Method and system for employing a multiple layer cache mechanism to enhance performance of a multi-user information retrieval system

• US 8,326,828 B2
• Filed: 01/15/2008
• Issued: 12/04/2012
• Est. Priority Date: 01/15/2008
• Status: Expired due to Fees

• Current Assignee: International Business Machines Corporation
• Original Assignee: International Business Machines Corporation
• Inventors: Zhou, Nianjun, Meliksetian, Dikran S., Sun, Yang, Yang, Chuan
• Primary Examiner(s): Alam, Shahid
• Assistant Examiner(s): CONYERS, DAWAUNE A
• Application Number:
  US12/014,221
• Publication Number:
  US 20090182946A1
• Time in Patent Office: 1,785 Days
• Field of Search: 707/725, 707/736, 711/719
• US Class Current: 707/725
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 16/9574 of access to content, e.g. by caching

Abstract

A method and system for optimizing resource usage in an information retrieval system. Meta information in query results describes data items identified by identifiers. A chunk of the identifiers and a set of meta information are loaded into a first cache and a second cache, respectively. A portion of the set of meta information is being viewed by a user. The portion describes a data item identified by an identifier included in the chunk and in a sub-chunk of identifiers that identifies data items described by the set of meta information. If a position of the identifier in the sub-chunk satisfies a first criterion, then a second set of meta information is preloaded into the second cache. If a position of the identifier in the chunk satisfies a second criterion, then a second chunk of the identifiers is preloaded into the first cache.

Claims

1. A method of optimizing information technology resource usage, comprising the steps of:

a computing system generating a query, and based on the query, the computing system retrieving a plurality of descriptions of a plurality of data items included in the data repository and identified by a respective plurality of identifiers;

the computing system loading into a first cache a first chunk of a plurality of chunks of the plurality of identifiers, wherein the first chunk is an ordered list of identifiers of the plurality of identifiers;

the computing system loading into a second cache a first set of meta information that describes a first set of data items of the plurality of data items, wherein the first set of data items is identified by an ordered sub-list of identifiers of the ordered list of identifiers, and wherein the ordered sub-list of identifiers is a first sub-chunk within the first chunk;

the computing system determining that a portion of the first set of meta information is being viewed via a web page by a user of a client computer in communication with the computing system via a network, wherein the portion includes a description of a data item of the first set of data items, and wherein the data item is identified by an identifier in the ordered sub-list of identifiers;

the computing system determining a position of the identifier within the ordered sub-list of identifiers; and

based on the position of the identifier within the ordered sub-list of identifiers, the computing system pre-loading a second set of meta information into the second cache, wherein the second set of meta information describes a second set of data items of the plurality of data items.

2. The method of claim 1, wherein the step of determining the position of the identifier within the ordered sub-list of identifiers includes the step of the computing system determining a nearness of the position of the identifier to an end of the ordered sub-list of identifiers by:

the computing system determining a first number of identifiers in the ordered sub-list of identifiers between the position of the identifier within the ordered sub-list of identifiers and a position of a last identifier of the ordered sub-list of identifiers is less than a predefined quantity or

the computing system determining a ratio of a first quantity to a second quantity is less than a predefined ratio, wherein the first quantity is the first number of identifiers in the ordered sub-list of identifiers between the position of the identifier within the ordered sub-list of identifiers and the position of the last identifier within the ordered sub-list of identifiers, and wherein the second quantity is a second number of identifiers in the ordered sub-list of identifiers between a position of a first predetermined identifier in the ordered sub-list of identifiers and a position of a second predetermined identifier in the ordered sub-list of identifiers.

3. The method of claim 1, further comprising the steps of:

the computing system determining that a portion of the second set of meta information is being viewed via a second web page by the user of the client computer, wherein the portion of the second set of meta information describes a data item of the second set of data items, and wherein the data item of the second set of data items is identified by a second identifier included in the ordered list of identifiers;

the computing system determining a position of the second identifier within the ordered list of identifiers; and

based on the position of the second identifier within the ordered list of identifiers, the computing system pre-loading a second chunk of the plurality of chunks into the first cache.

