Programmability for XML data store for documents

• US 7,752,224 B2
• Filed: 01/13/2006
• Issued: 07/06/2010
• Est. Priority Date: 02/25/2005
• Status: Expired due to Fees

• Current Assignee: Microsoft Technology Licensing LLC (Microsoft Corporation)
• Original Assignee: Microsoft Corporation
• Inventors: Ali, Alnur, Little, Robert A., Jones, Brian M., Davis, Tristan A., Taleghani, Ali, Sawicki, Marcin
• Primary Examiner(s): Pham; Khanh B
• Application Number:
  US11/331,586
• Publication Number:
  US 20060195413A1
• Time in Patent Office: 1,635 Days
• Field of Search: None
• US Class Current: 707/793
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 16/80 of semi-structured data, e.g. markup language structured data such as SGML, XML or HTML content-based retrieval of web data G06F16/95
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 16/83 Querying
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 16/93 Document management systems
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 40/169 Annotation, e.g. comment data or footnotes

Abstract

A programmability mode for interacting with data stores within a document allows real time interaction. Data for structuring information associated with a document, such as document metadata, is maintained in the data store where relationships between different pieces of data are maintained in a location distinct from the surface level view of a document. The data store exposes interfaces to the various pieces of data in the data store for allowing different applications to access and operate on one or more of the data pieces. The pieces of data may be structured according to a markup language such as the Extensible Markup Language (XML), and XML schemas may be associated with each piece of data for allowing the data store to validate the structure applied to the data based on an XML schema associated with a given piece of data.

Claims

1. A tangible computer-readable storage medium having computer-executable instructions for managing data associated with computer-generated documents, comprising:

storing structured data items that are associated with a document in a data store that is maintained separately from document data for the document;

wherein the document data defines a primary presentation for displaying the document;

wherein the structured data items are represented by Extensible Markup Language (XML);

wherein the structured data items are metadata for the document;

wherein the structured data items remain associated with the document until the structured data items are removed from the data store; and

formatting the structured data such that an application programming interface (API) is exposed to a plurality of different client data consuming applications for allowing programmatic access to the structured data items by each of the data consuming applications;

wherein execution of the API provides the ability to access the structured data items within the data store while the document is open for editing and when the document is closed for editing;

wherein the API that allows the programmatic access to the structured data items by the data consuming applications comprises allowing the plurality of data consuming applications to access a same structured data item at the same time;

wherein the API allows any of the data consuming applications to store structured data items within the data store; and

registering for notification of changes by the data consuming applications;

determining when a change is made to one of the structured data items using the API; and

when a change is made, notifying the registered data consuming applications of the change;

in response to the notification of the change, queuing a side-effect change by one of the data consuming applications, wherein the side-effect change is generated based on data related to the notified change; and

notifying the registered data consuming applications of the side-effect change.

2. The tangible computer-readable storage medium of claim 1, further comprising rolling back the change when one of the registered data consuming application rejects the change and committing the change to the data store when each of the registered data consuming application accepts the change.

3. The tangible computer-readable storage medium of claim 2, further comprising using the API to associate the structured data item with an XML schema file that is used to validate the structured data item before the change is committed to the data store.

4. The tangible computer-readable storage medium of claim 1, wherein the API provides a function to register to receive notification for a change notification to at least one of:

a change to the data store and a change to one or more of the structured data items;

wherein the change includes at least one of;

a deletion, an addition, and a modification to at least one of the data store and the structured data item.

5. The tangible computer-readable storage medium of claim 4, wherein the API provides an interface for adding a node to the data store;

deleting a node from the data store; and

replacing a node within the data store.

6. The tangible computer-readable storage medium of claim 4, wherein the API provides an interface for populating the data store using an existing file;

and populating the data store using a string of XML.

7. The tangible computer-readable storage medium of claim 4, wherein the API provides an interface for adding a namespace;

looking up a namespace;

adding a schema;

deleting a schema; and

reloading a schema.

