System and method for storing data associated with a file

• US 7,526,720 B1
• Filed: 11/23/2001
• Issued: 04/28/2009
• Est. Priority Date: 11/22/2000
• Status: Expired due to Term

• Current Assignee: Adobe Inc.
• Original Assignee: Adobe Systems Incorporated (Adobe Inc.)
• Inventors: Sundermeyer, Ken, Kuwamoto, Sho, Bauer, Heidi
• Primary Examiner(s): RIES, LAURIE ANNE
• Application Number:
  US09/991,766
• Time in Patent Office: 2,713 Days
• Field of Search: 715/501.1, 715/513, 715/523, 715/530, 715/205, 715/234, 715/237
• US Class Current: 715/237
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 16/10 File systems; File servers

Abstract

A system and method stores keys and values defined for a file as XML tags and values in a separate shadow file, allowing the keys and values to remain separate from the file, while being associated with the file so that the shadow file can be viewed, moved, stored or retrieved in tandem with the file.

Claims

1. A system for storing a file and information related to the file and not contained in the file, comprising:

at least one editor having an input operatively coupled for receiving information to be contained in the file, the at least one editor for providing at an output a user interface for receiving said information and for providing said information at the at least one editor output, wherein the information comprises computer code;

a shadow file keys/values manager having an input operatively coupled for receiving in a web authoring tool the information related to the file and not contained in the file, the shadow file keys/values manager providing at an output a user interface for receiving said information related to the file and not contained in the file and for providing at the shadow file keys/values manager output said information related to the file and not contained in the file, wherein the information related to the file and not contained in the file describes an attribute of the computer code;

a file builder having an input coupled to the at least one editor output, the file builder for building the file responsive to the information received at the file builder input and for storing the file via an output; and

a shadow file builder having an input coupled to the shadow file keys/values manager for receiving the information related to the file and not contained in the file, the shadow file builder for building a shadow file responsive to said information related to the file and not contained in the file and for storing in said shadow file, different from the file, via an output.

2. The system of claim 1 wherein shadow file builder builds the shadow file using at least one XML tag.

3. The system of claim 1 wherein the file comprises HTML code.

4. The system of claim 1 additionally comprising:

a file manager having an input operatively coupled for receiving a request to open the file, the file manager for, via an input/output, opening the file responsive to the request and for providing at an output a signal to display the shadow file; and

wherein the shadow file keys/values manager additionally has a signal input coupled to the file manager signal output for receiving the signal, the shadow file keys/values manager additionally for automatically displaying via the shadow file keys/values manager output at least a portion of the information related to the file in the shadow file responsive to the request.

5. The system of claim 1 additionally comprising a file manager having an input operatively coupled for receiving a request to move the file to a destination, the file manager for automatically moving via an input/output at least a portion of the shadow file to the destination responsive to the request.

6. The system of claim 1 wherein the shadow file comprises a name corresponding to a name of the file.

7. The system of claim 6 wherein the shadow file name comprises the file name.

8. The system of claim 1, wherein the information related to the file and not contained in the file comprises a key and a corresponding value.

9. The system of claim 8, wherein the key is one of author, status, and notes.

10. A computer-implemented method of storing a file and information related to the file and not contained in the file, comprising:

receiving, in at least one editor, information to be contained in the file, the information comprising computer code, the at least one editor providing a user interface for receiving the information to be contained in the file;

transferring the information to be contained in the file from the at least one editor to a file builder;

building, by the file builder, the file responsive to the information to be contained in the file;

receiving, in a shadow file keys/values manager, the information related to the file and not contained in the file, the information related to the file and not contained in the file describing an attribute of the computer code, wherein the shadow file keys/values manager provides a connection to a web authoring tool and a user interface for receiving the information related to the file and not contained in the file;

transferring the information related to the file and not contained in the file from the shadow file keys/values manager to a shadow file builder;

building, by the shadow file builder, a shadow file responsive to the information related to the file and not contained in the file; and

storing the file and the shadow file, wherein the file and the shadow file comprise separate files.

11. The computer-implemented method of claim 10, further comprising building the shadow file using at least one XML tag.

12. The computer-implemented method of claim 10, wherein the file comprises HTML code.

13. The computer-implemented method of claim 10, further comprising:

opening the file responsive to a received request;

generating a signal to display the shadow file; and

automatically displaying at least a portion of the information related to the file included in the shadow file.

14. The computer-implemented method of claim 10, further comprising:

receiving a request to move the file to a destination; and

automatically moving at least a portion of the shadow file to the destination responsive to the request.

15. The computer-implemented method of claim 10, wherein the shadow file comprises a name corresponding to a name of the file.

16. The computer-implemented method of claim 15, wherein the shadow file name comprises the file name.

17. The computer-implemented method of claim 10, wherein the information related to the file and not contained in the file comprises a key and a corresponding value.

18. The computer-implemented method of claim 17, wherein the key is one of author, status, and notes.

19. A computer program product, encoded on a computer-readable medium, operable to cause data processing apparatus to perform operations comprising:

receiving, in at least one editor, information to be contained in a file, the information comprising computer code, the at least one editor providing a user interface for receiving the information to be contained in the file;

transferring the information to be contained in the file from the at least one editor to a file builder;

building, by the file builder, the file responsive to the information to be contained in the file;

receiving, in a shadow file keys/values manager, the information related to the file and not contained in the file, the information related to the file and not contained in the file describing an attribute of the computer code, wherein the shadow file keys/values manager provides a connection to a web authoring tool and a user interface for receiving the information related to the file and not contained in the file;

transferring the information related to the file and not contained in the file from the shadow file keys/values manager to a shadow file builder;

building, by the shadow file builder, a shadow file responsive to the information related to the file and not contained in the file; and

storing the file and the shadow file, wherein the file and the shadow file comprise separate files.

20. The computer program product of claim 19, further operable to cause data processing apparatus to perform operations comprising building the shadow file using at least one XML tag.

21. The computer program product of claim 19, wherein the file comprises HTML code.

22. The computer program product of claim 19, further operable to cause data processing apparatus to perform operations comprising:

opening the file responsive to a received request;

generating a signal to display the shadow file; and

automatically displaying at least a portion of the information related to the file included in the shadow file.

23. The computer program product of claim 19, further operable to cause data processing apparatus to perform operations comprising:

receiving a request to move the file to a destination; and

automatically moving at least a portion of the shadow file to the destination responsive to the request.

24. The computer program product of claim 19, wherein the shadow file comprises a name corresponding to a name of the file.

25. The computer program product of claim 24, wherein the shadow file name comprises the file name.

26. The computer program product of claim 19, wherein the information related to the file and not contained in the file comprises a key and a corresponding value.

27. The computer program product of claim 26, wherein the key is one of author, status, and notes.