4. The method of claim 3, wherein the step of the computing system determining the position of the second identifier within the ordered list of identifiers includes the step of the computing system determining a nearness of the position of the second identifier to an end of the ordered list of identifiers by:

the computing system determining a first number of identifiers in the ordered list of identifiers between the position of the second identifier within the ordered list of identifiers and a position of a last identifier within the ordered list of identifiers is less than a predefined quantity, or

the computing system determining a ratio of a first quantity to a second quantity is less than a predefined ratio, wherein the first quantity is the first number of identifiers in the ordered list of identifiers between the position of the second identifier within the ordered list of identifiers and the position of the last identifier within the ordered list of identifiers, and wherein the second quantity is a second number of identifiers in the ordered list of identifiers between a position of a first predetermined identifier in the ordered list of identifiers and a position of a second predetermined identifier in the ordered list of identifiers.

5. The method of claim 1, further comprising the steps of:

the computing system receiving a set of usage patterns of a plurality of users of a respective plurality of client computers in communication with the computing system via the network;

the computing system organizing the plurality of identifiers into the plurality of chunks according to the set of usage patterns; and

the computing system separating the first chunk into a plurality of sub-chunks according to the set of usage patterns, wherein the first sub-chunk is included in the plurality of sub-chunks.

6. The method of claim 1, further comprising the steps of:

the computing system partitioning the second cache to include a part that includes a subset of the first set of meta information, wherein the subset of the first set of meta information is included in the web page; and

the computing system displaying the web page to the user of the client computer through a rendering process.

7. The method of claim 1, wherein the second set of data items is identified by a second sub-chunk of a plurality of sub-chunks included in the first chunk.

8. The method of claim 1, further comprising the steps of:

the computing system receiving a plurality of queries from a plurality of users of a respective plurality of client computers in communication with the computing system via a network;

in response to the step of receiving the plurality of queries, the computing system querying the data repository multiple times, wherein a result of the step of querying the data repository multiple times includes multiple groups of descriptions, wherein each group of descriptions describes a corresponding group of data items of multiple groups of data items, and wherein a group of data items of the multiple groups of data items is the plurality of data items;

the computing system loading a group of chunks into the first cache, wherein the group of chunks includes the first chunk;

the computing system loading multiple sets of meta information into the second cache, wherein the multiple sets of meta information include the first set of meta information;

the computing system updating one or more data items included in one or more groups of data items of the multiple groups of data items;

a backend layer of the computing system recording a timestamp indicating a time of the updating the one or more data items;

the backend layer generating a list indicating one or more changes resulting from the updating the one or more data items;

a middleware portion of the computing system receiving the list; and

based on the one or more changes resulting from the step of updating the one or more data items, the middleware portion updating a set of data selected from the group consisting of one or more chunks of the group of chunks and one or more sets of meta information of the multiple sets of meta information.

9. A computing system for optimizing information technology resource usage, the computing system comprising:

a central processing unit (CPU);

a memory coupled to the CPU;

a computer-readable, tangible storage device coupled to the memory, the storage device storing program instructions that when executed by the CPU via the memory;

generate a query and based on the query, retrieve a plurality of descriptions of a plurality of data items included in the data repository and identified by a respective plurality of identifiers;

load into a first cache first chunk of a plurality of chunks of the plurality of identifiers, wherein the first chunk is an ordered list of identifiers of the plurality of identifiers;

load into a second cache first set of meta information that describes a first set of data items of the plurality of data items, wherein the first set of data items is identified by an ordered sub-list of identifiers of the ordered list of identifiers, and wherein the ordered sub-list of identifiers is a first sub-chunk within the first chunk;

determine that a portion of the first set of meta information is being viewed via a web page by a user of a client computer in communication with the computing system via a network wherein the portion includes a description of a data item of the first set of data items, and wherein the data item is identified by an identifier in the ordered sub-list of identifiers;

determine a position of the identifier within the ordered sub-list of identifiers; and

based on the position of the identifier within the ordered sub-list of identifiers, pre-load a second set of meta information into the second cache, wherein the second set of meta information describes a second set of data items of the plurality of data items.

