STATUS TOOL TO EXPOSE METADATA READ AND WRITE QUEUES

• US 20130132965A1
• Filed: 01/18/2013
• Published: 05/23/2013
• Est. Priority Date: 01/30/2006
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Microsoft Technology Licensing LLC (Microsoft Corporation)
• Original Assignee: Microsoft Corporation
• Inventors: Brodie, Alexander S., PERRY, Benjamin L., PARLIN, David R., PARK, Jae Pum, GILMORE, Michael J., DART, Scott E.
• Granted Patent: US 9,292,347 B2
• Time in Patent Office: Days
• US Class Current: 718/103
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 16/48 Retrieval characterised by using metadata, e.g. metadata not derived from the content or metadata generated manually
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 9/50 Allocation of resources, e.g. of the central processing unit [CPU]

Abstract

A method to expose status information is provided. The status information is associated with metadata extracted from multimedia files and stored in a metadata database. The metadata information that is extracted from the multimedia files is stored in a read queue to allow a background thread to process the metadata and populate the metadata database. Additionally, the metadata database may be updated to include user-define metadata, which is written back to the multimedia files. The user-defined metadata is included in a write queue and is written to the multimedia files associated with the user-defined metadata. The status of the read and write queues are exposed to a user through a graphical user interface. The status may include the list of multimedia files included in the read and write queues, the priorities of each multimedia file, and the number of remaining multimedia files.

Claims

1. A computing system, the computing system comprising processors and memories having:

a metadata database storing metadata associated with multimedia files;

a read queue listing discrepancies between the multimedia files and the metadata database;

a write queue listing updates for the multimedia files;

a graphical user interface to receive status notifications, to generate processing icons superimposed on thumbnails of each multimedia file referenced in the read queue and write queue, and to provide hint messages that correspond to the processing icons; and

a background thread to process the read and write queues and to present the status of the metadata updates to the graphical user interface, wherein the background thread is assigned a priority based on utilization of the resources of computer system.

2. The computer system of claim 1, wherein the background thread is assigned a low priority, when the utilization of the resources of the computer system is above a threshold.

3. The computer system according to claim 1, wherein the background thread is assigned a high priority, when utilization of the resources of the computer system is below a threshold.

4. The computer system according to claim 1, wherein the status notification of the metadata updates includes a list of files remaining on the read and write queues.

5. The computer system according to claim 1, wherein the status notification is the number of files remaining on the read and write queues.

6. The computer system according to claim 1, wherein a status notification is generated when all the metadata updates on the read and write queues are processed.

7. The computer system according to claim 1, wherein the background thread processes the read and write queues faster in a high priority state than when in a low priority state.

8. The computer system according to claim 1, wherein conflicting metadata updates on the read and write queues are resolved based on timestamps associated with the metadata updates.

10. The memories of claim 1, wherein the background thread is assigned a low priority, when the utilization of the resources of the computer system is above a threshold.

11. The memories according to claim 1, wherein the background thread is assigned a high priority, when utilization of the resources of the computer system is below a threshold.

12. The memories according to claim 1, wherein the status notification of the metadata updates includes a list of files remaining on the read and write queues.

13. The memories according to claim 1, wherein the status notification is the number of files remaining on the read and write queues.

14. The memories according to claim 1, wherein a status notification is generated when all the metadata updates on the read and write queues are processed.

15. The memories according to claim 1, wherein the background thread processes the read and write queues faster in a high priority state than when in a low priority state.

16. The memories according to claim 1, wherein conflicting metadata updates on the read and write queues are resolved based on timestamps associated with the metadata updates.

18. The method according to claim 1, wherein a status notification is generated to inform a user of a multimedia application whether a metadata update for one or more multimedia files is being processed by the background thread or waiting to be processed by the background thread.

19. The method according to claim 1, wherein hovering over the status notification reveals a hint message and allows the user to modify processing order for each multimedia file in the read queue or write queue.

20. The method according to claim 1, wherein the hint message provides the number of files remaining on the read and write queues.

9. One or more computer memories storing computer-executable instructions that perform the following:

storing metadata associated with multimedia files in a metadata database;

listing discrepancies between the multimedia files and the metadata database in a read queue;

listing updates for the multimedia files in a write queue;

receiving status notifications at a graphical user interface;

generating processing icons superimposed on thumbnails of each multimedia file referenced in the read queue and write queue;

including hint messages that correspond to the processing icons;

processing the read and write queues in a background thread;

assigning a priority to the background thread based on utilization of the resources of computer system; and

presenting the status notifications and processing icons of the metadata updates in the graphical user interface.

17. A method for managing threads during multimedia processing, the method comprising:

identifying a background thread having priorities that vary among low, medium, and high;

assigning a low priority to the background thread as a default, wherein the background thread processes the metadata updates;

receiving a user request to increase the priority of the background thread;

assigning an increased priority to the background thread based on utilization of the resources of computer system;

receiving status notifications at a graphical user interface;

generating processing icons superimposed on thumbnails of each multimedia file referenced in a read queue and write queue;

including hint messages that correspond to the processing icons;

processing the read and write queues in a background thread; and

presenting the status notifications and processing icons of the metadata updates in the graphical user interface.