Data search system and data search method using a global unique identifier

• US 20040244039A1
• Filed: 03/15/2004
• Published: 12/02/2004
• Est. Priority Date: 03/14/2003
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Hewlett Packard Enterprise Development LP (Hewlett-Packard Enterprise Company)
• Original Assignee: Hewlett-Packard Company (HP Inc.), NTT Docomo Incorporated (Nippon Telegraph and Telephone Corporation)
• Inventors: Sugahara, Taro, Shimizu, Hidenori, Iso, Toshiki, Suzuki, Hiroki, McEachern, Marc, Kurakake, Shoji, Bouno, Hironori, Sugimura, Toshiaki, Nakagawa, Shinya, Ukai, Fumitoshi, Otsuji, Kiyotaka
• Granted Patent: US 7,340,450 B2
• Time in Patent Office: Days
• US Class Current: 725/52
• 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: Y10S 707/99933 Query processing, i.e. searching
• CPC Class Codes: Y10S 707/99934 Query formulation, input preparation, or translation

Abstract

Data and/or services associated with a given object are easily searched by using a search system having a global unique object identifier, a metadata store, an input for entering the global unique identifier, a metadata reader for reading a set of metadata including the input global unique identifier from the metadata store, and a metadata search engine for searching for specific metadata by searching for a specific description sentence included in each metadata of the read set of metadata.

Claims

1. A data search system for searching data wherein each of plural metadata includes at least a global unique identifier, a data index and a description sentence of base data, said unique identifier being an identifier for identifying a specific object, each of said metadata being associated with corresponding base data by said data index and being associated with said object by said global unique identifier, the system comprising:

a metadata store for storing metadata;

an input for entering said global unique identifier;

a metadata reader for reading a set of metadata including said entered global unique identifier from said metadata store; and

a metadata searcher for searching for a specific metadata by searching said read out set of metadata for a specific description sentence.

2. The data search system according to claim 1 wherein a plurality of said metadata includes the same global unique identifier.

3. The data search system according to claim 2 further comprising:

means for capturing said data index from the specific metadata; and

means for capturing base data corresponding to said specific metadata based on said data index.

4. The data search system according to claim 1 further comprising:

means for capturing said data index from the specific metadata; and

means for capturing base data corresponding to said specific metadata based on said data index.

5. A method of searching for data wherein each of plural metadata includes at least a global unique identifier, a data index and a description sentence of base data, said unique identifier being an identifier for identifying a specific object, each of said metadata being associated with corresponding base data by said data index and being associated with said object by said global unique identifier, a plurality of metadata being capable of including the same global unique identifier, the method comprising the steps of:

entering said global unique identifier;

capturing a set of metadata including said entered global unique identifier; and

searching for a first specific metadata based on a description sentence included in each metadata in said captured set of metadata.

6. The data search method according to claim 5 wherein said description sentence of metadata is a sequence of words, the method further comprising the steps of:

a. holding said captured set of metadata and obtaining and presenting words at the beginning of description sentences included in said set;

b. selecting and entering one word from said presented words;

c. holding only metadata having a description sentence including a word matching said entered word among said held metadata;

d. obtaining and presenting a word from a description sentence of said held metadata, said obtained and presented word being at the position in the sequence next to said matching word;

e. repeating said steps b through d until a word obtained at said step d is the last word of any description sentence of the held metadata; and

f. presenting a metadata among the held metadata the description sentence of which has the last word at said step e as its last word.

7. The data search method according to claim 6, further comprising, after said step f, the steps of:

g. making a selection between determining that said presented metadata be said first specific metadata and further performing said steps d, e, and f; and

h. repeating said step g until said presented metadata is determined as said first specific metadata.

8. Apparatus for performing the method of claim 7.

9. Apparatus for performing the method of claim 6.

10. Apparatus for performing the method of claim 5.

11. A data search method wherein each of plural metadata includes at least a global unique identifier, a data index and a description sentence of a base data, said global unique identifier being an identifier for identifying a specific object, each of said metadata being associated with corresponding base data by said data index and being associated with said object by said global unique identifier, said metadata further including a type of said associated base data, a plurality of metadata being capable of including the same global unique identifier, said description sentence being a sequence of words, a word of said description sentence being able to be represented as a variable of a specific data type, a first specific metadata including a specific description sentence being searched for from a set of metadata associated with a first global unique identifier, the method comprising the steps of:

entering said first global unique identifier and a second global unique identifier;

specifying a combination search of metadata including said first global unique identifier and metadata including said second global unique identifier;

capturing a set of metadata including said first global unique identifier or said second global unique identifier;

a. holding said captured set of metadata and obtaining and presenting words at the beginning of description sentences included in said set;

b. selecting and entering one word from said presented words;

