698
• Publication Number:
  US 20040243575A1
• Time in Patent Office: Days
• US Class Current: 707/3
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 16/907 Retrieval characterised by using metadata, e.g. metadata not derived from the content or metadata generated manually
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 16/951 Indexing; Web crawling techniques
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 16/9532 Query formulation
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 16/972 Access to data in other repository systems, e.g. legacy data or dynamic Web page generation

Abstract

A plurality of servers are interconnected via a network. A storage device stores information. In a registration information DB, meta data which represents the attribute of the information stored in the storage device is registered. This meta data is broadcast to other servers. A query statement input for information search is transferred to an appropriate server based on the meta data received form other server. An agent that receives the query statement extracts the corresponding information from the storage device according to the meta data registered to the registration information DB, and provides the extracted information to a client.

Claims

1. An information searching system having a plurality of information providing servers, each of the plurality of information providing servers comprising:

a storage device which stores information;

a generating unit generating meta data which represents an attribute of the information stored in said storage device;

a transferring unit transferring the meta data generated by said generating unit to other information providing server;

a detecting unit detecting an information providing server which corresponds to a given query statement based on the meta data transferred from other information providing server;

a query statement transferring unit transferring the query statement to the information providing server detected by said detecting unit; and

an extracting unit extracting information requested by the query statement, which is transferred from other information providing server, from said storage device based on the meta data generated by said generating unit.

2. The information searching system according to claim 1, wherein

the meta data is written in XML.

3. The information searching system according to claim 1, wherein:

said generating unit establishes a link from the meta data to the information stored in said storage device; and

said extracting unit accesses said storage device by using the link.

4. The information searching system according to claim 1, wherein:

said transferring unit assigns identification information for identifying a corresponding information providing server to the meta data, when transferring the meta data to other information providing server; and

said detecting unit detects the information providing server corresponding to the query statement based on the identification information.

5. The information searching system according to claim 1, wherein

said detecting unit converts the query statement into an XML document, and detects an information providing server which corresponds to the XML document.

6. The information searching system according to claim 1, further comprising

a displaying unit displaying a relationship, at least, among some of a plurality of pieces of information stored in said storage device based on a plurality of pieces of meta data, if the plurality of pieces of information are stored in said storage device, and the plurality of pieces of corresponding meta data are generated by said generating unit.

7. An information providing server used in an information searching system having a plurality of information providing servers, comprising:

a storage device which stores information;

a generating unit generating meta data which represents an attribute of the information stored in said storage device;

a transferring unit transferring the meta data generated by said generating unit to other information providing server;

a detecting unit detecting an information providing server which corresponds to a given query statement based on the meta data transferred from other information providing server;

a query statement transferring unit transferring the query statement to the information providing server detected by said detecting unit; and

an extracting unit extracting information requested by the query statement, which is transferred from other information providing server, from said storage device based on the meta data generated by said generating unit.

8. The information providing server according to claim 7, wherein

the meta data is written in XML.

9. The information providing server according to claim 7, wherein:

said generating unit establishes a link from the meta data to the information stored in said storage device; and

said extracting unit accesses said storage device by using the link.

10. The information providing server according to claim 7, wherein:

said transferring unit assigns identification information for identifying a corresponding information providing server to the meta data, when transferring the meta data to other information providing server; and

said detecting unit detects the information providing server corresponding to the query statement based on the identification information.

11. The information providing server according to claim 7, wherein

said detecting unit converts the query statement into an XML document, and detects an information providing server which corresponds to the XML document.

12. The information providing server according to claim 7, further comprising

a displaying unit displaying a relationship, at least, among some of a plurality of pieces of information stored in said storage device based on a plurality of pieces of meta data, if the plurality of pieces of information are stored in said storage device, and the plurality of pieces of corresponding meta data are generated by said generating unit.

19. The information providing server according to claim 10, wherein

an information sequence, which is generated with a flow of operations, is sequentially registered on a time axis according to operational processes in time series logic, and search is made in time series.

