FILE SYSTEM ACTIVE SYMBOLIC LINK

• US 20110145296A1
• Filed: 12/16/2009
• Published: 06/16/2011
• Est. Priority Date: 12/16/2009
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Microsoft Technology Licensing LLC (Microsoft Corporation)
• Original Assignee: Microsoft Corporation
• Inventors: Ellison, Carl Melvin, Jeffries, Charles G.
• Granted Patent: US 9,037,620 B2
• Time in Patent Office: Days
• US Class Current: 707/800
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 16/13 File access structures, e.g. distributed indices arrangements of input from, or output to, record carriers G06F3/06
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 16/168 Details of user interfaces specifically adapted to file systems, e.g. browsing and visualisation, 2d or 3d GUIs query results presentation G06F16/156

Abstract

Data stored on a storage medium can be referenced by multiple independently addressable active symbolic links, with each active symbolic link representing the data through a different transformation. The active symbolic links can be in the form of file system objects, such as files or directories. A single active symbolic link can reference the data stored in multiple collections, or, conversely, a subset of data from a single collection. Active symbolic links can be automatically created for common data transformations. Searching across active symbolic links referencing encrypted data can be performed by multiple protection-specific search engines, or a single search engine that can generate a protection-level aware search index.

Claims

1. One or more computer-readable media comprising computer-executable instructions for implementing active symbolic links, the computer-executable instructions performing steps comprising:

presenting, to an application program, a hard link and at least one active symbolic link as file system objects that each, individually, appear to represent a different data, wherein the hard link and the at least one active symbolic link actually reference a same set of data stored on a storage medium, with the at least one active symbolic link representing the same set of data in a transformed manner and the hard link representing the same set of data in a non-transformed manner;

receiving, from the application program, a selection of one of the at least one active symbolic link;

parsing the selected active symbolic link to identify the same set of data stored on the storage medium that is referenced by the selected active symbolic link;

parsing the selected active symbolic link to identify transformation computer-executable instructions referenced by the selected active symbolic link;

obtaining the identified set of data from the storage medium;

providing the obtained set of data to the transformation computer-executable instructions; and

providing the transformed data to the application program as a response to the selection.

2. The computer-readable media of claim 1, wherein the computer-executable instructions directed to the presenting the hard link and the at least one active symbolic link as file system objects comprise computer-executable instructions directed to presenting them as files.

3. The computer-readable media of claim 1, wherein the at least one active symbolic link that represents the same set of data in a transformed manner, specifically represents a larger set of data, that is usable as a whole, of which the same set of data is one of a multiple subparts, and wherein further the at least one active symbolic links references all of the multiple subparts.

4. The computer-readable media of claim 1, wherein the at least one active symbolic link that represents the same set of data in a transformed manner, specifically represents a smaller set of data, that is individually usable, which is a subpart of the same set of data, and wherein additional ones of the at least one active symbolic link represent other smaller sets of data, individually usable, that are also subparts of the same set of data.

5. The computer-readable media of claim 1, wherein the at least one active symbolic link represents an unencrypted file, the hard link represents an encrypted version of the unencrypted file, and the same set of data stored on the storage medium is of the encrypted version of the unencrypted file.

6. The computer-readable media of claim 1, comprising further computer-executable instructions for generating a first search index from data represented by the hard link and the at least one active symbolic link that is accessible with a first key and independently generating a second search index, independent from the first search index, from data represented by the hard link and the at least one active symbolic link that is accessible with a second key.

7. The computer-readable media of claim 6, comprising further computer-executable instructions for:

receiving a search request comprising at least one search term;

referencing the first search index for the at least one search term if the search request was received from an entity having access to the first key; and

referencing the second search index for the at least one search term if the search request was received from an entity having access to the second key.

8. The computer-readable media of claim 1, comprising further computer-executable instructions for generating a search index from data, represented by the hard link and the at least one active symbolic link, that is accessible with any key of a set of keys and associating with each entry in the search index a key, from among the set of keys, required to access the data represented by the hard link and the at least one active symbolic link from which that entry was derived.

9. The computer-readable media of claim 8, comprising further computer-executable instructions for receiving a search request comprising at least one search term and referencing, for the at least one search term, those entries in the search index that are associated with keys that are accessible to an entity submitting the search request.

