Systems and methods for interfacing application programs with an item-based storage platform

• US 8,131,739 B2
• Filed: 08/21/2003
• Issued: 03/06/2012
• Est. Priority Date: 08/21/2003
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Microsoft Technology Licensing LLC (Microsoft Corporation)
• Original Assignee: Microsoft Corporation
• Inventors: Wu, Winnie C., Deem, Michael E., Sheppard, Edward G., Fang, Lijiang, Li, Jian, Taylor, Michael B.
• Primary Examiner(s): Saeed, Usmaan
• Application Number:
  US10/646,575
• Publication Number:
  US 20050044089A1
• Time in Patent Office: 3,120 Days
• Field of Search: 707 1-1041, 707200-205, 707/103.R, 704/1, 717/114, 715/513
• US Class Current: 707/758
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 16/10 File systems; File servers
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 16/288 Entity relationship models

Abstract

Various embodiments of the present invention are directed to a storage platform comprising: a data store in which data stored therein is defined in terms of items, elements, and relationships, wherein an item is a unit of data storable in the data store and comprises one or more elements, an element is an instance of a type comprising one or more fields, and a relationship is a link between at least two items; a set of schemas that define different types of items, elements, and relationships; and an application programming interface comprising a class for each of the different items, elements, and relationships defined in the set of schemas. Data may also be stored in the data store in the form of an extension to an existing item type, and wherein the application programming interface comprises a class for each different item extension.

Claims

1. A method for querying and returning instances of items comprising:

receiving from an application that operates in user space of an operating system, a request identifying an item, said item having a scope that includes at least one additional item, the operating system including a database management program that encapsulates a file system, the database management program encapsulating the file system by exclusively handling file system access requests from a group of user mode applications, the group of user mode applications being configured to interface with an operating system application program interface, the operating system application program interface being configured to send read/write requests issued by the group of user mode applications to the database management program of the operating system, the database management program of the operating system being configured to open files stored in the file system in response to receipt of read/write requests;

generating, by the database management program that encapsulates the file system, a search object, the search object providing a method for querying the database management program;

executing, by the database management program that encapsulates the file system, a query on said search object, the query utilizing the scope of the identified item as a parameter;

identifying an item in the database management program that includes data that satisfies the query;

de-serialize data stored in a file into an item, the file stored in the file system, the file describing the item; and

returning the item to the application.

2. The method of claim 1, further comprising:

interfacing with the database management program, each item associated with at least one schema that defines an item'"'"'s type; and

generating at least one data class for each item stored in said database, wherein the fields of the item'"'"'s type map to the fields of the at least one data class.

3. The method of claim 2, wherein the at least one schema that defines an item'"'"'s type is received from a third party.

4. The method of claim 2, wherein generating an instance of said identified item further comprises:

generating an instance of the identified item from at least one data class, wherein the generated instance includes methods specific to the data class.

5. The method of claim 1, wherein said search object utilizes a connection to the database management program to query the database management program and modify the items stored in said database management program.

6. The method of claim 5, wherein the query further specifies at least one of an item'"'"'s property, an item'"'"'s extensions, and an item'"'"'s relationships as a query parameter.

7. The method of claim 1, further comprising:

receiving an indication that said application has modified the at least one instance of the at least one additional item.

8. The method of claim 7, wherein the search object utilizes a method for saving changes to the item stored in said database management program encapsulating the file system.

9. The method of claim 1, wherein the scope of said identified item includes a plurality of items stored in a plurality of database management programs.

10. The method of claim 9, wherein the search object establishes a connection with the plurality of database management programs to query for the at least one additional item.

11. The method of claim 10, wherein the search object establishes an individual connection with a specific database management program that encapsulates a specific file system to save changes to a specific item stored in said specific database management program.

12. The method of claim 11, wherein the search object includes a conflict handler method that is configured to detect when multiple applications modify instances of the same item and determine what modifications to save by utilizing a policy.

13. The method of claim 1, further comprising:

maintaining a cache of items.

14. The method of claim 13, further comprising:

receiving an indication that an application has modified the item; and

utilizing a method to save changes to the item in said cache.

15. The method of claim 1, wherein said identified item is a set of items that includes one of an entire set of items in the database management program, any subset of items in said database management program, and any individual item in said database management program.

16. The method of claim 1, wherein the identified item is an item of a type folder, the scope of the item of the type folder includes any items that are contained within the item of the type folder.

17. The method of claim 1, wherein each item stored in said database management program includes a relationship to another item stored in said database management program, said relationship defined by a property in an item that is a source of the relationship and a property in an item that is the target of the relationship.

18. The method of claim 17, wherein a query that includes an item'"'"'s relationships as a parameter returns an instance of any item that is the source a relationship and an instance of any item that is the target of a relationship.

19. The method of claim 1 further comprising:

receiving a request from an application to track changes to one of an item, an item'"'"'s extensions, and an item'"'"'s relationships;

registering, the database management program integrated with the file system, said application for a notification service that notifies said application when any changes to one of the item, the item'"'"'s extensions, and the item'"'"'s relationships are detected.

20. The method of claim 19, wherein said notification service notifies said application when any changes to items associated with the item, the item'"'"'s extensions, and the item'"'"'s relationships are detected.