Method and system using reusable state information for synchronization and maintenance of data

• US 8,332,352 B2
• Filed: 04/13/2010
• Issued: 12/11/2012
• Est. Priority Date: 07/01/2004
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Apple Inc.
• Original Assignee: Apple Inc.
• Inventors: Serlet, Bertrand
• Primary Examiner(s): Beausoliel, Jr., Robert
• Assistant Examiner(s): Pham, Michael
• Application Number:
  US12/759,463
• Publication Number:
  US 20100198784A1
• Time in Patent Office: 973 Days
• Field of Search: 707/610
• US Class Current: 707/610
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 16/178 Techniques for file synchronisation in file systems
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 16/1837 Management specially adapted to peer-to-peer storage networks topology management mechanisms of peer-to-peer networks H04L67/1042
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 16/219 Managing data history or versioning querying versioned data G06F16/2474; querying temporal data G06F16/2477
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 16/27 Replication, distribution or synchronisation of data between databases or within a distributed database system; Distributed database system architectures therefor

Abstract

A system for synchronization whereby metadata repository maintains information regarding the history and status of data items in a data repository. Data items are associated with states and such states changes (e.g. increment) in response to changes to the data items. History statements associated with the same states describe the changes in a generic enough fashion that multiple data items may be associated with a single state (e.g. if multiple data items share a common history such as that they were all edited by a user on the same device). The history repository is synchronized with other history repositories so as to reflect the states of data items on multiple devices. The synchronized history stores are used during synchronization to identify and resolve data conflicts through ancestry of data item history.

Claims

1. A method for maintaining data and metadata for synchronization, the method comprising:

altering first data on a first device;

creating a first history statement to reflect metadata regarding the alteration of the first data wherein the first history statement comprises a plurality of portions and each portion contains one or more attributes describing a type of change to the first data wherein the type of change indicates an action performed that altered the first data;

creating a first reusable state on the first device wherein the first reusable state uniquely corresponds to the first history statement;

associating the first history statement with the first reusable state;

associating the first reusable state with the first data;

altering second data on the first device wherein attributes describe a type of change, the type of change indicating an action performed to alter the second data, the attributes corresponding with all of the one or more attributes of the first history statement and wherein each corresponding attribute has the same value; and

associating the first reusable state with the second data, wherein the first data and the second data share the first reusable state for at least an overlapping time period;

obtaining an indication of an associated reusable state for the first data from a communicatively coupled second device; and

determining, by using the associated reusable state, if synchronization of the first data is required between the first device and the second device.

2. The method of claim 1 wherein altering the first and second data comprises creating the first and second data.

3. The method of claim 1 wherein altering the first and second data comprises editing the first and second data.

4. The method of claim 1 wherein altering the first and second data comprises deleting the first and second data.

5. The method of claim 1 further comprising:

altering third data on the first device wherein attributes of how the third data was altered correspond with all of the one or more attributes of the first history statement; and

associating the first reusable state with the third data.

6. The method of claim 5 wherein altering the third data comprises creating the third data.

7. The method of claim 5 wherein altering the third data comprises editing the third data.

8. The method of claim 5 wherein altering the third data comprises deleting the third data.

9. The method of claim 1 further comprising synchronizing the first data as determined between the first device and the second device.

10. The method of claim 1 further comprising synchronizing at least a portion of reusable state information between the first device and the second device.

11. The method of claim 1 further comprising synchronizing one or more history statements between the first device and the second device.

12. The method of claim 1 wherein the first history statement further comprises an indication of an associated reusable state.

13. The method of claim 1 wherein the first history statement further comprises an indication of a reusable state associated previously for each data item currently associated with the first history statement.

14. The method of claim 1 further comprising:

synchronizing the first device with one or more second devices; and

resolving item conflicts during synchronization using an ancestry of reusable state information of a data item through reference to more than one history statement.

15. The method of claim 1 wherein the first history statement indicates a device where a change was made, a reusable state immediately prior to a new reusable state, and a type of change to the first data.

16. A non-transitory computer readable medium with instructions embodied thereon to configure a processor to:

accept a user input from a user input mechanism indicating a user has altered a first data;

create a first history statement in the one or more memories to reflect metadata regarding the alteration of the first data wherein the first history statement comprises a plurality of portions and each portion contains one or more attributes describing a type of change to the first data wherein the type of change indicates an action performed that altered the first data;

create a first reusable state in the one or more memories wherein the first reusable state uniquely corresponds to the first history statement;

associate the first history statement with the first reusable state;

associate the first reusable state with the first data;

accept a user input from the user input mechanism indicating the user has altered a second data wherein attributes describe a type of change, the type of change indicating an action performed to alter the second data, the attributes corresponding with all of the one or more attributes of the first history statement and wherein each corresponding attribute has the same value; and

associate the first reusable state with the second data, wherein the first data and the second data share the first reusable state for at least an overlapping time period;

obtain an indication of an associated reusable state for the first data from a communicatively coupled second device; and

determine, by using the associated reusable state, if synchronization of the first data is required between the first device and the second device.

17. A device for maintaining data to be synchronized, the device comprising:

one or more memories communicatively coupled to a processor;

a display communicatively coupled to the processor and to a user input mechanism, the user input mechanism for creating, editing or deleting a data item wherein the processor is programmed to;

accept a user input from the user input mechanism indicating a user has altered a first data;

create a first history statement in the one or more memories to reflect metadata regarding the alteration of the first data wherein the first history statement comprises a plurality of portions and each portion contains one or more attributes describing a type of change to the first data wherein the type of change indicates an action performed that altered the first data;

create a first reusable state in the one or more memories wherein the first reusable state uniquely corresponds to the first history statement;

associate the first history statement with the first reusable state;

associate the first reusable state with the first data;

accept a user input from the user input mechanism indicating the user has altered a second data wherein attributes describe a type of change, the type of change indicating an action performed to alter the second data, the attributes corresponding with all of the one or more attributes of the first history statement and wherein each corresponding attribute has the same value; and

associate the first reusable state with the second data, wherein the first data and the second data share the first reusable state for at least an overlapping time period;

obtain an indication of an associated reusable state for the first data from a communicatively coupled second device; and

determine, by using the associated reusable state, if synchronization of the first data is required between the first device and the second device.

18. The device of claim 17 wherein altering the first and second data comprises creating, editing or deleting the first and second data.

19. The device of claim 17 wherein the processor is further programmed to:

accept a user input from the user input mechanism indicating a second user has altered a third data wherein attributes of how the third data was altered correspond with all of the one or more attributes of the first history statement; and

associate the first reusable state with the third data.