Batching document identifiers for result trimming

• US 20080114730A1
• Filed: 11/14/2006
• Published: 05/15/2008
• Est. Priority Date: 11/14/2006
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Microsoft Technology Licensing LLC (Microsoft Corporation)
• Original Assignee: Microsoft Corporation
• Inventors: Petriuc, Mihai, Larimore, Stefan
• Granted Patent: US 7,636,712 B2
• Time in Patent Office: Days
• US Class Current: 707/3
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 16/3325 Reformulation based on results of preceding query
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 16/3331 Query processing
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 16/93 Document management systems
• CPC Class Codes: Y10S 707/99933 Query processing, i.e. searching
• CPC Class Codes: Y10S 707/99934 Query formulation, input preparation, or translation
• CPC Class Codes: Y10S 707/99935 Query augmenting and refining, e.g. inexact access
• CPC Class Codes: Y10S 707/99945 Object-oriented database structure processing

Abstract

A query is separated into subqueries including a first subquery containing terms applicable to a first data store and a second subquery containing terms applicable to a second data store, where both data stores maintain information regarding the documents. Applying the first subquery to the first data store retrieves a first list of document identifiers associated with documents that satisfy the terms of the first subquery. The first list is combined with the second subquery to form a masked subquery, which is applied to the second data store. The masked subquery only seeks to identify document identifiers that both are included the first list and that satisfy terms of the second query. The document identifiers included in the first list may be ordered to match an order in which the document identifiers are ordered in the second data store.

Claims

1. A computer-implemented method for processing a query directed to identifying one or more desired documents from among a plurality of documents, comprising:

separating the query into subqueries including a first subquery applicable to a first data store and a second subquery applicable to a second data store, wherein both the first data store and the second data store maintain information regarding the plurality of documents;

applying the first subquery to the first data store;

retrieving a first list of document identifiers from the first data store that satisfy the terms of the first subquery;

combining the first list with a second subquery to form a masked subquery; and

applying the masked subquery to the second data store.

2. The computer-implemented method of claim 1, wherein the masked subquery seeks to identify only document identifiers included in the first list and that satisfy terms of the second query.

3. The computer-implemented method of claim 1, further comprising ordering the document identifiers in the masked subquery to match an order in which the document identifiers are expected to be ordered in the second data store.

4. The computer-implemented method of claim 1, wherein one of:

the first subquery includes a document properties subquery and the first data store includes a document properties store including document properties of the plurality of documents, and the second subquery includes a full text subquery and the second data store includes an inverted index store including elements included in the plurality of documents; and

the first subquery includes the full text subquery and the first data store includes the inverted index store, and the second subquery includes the document properties subquery and the second data store includes the document properties store.

5. The computer-implemented method of claim 4, further comprising selecting as the first subquery which one of the document properties subquery and the full text subquery is expected to return fewer document identifiers.

6. The computer-implemented method of claim 5, further comprising determining which one of the document properties subquery and the full text subquery is expected to return a list of fewer documents identifiers based on at least one predetermined rule.

7. The computer-implemented method of claim 6, wherein the at least one predetermined rule dictates the document properties subquery is expected to list fewer documents when the document properties subquery includes an equality in relation to a document property.

8. The computer-implemented method of claim 1, wherein upon determining the first list includes no documents, terminating the query without accessing the second data store.

9. The computer-implemented method of claim 1, wherein the first list includes a list of document identifiers that is appended to the second subquery to form the masked subquery such that the masked subquery seeks documents in the second data store that are included within the list of document identifiers and meet any condition imposed by the second subquery.

10. The computer-implemented method of claim 1, wherein the masked query is communicated to the second data store using a variable length query message in which the document identifiers are included.

11. The computer-implemented method of claim 10, wherein the list of the document identifiers are appended as an extension to one of:

a named pipe protocol;

a context indexing services protocol; and

a remote query protocol.

12. A computer-implemented method for forming a message to communicate a query to a data store to selectively identify documents from a data store that maintains information on each of the plurality of documents including an associated document identifier and associated descriptive information, comprising:

specifying at least one condition the associated descriptive information must satisfy for each of the plurality of documents to be identified by the query; and

specifying a document identifier list including a plurality of document identifiers restricting the query such that only documents having associated descriptive information satisfying the condition and having an associated document identifier included in the document identifier list will be selectively identified by the query.

13. The computer-implemented method of claim 12, wherein specifying the condition includes:

at least one restriction operable to selectively identify documents according to the information maintained by the data store; and

a node type indicating how the restriction is to be applied to the information to specify a condition a document must satisfy to be selectively identified by the query.

14. The computer-implemented method of claim 13, wherein the document identifier list is presented as an additional condition wherein the document identifier list includes:

a document identifier list node type specifying that entries in the document identifier list represent a series of alternative restrictions;

a plurality of document restrictions, wherein each of the document restrictions includes a document identifier; and

a document restriction count specifying a number of document restrictions included in the document identifier list.

15. The computer-implemented method of claim 14, wherein the document identifier list is presented as an extension to one of:

a named pipe protocol;

a context indexing services protocol; and

a remote query protocol.

16. The computer-implemented method of claim 12, further comprising ordering the document identifiers to present the document identifiers in an order in which the document identifiers in the data store are ordered.

17. A computer-readable medium having computer-executable instructions for assembling a plurality of nodes to present a query message to present a query to a data store to selectively identify a portion of a plurality of documents for which the data store maintains an associated document identifier and associated descriptive information for each of the plurality of documents, comprising:

presenting at least one conditional node including;

a restriction operable to selectively identify documents according to the information maintained by the data store; and

a node type indicating how the restriction is to be applied to the information to specify a condition a document must satisfy to be selectively identified by the query; and

presenting at least one document identifier node including;

a plurality of document identifier restrictions;

a document identifier node type indicating that the query will selectively identify only those documents for which the condition is satisfied by the associated descriptive information and for which the associated document identifier is included among the plurality of document identifier restrictions; and

a document identifier count specifying a number of document identifier restrictions included in the document identifier node.

18. The computer-readable medium of claim 17, wherein each of the nodes further comprises a weight indicating an importance of the node relative to other nodes included in the query message.

19. The computer-readable medium of claim 17, wherein the query message is a variable length message.

20. The computer-readable medium of claim 17, further comprising ordering the plurality of document identifier restrictions to present the document identifier restrictions in an order in which the document identifiers in the data store are ordered.