13. A method of searching for information in a system having a plurality of information providing servers, comprising:

generating meta data which represents an attribute of information, when the information is stored in a first information providing server;

transferring the meta data from the first information providing server to a second information providing server;

detecting an information providing server corresponding to a given query statement based on the meta data transferred from the first information providing server, when the query statement is input with the second information providing server;

transferring the query statement from the second information providing server to the first information providing server, if the information providing server corresponding to the query statement is the first information providing server; and

extracting information requested by the query statement, which is transferred from the second information providing server, by the first information providing server based on the generated meta data.

20. The method according to claim 13, wherein,

an information sequence, which is generated with a flow of operations, is sequentially registered on a time axis according to operational processes in time series logic, and search is made in time series.

14. A method of searching for information in a system having a plurality of information providing servers, comprising:

generating meta data which represents an attribute of information, when the information is stored in a first information providing server;

broadcasting the meta data from the first information providing server to other information providing servers;

transferring a query statement from a second information providing server to the first information providing server according to the received meta data, when the query statement is input with the second information providing server; and

providing information corresponding to the query statement by the first information providing server.

15. A method of providing information corresponding to a query statement by a first information providing server among a plurality of information providing servers in an information searching system having the plurality of information providing servers, comprising:

generating meta data which represents an attribute of information, when the information is stored in a storage device;

establishing a link from the generated meta data to a storage location of the information;

transferring the generated meta data to a second information providing server;

receiving a query statement from the second information providing server, if an attribute of information requested by the query statement, which is input with the second information providing server, matches the attribute of information represented by the meta data; and

extracting information requested by the received query statement from the storage device by using the established link.

16. A searching method with which a first information providing server among a plurality of information providing servers processes a query statement for information search in an information searching system having the plurality of information providing servers, comprising:

receiving meta data which represents an attribute of information stored in a second information providing server from the second information providing server; and

requesting information search by transferring a given query statement to the second information providing server, if an attribute of information requested by the query statement matches the attribute represented by the meta data.

21. The method according to claim 16, further comprising:

classifying the plurality of servers into groups by field; and

visualizing an overview of an information search target server or a database group in a field associated with an arbitrary group, when the arbitrary group among the groups is selected.

17. An information providing program, which is intended to provide information corresponding to a query statement in an information searching system having a plurality of information providing servers, for enabling a computer to provide:

a generating unit generating meta data which represents an attribute of information, when the information is stored in a storage device;

an establishing unit establishing a link from the generated meta data to a storage location of the information;

a transferring unit transferring the meta data generated by said generating unit to other information providing server;

a receiving unit receiving a query statement from other information providing server, if an attribute of information requested by the query statement input with other information providing server matches the attribute represented by the meta data; and

an extracting unit extracting information requested by the received query statement with the use of the link established by said establishing unit.

18. An information searching program, which is intended to process a query statement for information search in an information searching system having a plurality of information providing servers, for enabling to provide:

a receiving unit receiving meta data which represents an attribute of information stored in a first information providing server from the first information providing server; and

a requesting unit requesting information search by transferring a given query statement to the first information providing server, if an attribute of information requested by the query statement matches the attribute represented by the meta data.

22. An information searching system having a plurality of information providing servers, comprising:

a storage device, provided in a first information providing server, for storing information;

a generating unit, provided in the first information providing server, for generating meta data which represents an attribute of the information stored in said storage device;

a transferring unit, provided in the first information providing server, for transferring the meta data generated by said generating unit to a second information providing server;

a detecting unit, provided in the second information providing server, for detecting an information providing server which corresponds to a given query statement based on the meta data transferred from the first information providing server;

a query statement transferring unit, provided in the second information providing server, for transferring the query statement to the first information providing server, when the first information providing server is detected by said detecting unit; and

an extracting unit, provided in the first information providing server, for extracting information requested by the query statement, which is transferred from the second information providing server, from said storage device based on the meta data generated by said generating unit.

23. An information providing server used in an information searching system having a plurality of information providing servers, comprising:

storing means for storing information;

generating means for generating meta data which represents an attribute of the information stored in said storing means;

transferring means for transferring the meta data generated by said generating means to other information providing server;

detecting means for detecting an information providing server which corresponds to a given query statement based on the meta data transferred from other information providing server;

query statement transferring means for transferring the query statement to the information providing server detected by said detecting means; and

extracting means for extracting information requested by the query statement, which is transferred from other information providing server, from said storing means based on the meta data generated by said generating means.