8. The tangible computer-readable storage medium of claim 4, wherein the API provides an interface for adding a stream;

removing a stream;

adding a subtree;

removing a subtree;

obtaining a next sibling of a current node; and

obtaining a previous sibling of a current node obtaining a node type.

9. The tangible computer-readable storage medium of claim 4, wherein the API provides an interface for obtaining a node value;

and enforcing a structure.

10. A computer-implemented method for managing data associated with computer-generated documents, comprising:

storing structured data items that are associated with a document using data stores;

wherein the structured data item is structured according to the Extensible Markup Language (XML);

wherein the structured data items are metadata for the document;

wherein the structured data items remain associated with the document until the structured data items are removed from the data stores; and

formatting the structured data such that an application programming interface (API) is exposed to a data consuming application that allows programmatic access to the document and to the structured data items that are contained within the data stores; and

executing the API to access the structured data items within the data stores both while the document is being edited and when the document is closed for editing such that the structured data is linked to the documents and functions as metadata describing characteristics of the document; and

wherein the data consuming application receives a notification for a change that is made to the data stores when they are registered;

initiating a change to one of the data stores using the API;

providing the notification to a second registered data consuming application relating to the change;

in response to the notification at the second registered data consuming application, queuing a side-effect change;

determining when a response from the second registered data consuming application is a rejection, and when the response is a rejection rolling back the change and the side-effect change;

determining when the first and second registered data consuming application accept the change and the side-effect change; and

when the first and second registered data consuming application accept the change and the side-effect change;

optionally validating the change and the side-effect change using an XML schema file that is provided by one of the data consuming applications through an API; and

committing the change and the side-effect change to one or more of the data stores.

11. The computer-implemented method of claim 10, wherein using the API further comprises providing a programming interface for:

obtaining a value for a node;

adding a node;

deleting a node;

moving a node;

adding a schema;

deleting a schema;

reloading a schema;

adding a namespace; and

removing a namespace.

12. A system for managing data associated with computer-generated documents, comprising:

a processor;

a tangible storage medium coupled to the processor;

data consuming applications configured to be executed on the processor;

a document data store that is configured to store documents on the tangible storage medium; and

a data store coupled to the data consuming applications that is configured to store structured data items that are associated with one or more of the documents;

wherein the structured data items remain associated with the one or more documents until the structured data items are removed from the data store;

wherein the data stores includes;

XML data stores;

an API broker that is configured to interact with the data consuming applications;

a change store that is configured to store changes that are associated with a change that is made to a structured data item; and

an undo store that is configured to roll back any changes made as a result of the change that is made to the structured data item;

wherein the API broker exposes a programming interface (API) that allows programmatic access to the documents and to the structured data item that are contained within the data stores; and

wherein the data consuming application is configured to execute the API to access the structured data items within the data stores both while the document is open and when the document is closed such that the API provides a programmatic link to the data consuming application to link items within the data store to the document and wherein the data consuming application is further configured to queue a side-effect change when an item within the data store to the document is changed.

13. The system of claim 12, wherein the data store is further configured to:

receive a change to an Extensible Markup Language (XML) markup data applied to the structured data item;

read an XML schema file associated with the structured data item to which the change to the XML markup data is directed;

determine whether the change to the XML markup data is valid according to the read XML schema file; and

disallow the change to the XML markup data if the change to the XML markup data is not valid according to the read XML schema file; and

commit the change to one or more the XML stores when the change to the XML markup data is valid according to the read XML schema file.

14. The system of claim 12, wherein each of the XML data stores comprise an undo store and a change store.

15. The system of claim 12, wherein the API provides an interface for adding a node to the data store;

deleting a node from the data store;

replacing a node within the data store; and

obtaining a value from the data store.

16. The system of claim 15, wherein the API provides an interface for adding a schema;

deleting a schema; and

reloading a schema.