10. The system of claim 9, wherein the program instructions which determine the position of the identifier within the ordered sub-list of identifiers include program instructions to determine a nearness of the position of the identifier to an end of the ordered sub-list of identifiers by:

determining a first number of identifiers in the ordered sub-list of identifiers between the position of the identifier within the ordered sub-list of identifiers and a position of a last identifier of the ordered sub-list of identifiers is less than a predefined quantity, or

determining a ratio of a first quantity to a second quantity is less than a predefined ratio, wherein the first quantity is the first number of identifiers in the ordered sub-list of identifiers between the position of the identifier within the ordered sub-list of identifiers and the position of the last identifier within the ordered sub-list of identifiers, and wherein the second quantity is a second number of identifiers in the ordered sub-list of identifiers between a position of a first predetermined identifier in the ordered sub-list of identifiers and a position of a second predetermined identifier in the ordered sub-list of identifiers.

11. The system of claim 9, wherein the program instructions, when executed by the CPU via the memory:

determine that a portion of the second set of meta information is being viewed via a second web page by the user of the client computer wherein the portion of the second set of meta information describes a data item of the second set of data items, and wherein the data item of the second set of data items is identified by a second identifier included in the ordered list of identifiers;

determine a position of the second identifier within the ordered list of identifiers; and

based on the position of the second identifier within the ordered list of identifiers, pre-load a second chunk of the plurality of chunks into the first cache.

12. The system of claim 11, wherein the program instructions which determine the position of the second identifier within the ordered list of identifiers include program instructions to determine a nearness of the position of the second identifier to an end of the ordered list of identifiers by:

determining a first number of identifiers in the ordered list of identifiers between the position of the second identifier within the ordered list of identifiers and a position of a last identifier within the ordered list of identifiers is less than a predefined quantity, or

determining a ratio of a first quantity to a second quantity is less than a predefined ratio, wherein the first quantity is the first number of identifiers in the ordered list of identifiers between the position of the second identifier within the ordered list of identifiers and the position of the last identifier within the ordered list of identifiers, and wherein the second quantity is a second number of identifiers in the ordered list of identifiers between a position of a first predetermined identifier in the ordered list of identifiers and a position of a second predetermined identifier in the ordered list of identifiers.

13. The system of claim 9, wherein the program instructions, when executed by the CPU via the memory:

receive a set of usage patterns of a plurality of users of a respective plurality of client computers in communication with the computing system via the network;

organize the plurality of identifiers into the plurality of chunks according to the set of usage patterns; and

separate the first chunk into a plurality of sub-chunks according to the set of usage patterns, wherein the first sub-chunk is included in the plurality of sub-chunks.

14. The system of claim 9, wherein the program instructions, when executed by the CPU via the memory:

partition the second cache to include a part that includes a subset of the first set of meta information, wherein the subset of the first set of meta information is included in the web page; and

display the web page to the user of the client computer through a rendering process.

