ORGANIZING VERSIONING ACCORDING TO PERMISSIONS

• US 20120185435A1
• Filed: 09/30/2011
• Published: 07/19/2012
• Est. Priority Date: 01/14/2011
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Apple Inc.
• Original Assignee: Apple Inc.
• Inventors: Misra, Ronnie G., Carlson, Eric Olaf
• Granted Patent: US 8,868,502 B2
• Time in Patent Office: Days
• US Class Current: 707/638
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 16/1873 Versioning file systems, temporal file systems, e.g. file system supporting different historic versions of files
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 21/6218 to a system of files or objects, e.g. local or distributed file system or database

Abstract

Methods, systems, and apparatus, including computer programs encoded on a computer storage medium, for storing data according to permissions. In general, one aspect of the subject matter described in this specification can be embodied in methods that include the actions of identifying a version of a data item to be stored; determining permissions associated with the version of the data item; and storing the version of the data item at a storage location that is based on the determined permissions.

Claims

1. A method by data processing apparatus, the method comprising

identifying a version of a data item to be stored;

determining permissions associated with the version of the data item; and

storing the version of the data item at a storage location that is based on the determined permissions.

2. The method of claim 1, where storing the version of the data item comprises storing the version of the data item within a node of a permissions tree corresponding to the determined permissions.

3. The method of claim 2, where storing the version further comprises:

determining whether there is an existing branch of the permissions tree associated with the determined permission; and

if not, generating a new branch of the permissions tree associated with the determined permission.

4. The method of claim 2, where the permissions tree includes one or more nodes, each node associated with specific permissions.

5. The method of claim 1, where the version is stored without regard to the location of the data item with respect to a file system hierarchy.

6. The method of claim 1, where access to the version of the data item by a user is controlled by the permissions associated with the storage location in which the version of the data item is stored.

7. The method of claim 1, wherein the version of the data item has a different permissions than a second version of the data item, wherein the second version of the data item is stored at a second storage location that is based on the permissions of the second version of the data item.

8. A method by data processing apparatus, the method comprising:

receiving a request from a user for one or more versions of a data item;

identifying the one or more versions of the data item;

determining the permissions associated with each version of the one or more versions of the data item; and

providing access only to those versions of the one or more versions of the data item to which the user has permission.

9. The method of claim 8, where determining the permissions includes searching a database for the one or more versions of the data item, the database including an ordering of versions for each of a plurality of data items and a location within a permissions tree of each version.

10. The method of claim 8, where the location of each version of the data item is based on the assigned permissions for each respective version of the data item.

11. The method of claim 8, where all identified versions of the one or more versions of the data item are presented, but only those to which the user has permissions are accessible.

12. The method of claim 8, where only those versions of the one or more versions of the data item to which the user has permission are presented.

13. A system comprising:

one or more computing devices operable to perform operations comprising;

identifying a version of a data item to be stored;

determining permissions associated with the version of the data item; and

storing the version of the data item at a storage location that is based on the determined permissions.

14. The system of claim 13, where storing the version of the data item comprises storing the version of the data item within a node of a permissions tree corresponding to the determined permissions.

15. The system of claim 14, where storing the version further comprises:

determining whether there is an existing branch of the permissions tree associated with the determined permission; and

if not, generating a new branch of the permissions tree associated with the determined permission.

16. The system of claim 14, where the permissions tree includes one or more nodes, each node associated with specific permissions.

17. The system of claim 13, where the version is stored without regard to the location of the data item with respect to a file system hierarchy.

18. The system of claim 13, where access to the version of the data item by a user is controlled by the permissions associated with the storage location in which the version of the data item is stored.

19. The system of claim 13, wherein the version of the data item has a different permissions than a second version of the data item, wherein the second version of the data item is stored at a second storage location that is based on the permissions of the second version of the data item.

20. A system comprising:

one or more computing devices operable to perform operations comprising;

receiving a request from a user for one or more versions of a data item;

identifying the one or more versions of the data item;

determining the permissions associated with each version of the one or more versions of the data item; and

providing access only to those versions of the one or more versions of the data item to which the user has permission.

21. The system of claim 20, where determining the permissions includes searching a database for the one or more versions of the data item, the database including an ordering of versions for each of a plurality of data items and a location within a permissions tree of each version.

22. The system of claim 20, where the location of each version of the data item is based on the assigned permissions for each respective version of the data item.

23. The system of claim 20, where all identified versions of the one or more versions of the data item are presented, but only those to which the user has permissions are accessible.

24. The system of claim 20, where only those versions of the one or more versions of the data item to which the user has permission are presented.

25. A computer storage medium encoded with a computer program, the program comprising instructions that when executed by data processing apparatus cause the data processing apparatus to perform operations comprising:

identifying a version of a data item to be stored;

determining permissions associated with the version of the data item; and

storing the version of the data item at a storage location that is based on the determined permissions.

26. A computer storage medium encoded with a computer program, the program comprising instructions that when executed by data processing apparatus cause the data processing apparatus to perform operations comprising:

receiving a request from a user for one or more versions of a data item;

identifying the one or more versions of the data item;

determining the permissions associated with each version of the one or more versions of the data item; and

providing access only to those versions of the one or more versions of the data item to which the user has permission.