Method and System for Automatically Generating Information Dependencies

• US 20140188544A1
• Filed: 01/03/2013
• Published: 07/03/2014
• Est. Priority Date: 01/03/2013
• Status: Abandoned Application

• Current Assignee: Board of Trustees of the Leland Stanford Junior University (Stanford Management Co.)
• Original Assignee: Board of Trustees of the Leland Stanford Junior University (Stanford Management Co.)
• Inventors: Senescu, Reid R.
• Application Number:
  US13/733,800
• Publication Number:
  US 20140188544A1
• Time in Patent Office: Days
• US Class Current: 705/7.27
• CPC Class Codes: G06Q 10/0633 Workflow analysis
• CPC Class Codes: G06Q 10/103 Workflow collaboration or project management

Abstract

A method according to an embodiment of the present invention infers a network of information dependence in real-time by capturing the manner in which computer users interact with files. For example, in an embodiment, such dependencies are represented as a sparse directed network. In another embodiment of the present invention, In another embodiment of the present invention, the dependencies are embedded in an operating system or document management system at a level commensurate with the manner in which professionals use Windows Explorer.

Claims

1. A computer-implemented method for automatically determining dependencies among digital information, comprising:

receiving a read time for a first document;

receiving a write time for a second document;

determining a difference between the write time and the read time; and

designating that the second document depends from the first document when the difference between the write time and the read time is less than a predetermined threshold time.

2. The method of claim 1, further comprising assigning a weight for a dependence from the first document to the second document.

3. The method of claim 2, wherein the weight for the dependence from the first document to the second document is a weight in a directed or undirected graph.

4. The method of claim 2, wherein the weight for the dependence from the first document to the second document is computed responsive to a number of times a document is written within the predetermined threshold time.

5. The method of claim 2, wherein the weight for the dependence from the first document to the second document is computed responsive to a command executed in either the first document or the second document.

6. The method of claim 5, wherein the command is a paste command executed on the second document.

7. The method of claim 1, wherein the designation that the second document depends from the first document is represented as an edge in a directed or undirected graph.

8. The method of claim 1, wherein the predetermined threshold time is chosen to represent a dependency network.

9. The method of claim 1, wherein the predetermined threshold time is received from a user.

10. The method of claim 1, further comprising graphically representing the designation that the second document depends from the first document

11. A computer-readable medium including instructions that, when executed by a processing unit, cause the processing unit to automatically determine dependencies among digital information, by performing the steps of:

receiving a read time for a first document;

receiving a write time for a second document;

determining a difference between the write time and the read time; and

designating that the second document depends from the first document when the difference between the write time and the read time is less than a predetermined threshold time.

12. The computer-readable medium of claim 11, further comprising assigning a weight for a dependence from the first document to the second document.

13. The computer-readable medium of claim 12, wherein the weight for the dependence from the first document to the second document is a weight in a directed or undirected graph.

14. The computer-readable medium of claim 12, wherein the weight for the dependence from the first document to the second document is computed responsive to a number of times a document is written within the predetermined threshold time.

15. The computer-readable medium of claim 12, wherein the weight for the dependence from the first document to the second document is computed responsive to a command executed in either the first document or the second document.

16. The computer-readable medium of claim 15, wherein the command is a paste command executed on the second document.

17. The computer-readable medium of claim 11, wherein the designation that the second document depends from the first document is represented as an edge in a directed or undirected graph.

18. The computer-readable medium of claim 11, wherein the predetermined threshold time is chosen to represent a dependency network.

19. The computer-readable medium of claim 11, wherein the predetermined threshold time is received from a user.

20. The computer-readable medium of claim 11, further comprising graphically representing the designation that the second document depends from the first document

21. A computing device comprising:

a data bus;

a memory unit coupled to the data bus;

a processing unit coupled to the data bus and configured to

receive a read time for a first document;

receive a write time for a second document;

determine a difference between the write time and the read time; and

designate that the second document depends from the first document when the difference between the write time and the read time is less than a predetermined threshold time.