Method of determining the unique ID of an object in a peer to peer configuration of object indexes

• US 5,946,680 A
• Filed: 11/28/1997
• Issued: 08/31/1999
• Est. Priority Date: 11/28/1997
• Status: Expired due to Fees

• Current Assignee: International Business Machines Corporation
• Original Assignee: International Business Machines Corporation
• Inventors: Shorter, David Uel, Scott, Robert Bruce, Lilly, Susan Carol
• Primary Examiner(s): KULIK, PAUL V
• Application Number:
  US08/980,334
• Time in Patent Office: 641 Days
• Field of Search: 707/3, 707/103, 395/200.56
• US Class Current: 1/1
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 16/22 Indexing; Data structures therefor; Storage structures
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 21/4788 communicating with other users, e.g. chatting arrangements for providing for computer conferences, e.g. chat rooms, to substation in data switching networks H04L12/1813; distributed application using peer-to-peer [P2P] networks H04L67/104
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 21/632 using a connection between clients on a wide area network, e.g. setting up a peer-to-peer communication via Internet for retrieving video segments from the hard-disk of other client devices broadcast-related systems characterised by transmission among terminal devices H04H60/80; distributed application using peer-to-peer [P2P] networks H04L67/104
• CPC Class Codes: Y10S 707/99933 Query processing, i.e. searching

Abstract

A request for determining a unique object identifier for an object located somewhere within a plurality of data processing systems in a network may be received from an application by a single data processing in the network. A local object index containing object attribute records is searched for matches with specified input criteria and any matches are identified. A local search list is then consulted and, if other object indexes require searching, the request is forwarded to the next object index on the list together with an indication of the object index or indexes already searched. The inclusion of an indication of indexes already searched prevents a loop-back condition from occurring. As each object index is searched, the search list is consulted and, if additional object indexes remain to be searched, the request is propagated to the next object index and the results of searching a local object index are returned to an originating data processing system. Communication among data processing systems containing the respective object indexes is limited to requests and response, rather than entire object indexes, which facilitates operation over limited bandwidth communications links such as the Internet. The originating data processing system aggregates the search results for the network, which may be no matches, one match, or multiple distinct matches. Where a single match is determined, the corresponding object identifier is returned to the requesting application. Where multiple distinct matches are determined, an error condition is returned to the requesting application.

Claims

1. A method of determining a unique object identifier from a plurality of peer object indexes, comprising:

responsive to receiving a search request from a local application, searching a local object index for an object attribute record matching a plurality of input criteria contained in the search request;

checking a predefined search list for additional object indexes to be searched;

responsive to detecting at least one other object index to be searched, propagating the search request to a search service in a data processing system containing the at least one other object index together with an indication of object indexes which have already been searched; and

receiving a result from the search service together with a condition code for the result.

2. The method of claim 1, further comprising:

aggregating a result from searching the local object index with the result received from the search service;

responsive to detecting a single distinct object attribute record matching the plurality of input criteria, returning an object identifier associated with the single object attribute record to the application; and

responsive to detecting multiple distinct object attribute records matching the plurality of input criteria, returning an error condition.

3. The method of claim 1, further comprising:

responsive to receiving a search request propagated from a data processing system containing an application originating the search request, searching a local object index for an object attribute record matching a plurality of input criteria contained in the search request;

checking a local predefined search list for additional object indexes to be searched;

comparing the local predefined search list to an indication of object indexes already searched received with the search request;

responsive to detecting at least one other object index to be searched, propagating the search request to a search service in a data processing system containing the at least one other object index together with an indication of object indexes which have already been searched; and

transmitting a result of searching the local object index together with a condition code for the result to the data processing system containing the application originating the search request.