c. holding only metadata having a description sentence including a word matching said entered word among said held metadata;

d. obtaining and presenting a word from a description sentence of said held metadata, said obtained and presented word being at the position in the sequence next to said matching word;

e. repeating said steps b through d until a word obtained at said step d is the last word of any description sentence of the held metadata;

said steps a-e being performed with a set of metadata including said first global unique identifier regarded as a set of captured metadata;

if the word selected at said step b is said variable (first variable);

indicating that the metadata combination search is selectable; and

selecting said combination search of metadata; and

if said metadata combination search is selected;

capturing a set of metadata (second set of metadata) including said first or second global unique identifier and including the same data type as said first variable; and

searching for a second specific metadata based on a description sentence included in respective metadata in said second set of metadata.

12. The data search method according to claim 11 comprising the steps of:

a′

. holding said captured set of metadata and obtaining and presenting words at the beginning of description sentences included in said set;

b′

. selecting and entering one word from said presented words;

c′

. holding only metadata having a description sentence including a word matching said entered word among said held metadata;

d′

. obtaining and presenting a word from a description sentence of said held metadata, said obtained and presented word being at the position in the sequence next to said matching word;

e′

. repeating said steps b through d until a word obtained at said step d is the last word of any description sentence of the held metadata; and

f′

. presenting a metadata among the held metadata the description sentence of which has the last word at said step e as its last word;

steps a′

-e′ and

f being performed with a second set of metadata regarded as a captured set of metadata;

i′

. making a selection between determining that the metadata presented at said step f be said second specific metadata and again performing said steps d′

, e′

, and f; and

j′

. repeating said step i until said presented metadata is determined as said second specific metadata.

13. The data search method according to claim 12 further comprising the steps of:

k. if said metadata combination search is selected, temporarily storing metadata which is held (held metadata) and said first variable; and

if said second specific metadata is located;

1. reading said temporarily stored held metadata and said first variable; and

a″

. holding said captured set of metadata and obtaining and presenting words at the beginning of description sentences included in said set;

b″

. selecting and entering one word from said presented words;

c″

. holding only metadata having a description sentence including a word matching said entered word among said held metadata;

d″

. obtaining and presenting a word from a description sentence of said held metadata, said obtained and presented word being at the position in the sequence next to said matching word;

e″

. repeating said steps b through d until a word obtained at said step d is the last word of any description sentence of the held metadata; and

f′

. presenting a metadata among the held metadata the description sentence of which has the last word at said step e as its last word;

with said step a″

being regarded as capturing and presenting a word in a description sentence at the position next to the word which is represented by said first variable, said description sentence from which said word is captured and presented being included in respective metadata in said held metadata.

14. The data search method according to claim 13 wherein said step m comprises the steps of:

n. making a selection between determining that metadata presented at said step f are said first specific metadata and further performing said steps d″

, e″ and

f′

; and

o. repeating said step n until said presented metadata is determined as said first specific metadata.

15. The data search method according to claim 14 further comprising the steps of:

displaying a first icon corresponding to said first global unique identifier; and

displaying a second icon corresponding to said second global unique identifier;

wherein said step of specifying a combination search of metadata comprises dragging-and-dropping one of said first icon and said second icon onto the other.

16. The data search method according to claim 11 further comprising the steps of:

displaying a first icon corresponding to said first global unique identifier; and

displaying a second icon corresponding to said second global unique identifier;

wherein said step of specifying a combination search of metadata comprises dragging-and-dropping one of said first icon and said second icon onto the other.

17. The data search method according to claim 11 further comprising the steps of:

k. if said metadata combination search is selected, temporarily storing metadata which is held (held metadata) and said first variable; and

if said second specific metadata is located;

1. reading said temporarily stored held metadata and said first variable; and

a″

. holding said captured set of metadata and obtaining and presenting words at the beginning of description sentences included in said set;

b″

. selecting and entering one word from said presented words;

c″

. holding only metadata having a description sentence including a word matching said entered word among said held metadata;

d″

. obtaining and presenting a word from a description sentence of said held metadata, said obtained and presented word being at the position in the sequence next to said matching word;

e″

. repeating said steps b through d until a word obtained at said step d is the last word of any description sentence of the held metadata; and

f′

. presenting a metadata among the held metadata the description sentence of which has the last word at said step e as its last word;

with said step a″

being regarded as capturing and presenting a word in a description sentence at the position next to the word which is represented by said first variable, said description sentence from which said word is captured and presented being included in respective metadata in said held metadata.

18. Apparatus for performing the method of claim 11.

19. Apparatus for performing the method of claim 12.

20. Apparatus for performing the method of claim 17.

21. Apparatus for performing the method of claim 14.

22. Apparatus for performing the method of claim 16.