Searching for data objects

• US 8,732,174 B2
• Filed: 01/25/2012
• Issued: 05/20/2014
• Est. Priority Date: 08/06/2004
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: SAP SE
• Original Assignee: SAP AG (SAP SE)
• Inventors: Deubel, Christian, Guth, Gertrude
• Primary Examiner(s): Coby, Frantz
• Application Number:
  US13/358,328
• Publication Number:
  US 20120124055A1
• Time in Patent Office: 846 Days
• Field of Search: 707/741, 707/842, 707/830, 707/673, 707/696, 707/711, 707/739, 707/722, 707/769, 709/201, 709/203, 709/213, 709/217
• US Class Current: 707/741
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 16/2228 Indexing structures
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 16/38 Retrieval characterised by using metadata, e.g. metadata not derived from the content or metadata generated manually
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 16/40 of multimedia data, e.g. slideshows comprising image and additional audio data retrieval of still image data G06F16/50; retrieval of audio data G06F16/60; retrieval of video data G06F16/70
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 16/489 using time information
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 16/81 Indexing, e.g. XML tags; Data structures therefor; Storage structures
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 16/951 Indexing; Web crawling techniques
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 16/9538 Presentation of query results

Abstract

Method and system to search for data objects are provided. The method comprises generating an attribute index and a content index. The attribute index comprises entries associated with respective access control information for a set of data objects and generating. The content index comprises words from the set of data objects. A search query directed at the set of data objects is processed by searching the content index, searching the attribute index, and obtaining a search result based on the results of searching of the content index and the attribute index.

Claims

1. A method comprising:

generating, using at least one processor coupled to a memory, an attribute index for one or more data objects, the attribute index comprising entries associated with respective access control information for each of the one or more data objects;

generating a content index for the one or more data objects, the content index comprising words from the one or more data objects and one or more document links associated with respective words in the context index, a link from the one or more document links associated with a particular word in the context index, the link providing a reference to an entry in the attribute index, the entry in the attribute index indicating a particular document that includes the particular word and including access control information for the particular document;

searching, using a search query, a content index to determine a first search results set, the first search result set comprising a first set of data objects from the one or more data objects;

searching, using access data associated with the search query, an attribute index to determine a second search result set, the second search result set comprising a second set of data objects from the one or more data objects; and

obtaining a search result based on the first search result set and the second search result set.

2. The method of claim 1, wherein the search result comprises pointers to one or more data objects from the first and/or second set of data objects.

3. The method of claim 1, wherein the obtaining of the search result comprises merging the first search result set and the second search result set.

4. The method of claim 3, wherein the merging of the first search result set and the second search result set comprises identifying data objects having a predetermined relationship to the first search result set and to the second search result set.

5. The method of claim 3, wherein the merging of the first search result set and the second search result set comprises performing a logical AND operation on the first search result set and the second search result set to produce a resultant set.

6. The method of claim 5, further comprising merging the resultant set with an additional search result set.

7. The method of claim 6, wherein merging the resultant set with the additional search result set comprising performing a logical OR operation on the resultant set and the additional search result set.

8. The method of claim 6, wherein the obtaining of the additional search result set comprises searching the attribute index for data objects that have access control attributes that correspond to the user access data and that have metadata that corresponds to the content associated with the search query.

9. The method of claim 1, wherein the access control attributes comprise user access right information.

10. The method of claim 1, wherein the access control attributes comprise at least one of a user name, a user role, a user group name, and at least one user access right.

11. A computer program product tangibly embodied in a non-transitory storage medium, the computer program product comprising instructions that, when executed, cause at least one

processor to perform operations comprising:

generating an attribute index for one or more data objects, the attribute index comprising entries associated with respective access control information for each of the one or more data objects;

generating a content index for the one or more data objects, the content index comprising words from the one or more data objects and one or more document links associated with respective words in the context index, a link from the one or more document links associated with a particular word in the context index, the link providing a reference to an entry in the attribute index, the entry in the attribute index indicating a particular document that includes the particular word and including access control information for the particular document;

searching, using a search query, a content index to determine a first search results set, the first search result set comprising a first set of data objects from the one or more data objects;

searching, using access data associated with the search query, an attribute index to determine a second search result set, the second search result set comprising a second set of data objects from the one or more data objects; and

obtaining a search result based on the first search result set and the second search result set.

12. The computer program product of claim 11, wherein the search result comprises pointers to one or more data objects from the first and/or second set of data objects.

13. The computer program product of claim 11, wherein the obtaining of the search result comprises merging the first search result set and the second search result set.

14. The computer program product of claim 13, wherein the merging of the first search result set and the second search result set comprises identifying data objects having a predetermined relationship to the first search result set and to the second search result set.

15. The computer program product of claim 13, wherein the merging of the first search result set and the second search result set comprises performing a logical AND operation on the first search result set and the second search result set to produce a resultant set.

16. The computer program product of claim 15, further comprising merging the resultant set with an additional search result set.

17. The computer program product of claim 16, wherein merging the resultant set with the additional search result set comprising performing a logical OR operation on the resultant set and the additional search result set.

18. The computer program product of claim 16, wherein the obtaining of the additional search result set comprises searching the attribute index for data objects that have access control attributes that correspond to the user access data and that have metadata that corresponds to the content associated with the search query.

19. The computer program product of claim 11, wherein the access control attributes comprise user access right information.

20. A system comprising:

memory that stores executable instructions; and

a processing device that executes the executable instructions to;

generate an attribute index for one or more data objects, the attribute index comprising entries associated with respective access control information for each of the one or more data objects;

generate a content index for the one or more data objects, the content index comprising words from the one or more data objects and one or more document links associated with respective words in the context index, a link from the one or more document links associated with a particular word in the context index, the link providing a reference to an entry in the attribute index, the entry in the attribute index indicating a particular document that includes the particular word and including access control information for the particular document;

search, using a search query, a content index to determine a first search results set, the first search result set comprising a first set of data objects from the one or more data objects;

search, using access data associated with the search query, an attribute index to determine a second search result set, the second search result set comprising a second set o data objects from the one or more data objects; and

obtain a search result based on the first search result set and the second search result set.