15. A computer program product for optimizing information technology resource usage, the computer program product comprising:

one or more computer-readable tangible storage devices; and

program instructions stored on the one or more computer-readable tangible storage devices, the program instructions comprise;

program instructions to generate a query and based on the query retrieve a plurality of descriptions of a plurality of data items included in the data repository and identified by a respective plurality of identifiers;

program instructions to load into a first cache first chunk of a plurality of chunks of the plurality of identifiers, wherein the first chunk is an ordered list of identifiers of the plurality of identifiers;

program instructions to load into a second cache first set of meta information that describes a first set of data items of the plurality of data items, wherein the first set of data items is identified by an ordered sub-list of identifiers of the ordered list of identifiers, and wherein the ordered sub-list of identifiers is a first sub-chunk within the first chunk;

program instructions to determine that a portion of the first set of meta information is being viewed via a web page by a user of a client computer in communication with the computing system via a network, wherein the portion includes a description of a data item of the first set of data items, and wherein the data item is identified by an identifier in the ordered sub-list of identifiers;

program instructions to determine a position of the identifier within the ordered sub-list of identifiers; and

program instructions, based on the position of the identifier within the ordered sub-list of identifiers, to pre-load a second set of meta information into the second cache, wherein the second set of meta information describes a second set of data items of the plurality of data items.

16. The program product of claim 15, wherein the program instructions which determine the position of the identifier within the ordered sub-list of identifiers include program instructions to determine a nearness of the position of the identifier to an end of the ordered sub-list of identifiers by:

determining a first number of identifiers in the ordered sub-list of identifiers between the position of the identifier within the ordered sub-list of identifiers and a position of a last identifier of the ordered sub-list of identifiers is less than a predefined quantity, or

determining a ratio of a first quantity to a second quantity is less than a predefined ratio, wherein the first quantity is the first number of identifiers in the ordered sub-list of identifiers between the position of the identifier within the ordered sub-list of identifiers and the position of the last identifier within the ordered sub-list of identifiers and wherein the second quantity is a second number of identifiers in the ordered sub-list of identifiers between a position of a first predetermined identifier in the ordered sub-list of identifiers and a position of a second predetermined identifier in the ordered sub-list of identifiers.

17. The program product of claim 15, wherein the program instructions stored on the one or more computer-readable tangible storage devices further comprise:

program instructions to determine that a portion of the second set of meta information is being viewed via a second web page by the user of the client computer, wherein the portion of the second set of meta information describes a data item of the second set of data items, and wherein the data item of the second set of data items is identified by a second identifier included in the ordered list of identifiers;

program instructions to determine a position of the second identifier within the ordered list of identifiers; and

program instructions, based on the position of the second identifier within the ordered list of identifiers, to pre-load a second chunk of the plurality of chunks into the first cache.

18. The program product of claim 17, wherein the program instructions which determine the position of the second identifier within the ordered list of identifiers include program instructions to determine a nearness of the position of the second identifier to an end of the ordered list of identifiers by:

determining a first number of positions of identifiers in the ordered list of identifiers between the position of the second identifier within ordered list of identifiers and a position of a last identifier within the ordered list of identifiers is less than a predefined quantity, or

determining a ratio of a first quantity to a second quantity is less than a predefined ratio, wherein the first quantity is the first number of identifiers in the ordered list of identifiers between the position of the second identifier within the ordered list of identifiers and the position of the last identifier within the ordered list of identifiers and wherein the second quantity is a second number of identifiers in the ordered list of identifiers between a position of a first predetermined identifier in the ordered list of identifiers and a position of a second predetermined identifier in the ordered list of identifiers.

19. The program product of claim 15, wherein the program instructions stored on the one or more computer-readable tangible storage devices further comprise:

program instructions to receive a set of usage patterns of a plurality of users of a respective plurality of client computers in communication with the computing system via the network;

program instructions to organize the plurality of identifiers into the plurality of chunks according to the set of usage patterns; and

program instructions to separate the first chunk into a plurality of sub-chunks according to the set of usage patterns, wherein the first sub-chunk is included in the plurality of sub-chunks.

20. The program product of claim 15, wherein the program instructions stored on the one or more computer-readable tangible storage devices further comprise:

program instructions to partition the second cache to include a part that includes a subset of the first set of meta information, wherein the subset of the first set of meta information is included in the web page; and

program instructions to display the web page to the user of the client computer through a rendering process.