File Management in a Computing Device

• US 20080027946A1
• Filed: 06/22/2005
• Published: 01/31/2008
• Est. Priority Date: 06/24/2004
• Status: Abandoned Application

• Current Assignee: Nokia Corporation
• Original Assignee: Symbian Software Limited (Accenture PLC)
• Inventors: Fitzgerald, Richard
• Application Number:
  US11/570,837
• Publication Number:
  US 20080027946A1
• Time in Patent Office: Days
• US Class Current: 707/10
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 16/10 File systems; File servers

Abstract

When reading a directory on a computing device, the file server adds unique tags to the listing when passing the listing to a client application. The file server keeps a list of the unique tags together with the physical addresses of the files to which they correspond. When a client wishes to open a file, it can do so by passing the tag to the file server. This enables the file server to load the file directly without having to undertake a second directory search to discover the physical location of the file from its filename.

Claims

1. A method of file management in a computing device incorporating a directory structure, the method comprising

a. arranging a directory listing of a filesystem to include a uniquely identifiable tag for each entry in the directory;

b. when providing the directory listing to a client, retaining a copy of the listing comprising a tag for each entry in the listing indicative of the physical location of an object referred to by that entry;

c. accepting a request to open an object by reference to its tag; and

d. retrieving the physical location of the said object, and opening the object at its physical location.

2. A method according to claim 1 wherein the filesystem is controlled by a file server for providing filesystem services to multiple clients arranged to maintain one or more distinct sessions with the file server.

3. A method according to claim 1 wherein the objects are selected to comprise files or other directories or any other entities.

4. A method according to claim 1 wherein the tags are maintained in a listing in the form of an array in which the tags act as an index for enabling the physical location of respective objects to be retrieved.

5. A method according to claim 1 wherein the filesystem comprises a read-only filesystem.

6. A method according to claim 5 wherein the read-only filesystem is used to boot the computing device.

7. A method according to claim 1 wherein the filesystem comprises a writable filesystem.

8. A method according to claim 7 wherein the retained listing is invalidated if any change is made to the directory from which it was originally derived;

and, passing an error code back to a client requesting to open an object having a tag in an invalidated listing for causing the client to open the object by name.

9. A method according to claim 7 wherein the retained copy of the listing further comprises respective names for objects;

the retained list is invalidated if any change is made to the directory from which it is was originally derived; and

a request to open an object in an invalidated list causes the object to be opened using the respective name in the retained list.

10. A method according to claim 7 wherein the filesystem is arranged to accept a request for opening an object referred by tag and by object name;

the retained listing of tags is invalidated if any change is made to the directory from which it is was originally derived; and

a request to open an object by a tag in an invalidated listing causes the filesystem to open the object using the object name.

11. A method according to claim 8 wherein the filesystem is arranged to update and revalidate its retained listing after an invalidated listing has caused an object to be opened by name.

12. A method according to claim 8 in which the filesystem is arranged to monitor activity for causing changes to entries in a directory for which it has a retained directory listing, and in which a tag is invalidated whenever affected by a change instead of invalidating the retained listing, and objects are opened by name only when a request is made using an invalidated tag;

or the filesystem is arranged to dynamically update entries which would otherwise have been invalidated.

13. A method according to claim 1 wherein either

a. a single retained directory list is allowed for each logical drive on a system;

or

b. a fixed number of retained directory lists is allowed per file server session;

or

c. multiple retained directory lists are allowed per file server session by client request, up to a fixed or dynamic maximum.

14. A method according to claim 5 in which read-only filesystem usage is profiled and one or more retained directory listings are predefined and included in a boot ROM for automatic use during the boot process or any other predicable and profitable sequence of operations for the computing device.

15. A computing device arranged to operate in accordance with a method as defined in claim 1.

16. An operating system for a computing device for causing the computing device to operate in accordance with a method as defined in claim 1.