16. The method of claim 1, further comprising the steps of:

generating a search index from data, represented by the multiple hard links and the multiple active symbolic links, that is accessible with any key of a set of keys; and

associating with each entry in the search index a key, from among the set of keys, required to access the data represented by the multiple hard links and the multiple active symbolic links from which that entry was derived.

17. The method of claim 16, further comprising the steps of:

receiving a search request comprising at least one search term; and

referencing, for the at least one search term, those entries in the search index that are associated with keys that are accessible to an entity submitting the search request.

10. A method of implementing active symbolic links comprising the steps of:

generating a file listing comprising multiple hard links and multiple active symbolic links both presented as files in the file listing and that each, individually, appear to represent different files, wherein at least one of the multiple hard links and at least one of the multiple active symbolic links actually reference a same set of data stored on a storage medium, with the at least one of the multiple active symbolic links representing the same set of data in a transformed manner and the at least one of the multiple hard links representing the same set of data in a non-transformed manner;

receiving a selection of one of the multiple active symbolic links;

parsing the selected active symbolic link to identify the same set of data stored on the storage medium referenced by the selected active symbolic link;

parsing the selected active symbolic link to identify transformation computer-executable instructions referenced by the selected active symbolic link;

transforming the identified set of data with the transformation computer-executable instructions; and

providing the transformed data as a response to the selection.

11. The method of claim 10, wherein the at least one active symbolic link that represents the same set of data in a transformed manner, specifically represents a larger set of data, that is usable as a whole, of which the same set of data is one of a multiple subparts, and wherein further the at least one active symbolic link references all of the multiple subparts.

12. The method of claim 10, wherein the at least one active symbolic link that represents the same set of data in a transformed manner represents a smaller set of data, that is individually usable, which is a subpart of the same set of data, and wherein additional ones of the at least one active symbolic link represent other smaller sets of data, individually usable, that are also subparts of the same set of data.

13. The method of claim 10, wherein the at least one active symbolic link represents an unencrypted file, the at least one hard link represents an encrypted version of the unencrypted file, and the same set of data stored on the storage medium is of the encrypted version of the unencrypted file.

14. The method of claim 10, further comprising the steps of:

generating a first search index from data represented by the multiple hard links and the multiple active symbolic links that is accessible with a first key; and

independently generating a second search index, independent from the first search index, from data represented by the multiple hard links and multiple active symbolic links that is accessible with a second key.

15. The method of claim 14, further comprising the steps of:

receiving a search request comprising at least one search term;

referencing the first search index for the at least one search term if the search request was received from an entity having access to the first key; and

referencing the second search index for the at least one search term if the search request was received from an entity having access to the second key.

18. A computer-readable medium comprising:

a first set of data comprising a file stored in a transformed form, the transformed form being transformed from an original form in which the file was created and in which the file can be edited;

a hard link that is presented, by a file system, as the file in the transformed form, the hard link comprising;

an indication, to the file system, to treat the hard link as a file; and

a pointer to the first set of data; and

an active symbolic link that is presented, by the file system, as the file in the original form, the active symbolic link comprising;

an indication, to the file system, to treat the active symbolic link as a file;

a pointer to the first set of data; and

an identifier of transformation computer-executable instructions utilizable to transform the file stored in the transformed form into the file in the original form and further utilizable to transform the file in the original form into the file in the transformed form.

19. The computer-readable medium of claim 18, further comprising a second active symbolic link that is presented, by the file system, as another file in the original form, the second active symbolic link comprising:

an indication, to the file system, to treat the second active symbolic link as a file;

a pointer to the first set of data; and

the identifier of the transformation computer-executable instructions;

wherein the first set of data further comprises the other file stored in the transformed form; and

wherein further the hard link is presented, by the file system, as a combination of both the file and the other file, both in the transformed form.

20. The computer-readable medium of claim 18, further comprising:

a second set of data that, together with the first set of data, comprises, in aggregate, the file stored in the transformed form; and

a second hard link that is presented, by the file system, as the file in the transformed form, the second hard link comprising;

an indication, to the file system, to treat the second hard link as a file; and

a pointer to the second set of data;

wherein the active symbolic link further comprises a pointer to the second set of data.