Searching with adaptively configurable user interface and extensible query language

• US 7,610,290 B2
• Filed: 08/01/2005
• Issued: 10/27/2009
• Est. Priority Date: 11/21/2000
• Status: Expired due to Fees

• Current Assignee: Microsoft Technology Licensing LLC (Microsoft Corporation)
• Original Assignee: Microsoft Corporation
• Inventors: Hardy, Kenneth D., Kaler, Christopher G., Fisher, Jomo Ahab, Kruy, Steven J.
• Primary Examiner(s): ROBINSON, GRETA LEE
• Application Number:
  US11/194,803
• Publication Number:
  US 20070027851A1
• Time in Patent Office: 1,548 Days
• Field of Search: 707/10, 707/100, 707/102, 707/101, 707/3, 707/4, 707/2, 707/5
• US Class Current: 1/1
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 16/2428 Query predicate definition using graphical user interfaces, including menus and forms G06F16/2423 takes precedence
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 16/2448 for particular applications; for extensibility, e.g. user defined types
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 16/951 Indexing; Web crawling techniques
• CPC Class Codes: Y10S 707/99934 Query formulation, input preparation, or translation
• CPC Class Codes: Y10S 707/99943 Generating database or data structure, e.g. via user interface

Abstract

An adaptively configurable user interface to facilitate a common user experience across two or more databases and an extensible common query structure to allow expansion of a query language to meet the demands of new file types. An exemplary embodiment includes a discovery mechanism for determining query properties of search providers, thereby facilitating adaptive configuring of a user interface to expose the determined query properties. An exemplary embodiment of the user interface includes a portion which remains relatively constant across two or more search providers to reduce user disorientation.

Claims

1. A method for receiving and processing a search query with respect to a plurality of search providers the method comprising:

receiving a registration request from each search provider, wherein the registration request invokes at least one registration function via an API (“

Application Programming Interface”

), wherein a respective registration request includes a plurality of query properties of an associated search provider, the plurality of query properties including a list of at least one data property name, query comparison operators, a number of operands for each of the query comparison operators, syntactic data value types for each operand and localization information about display strings;

receiving an initial request to perform a search from a user;

configuring a user interface based on the query properties of each respective search provider;

displaying the user interface for the search providers to the user based upon the query properties of each respective search provider;

receiving a query from the user;

forming a parse tree representation of the query;

marshaling the parse tree representation to a selected number of search providers using a call by value protocol, wherein each search provider is associated with a specific type of content and respective search functionality for that content, the associated content for each of the search providers being mutually exclusive.

2. The method of claim 1, whereupon receiving a parse tree representation of a query, a search provider remaps the parse tree according to specific query properties to facilitate an optimal search of an associated data store.

3. The method of claim 1, wherein one or more portions of the search providers or the unified user interface is implemented in accord with COM.

4. The method of claim 1, wherein one or more of the search providers is implemented in an object-oriented programming language.

5. The method of claim 1, wherein one or more of the search providers is adapted to search two or more data stores.

6. The method of claim 1, wherein the plurality of search providers includes at least three search providers.

7. The method of claim 1, wherein the plurality of search providers includes a first search provider for searching bug files, a second search provider for searching link files, and a third search provider for searching software component files.

8. The method of claim 1, wherein the parse tree is circulated to each of the selected search providers in a serial fashion in order to complete an aggregate search request involving mutually exclusive content associated with different respective search providers.

9. The method of claim 8, further comprising returning search results wherein the search results are returned from the search providers as object linking and embedding (“

OLE”

) DB rowsets.

10. The method of claim 8, further comprising returning search results, wherein the search results are returned from the search providers as active data objects (“

ADO”

).

11. The method of claim 8, further comprising retiring search results, wherein the search results are returned as extensible markup language (“

XML”

) content.

12. The method of claim 1, wherein the user interface includes user-selectable query windows including a simple window, an advanced window and a graphical window.

13. The method of claim 12, wherein each query window includes at least one set of one or more user entry fields, which remain constant for all search providers.

14. The method of claim 12, wherein the graphical window allows a query to be defined at least one of pictorially and as a graph.

15. A system for receiving and processing a search query with respect to a plurality of search providers in a development environment comprising:

a processor, wherein the processor is adapted to;

receive a registration request from each search provider, wherein the registration request invokes at least one registration function via an API (“

Application Programming Interface”

), wherein a respective registration request includes a plurality of query properties of an associated search provider, the plurality of query properties including a list of at least one data property name, query comparison operators, a number of operands for each of the query comparison operators, syntactic data value types for each operand and localization information about display strings;

receive an initial request to perform a search from a user;

configure a user interface based on the query properties of each respective search provider;

display the user interface for the search providers to the user based upon the query properties of each respective search provider;

receive a query from the user;

form a parse tree representation of the query;

marshal the parse tree representation to a selected number of search providers using a call by value protocol, wherein each search provider is associated with a specific type of content and respective search functionality for that content, the associated content for each of the search providers being mutually exclusive.

16. A computer readable medium comprising computer-executable instructions for performing a process comprising:

receiving a registration request from each search provider, wherein the registration request invokes at least one registration function via an API (“

Application Programming Interface”

), wherein a respective registration request includes a plurality of query properties of an associated search provider, the plurality of query properties including a list of at least one data property name, query comparison operators, a number of operands for each of the query comparison operators, syntactic data value types for each operand and localization information about display strings;

receiving an initial request to perform a search from a user;

configuring a user interface based on the query properties of each respective search provider;

displaying the user interface for the search providers to the user based upon the query properties of each respective search provider;

receiving a query from the user;

forming a parse tree representation of the query;

marshaling the parse tree representation to a selected number of search providers using a call by value protocol, wherein each search provider is associated with a specific type of content and respective search functionality for that content, the associated content for each of the search providers being mutually exclusive.

17. The computer readable medium of claim 16, whereupon receiving a parse tree representation of a query, a search provider remaps the parse tree according to specific query properties to facilitate an optimal search of an associated data store.

18. The computer readable medium of claim 16, wherein one or more portions of the search providers or the unified user interface is implemented in accord with COM.

19. The computer readable medium of claim 16, wherein one or more of the search providers is implemented in an object-oriented programming language.