Method and apparatus for accessing data within an electronic system by an external system
First Claim
1. A method of accessing data within a research system by an application external to an electronic system comprising:
- a. formatting a searchable database within the research system into a directory tree structure, wherein the directory tree structure includes nodes comprising related data and branches comprising links between the nodes, wherein each related item of data is categorized by a navigation path through the directory tree structure and by one or more parameters, each parameter is set with a corresponding value associated with the data item thereby forming a set parameter, wherein the parameters are specific to the node in which the related data is included; and
b. an external application different than the research system accessing one or more nodes within the directory tree structure and obtaining data from the one or more nodes by utilizing an applications programming interface (API) associated with the research system, wherein accessing the one or more nodes is performed utilizing a research module, further wherein the research module includes a plurality of search implementations, and further wherein each utilization of the research module includes usability of each search at any location within the searchable database.
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Abstract
A method of and apparatus for accessing data within an electronic system by an external system to the electronic system. The method includes formatting a searchable database within the electronic system into a directory tree structure, the directory tree structure includes nodes comprising related data and branches comprising links between the nodes. Each related item of data is categorized by a navigation path through the directory tree structure and by one or more parameters, wherein the parameters are specific to the node in which the related data is included. The method accesses one or more nodes within the directory tree structure and obtains data from the one or more nodes by utilizing an applications programming interface. The applications programming interface can access the one or more nodes within the directory tree structure using a query string that defines a navigation path through the directory tree structure to access a specific node within the directory tree structure.
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Citations
32 Claims
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1. A method of accessing data within a research system by an application external to an electronic system comprising:
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a. formatting a searchable database within the research system into a directory tree structure, wherein the directory tree structure includes nodes comprising related data and branches comprising links between the nodes, wherein each related item of data is categorized by a navigation path through the directory tree structure and by one or more parameters, each parameter is set with a corresponding value associated with the data item thereby forming a set parameter, wherein the parameters are specific to the node in which the related data is included; and b. an external application different than the research system accessing one or more nodes within the directory tree structure and obtaining data from the one or more nodes by utilizing an applications programming interface (API) associated with the research system, wherein accessing the one or more nodes is performed utilizing a research module, further wherein the research module includes a plurality of search implementations, and further wherein each utilization of the research module includes usability of each search at any location within the searchable database. - View Dependent Claims (2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8)
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9. A research system for providing access to a searchable database by an application external to the research system comprising:
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a. means for formatting the searchable database into a directory tree structure, wherein the directory tree structure includes nodes comprising related data and branches comprising links between the nodes, wherein each related item of data is categorized by a navigation path through the directory tree structure and by one or more parameters, each parameter is set with a corresponding value associated with the data item thereby forming a set parameter, wherein the parameters are specific to the node in which the related data is included; and b. means for an external application different than the research system accessing one or more nodes within the directory tree structure and obtaining data from the one or more nodes by utilizing an applications programming interface (API) associated with the research system, wherein accessing the one or more nodes is performed utilizing a research module, further wherein the research module includes a plurality of search implementations, and further wherein each utilization of the research module includes usability of each search at any location within the searchable database. - View Dependent Claims (10, 11, 12, 13, 14, 15, 16)
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- 17. A research system for providing access to a searchable database by an application external to the research system comprising a research server configured to format the searchable database into a directory tree structure, wherein the directory tree structure includes nodes comprising related data and branches comprising links between the nodes, wherein each related item of data is categorized by a navigation path through the directory tree structure and by one or more parameters, wherein the parameters are specific to the node in which the related data is included, and an external system different than the electronic system to access one or more nodes within the directory tree structure and to obtain data from the one or more nodes by utilizing an applications programming interface (API) associated with the research system, wherein the external system accesses the one or more nodes by utilizing a research module comprising a plurality of search implementations, and further wherein each utilization of the research module includes usability of each search at any location within the searchable database.
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25. A network of devices for providing access to a searchable database by an application external to a research system comprising:
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a. one or more computer systems configured to establish a connection with other systems; and b. a research server coupled to the one or more computer systems to format the searchable database into a directory tree structure, wherein the directory tree structure includes nodes comprising related data and branches comprising links between the nodes, wherein each related item of data is categorized by a navigation path through the directory tree structure and by one or more parameters, each parameter is set with a corresponding value associated with the data item thereby forming a set parameter, wherein the parameters are specific to the node in which the related data is included, and an external application different than the research system to access one or more nodes within the directory tree structure and to obtain data from the one or more nodes by utilizing an applications programming interface (API) associated with the research systems, wherein the external application accesses the one or more nodes by utilizing a research module comprising a plurality of search implementations, and further wherein each utilization of the research module includes usability of each search at any location within the searchable database. - View Dependent Claims (26, 27, 28, 29, 30)
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31. A method of accessing data within a research system by an application external to the research system comprising:
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a. formatting a searchable database within the research system into a directory tree structure, wherein the directory tree structure includes nodes comprising related data and branches comprising links between the nodes, wherein each related item of data is categorized by a navigation path through the directory tree structure and by one or more parameters, each parameter is set with a corresponding value associated with the data item thereby forming a set parameter, wherein the parameters are specific to the node in which the related data is included; and b. an external application different than the research system accessing one or more nodes within the directory tree structure and obtaining data from the one or more nodes by utilizing an applications programming interface (API) associated with the research system, wherein the applications programming interface accesses the one or more nodes within the directory tree structure using a query string defining a navigation path through the directory tree structure to access a specific node within the directory tree structure, wherein accessing the one or more nodes is performed utilizing a research module, further wherein the research module includes a plurality of search implementations, and further wherein each utilization of the research module includes usability of each search at any location within the searchable database. - View Dependent Claims (32)
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Specification