Distributed system

• US 8,832,109 B2
• Filed: 09/03/2008
• Issued: 09/09/2014
• Est. Priority Date: 09/03/2007
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: British Telecommunications PLC (BT Group PLC)
• Original Assignee: British Telecommunications PLC (BT Group PLC)
• Inventors: Ghanea-Hercock, Robert, Duman, Hakan, Healing, Alexander L
• Primary Examiner(s): HO, BINH VAN
• Application Number:
  US12/675,585
• Publication Number:
  US 20100211570A1
• Time in Patent Office: 2,197 Days
• Field of Search: 707/739
• US Class Current: 707/739
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 67/02 based on web technology, e.g. hypertext transfer protocol [HTTP]
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 67/51 Discovery or management thereof, e.g. service location protocol [SLP] or web services
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 67/53 using third party service providers

Abstract

The present invention relates to distributed systems in which resource utilisation decisions depend upon the semi-automatic categorisation of resource descriptions stored in the distributed system. In the principal embodiment, the resource descriptions are web service descriptions which are augmented with tags (i.e. descriptive words or phrases) entered by users and/or by web service administrators. The initial use of automatic categorisation of these descriptions, followed by a user-driven fine-tuning of the automatically-generated categories enables the rapid creation of reliable categorisation of the resource descriptions, which in turns results in better resource utilisation decisions and hence a more efficient use of the resources of the distributed system.

Claims

1. A distributed system comprising one or more administration computers arranged in operation to at least:

i) receive a plurality of digital resource identifiers and, for each identified digital resource, a set of one or more tags attributed to said digital resource;

ii) generate a classification of said digital resources by automatically generating categories of said digital resources by calculating a measure or the similarity between said sets of one more tags attributed to said digital resources, each category including one or more of said digital resources;

iii) generate, for display to a human user, a graphical user interface enabling modification of said classification;

iv) modify said classification in accordance with user commands received via said graphical user interface; and

v) utilise said modified classification in identifying one or more digital resources in said digital system; and

vi) use said digital resource in said distributed system.

2. A distributed system according to claim 1 wherein said graphical user interface represents said digital resources as graphical elements whose relative locations on said display are calculated in dependence on a measure of similarity of said digital resources calculated in dependence on said tags attributed to said digital resources.

3. A distributed system according to claim 2 wherein said classification is hierarchical.

4. A distributed system according to claim 1 wherein said automatic arrangement of said digital resources into categories involves finding the degree of semantic similarity in different tags attributed to said digital resources.

5. A distributed system according to claim 3 wherein said graphical user interface enables said user to select a group of graphical elements to represent a category and introduce said category into the hierarchical classification.

6. A distributed system according to claim 3 wherein said graphical user interface also includes a tree structure which represents said hierarchical classification.

7. A distributed system according to claim 3 wherein said graphical user interface enables a user to select classes in the hierarchical classification and selectively presents only the graphical elements representing digital resources in the selected classes.

8. A distributed system according to claim 1 wherein said distributed system further comprises:

a store of digital resource identifiers and tags attributed to the digital resources in communication with said administration computer;

said administration computer being arranged to receive digital resource identifiers and tags attributed thereto by downloading them from said store;

one or more client computers in communication with said store and arranged in operation to enable a user to use a digital resource and transmit tags the user ascribes to that digital resource to said store for association with the digital resource identifier corresponding to said resource.

9. A distributed system according to claim 1 wherein said distributed system further comprises:

a computer network, and

one or more client computers connected to said administration computer via said computer network,

said administration computer being further arranged in operation to send said classification to said client computers,

said client computers being further arranged in operation to utilise said classification in identifying a required digital resource, and thereafter to utilise said identified resource.

10. A distributed system according to claim 1 wherein said digital resources are executable software components of a distributed application program executable on said distributed system.

11. A method of using digital resources in a distributed system, said method comprising:

i) receiving a plurality of digital resource identifiers and, for each identified digital resource, a set of one or more tags attributed to said digital resource; and

ii) generating a classification of said digital resources by automatically generating categories of said digital resources by calculating a measure of the similarity between said sets of one or more tags using a computer system, each category including one or more of said digital resources;

iii) generating, for display to a human user, a graphical user interface enabling modification of said classification;

iv) modifying said classification in accordance with user commands received via said graphical user interface; and

v) utilising said modified classification in identifying one or more digital resources in said digital system; and

vi) using said digital resource in said distributed system.

13. A method according to claim 11 wherein said graphical user interface represents said digital resources as graphical elements whose relative locations on said display are calculated in dependence on a measure of similarity of said digital resources calculated in dependence on said tags attributed to said digital resources.

14. A method according to claim 11 wherein said automatic arrangement of said digital resources into categories involves finding the degree of semantic similarity in different tags attributed to said digital resources.

15. A method according to claim 11 wherein the classification is hierarchical and said graphical user interface enables said user to select a group of graphical elements to represent a category and introduce said category into the hierarchical classification.

16. A method according to claim 11 wherein the classification is hierarchical and said graphical user interface also includes a tree structure which represents said hierarchical classification.

17. A method according to claim 11 wherein the classification is hierarchical and said graphical user interface enables a user to select classes in the hierarchical classification and selectively presents only the graphical elements representing digital resources in the selected classes.

18. A method according to claim 11 further comprising

transmitting the modified classification to one or more client computers over a computer network so that the modified classification can be utilized in identifying a digital resource.

19. A method according to claim 11 wherein said digital resources are executable software components of a distributed application program executable on said distributed system.

12. A non-transitory computer-readable storage medium storing a computer program, which upon execution by a computer, provides operation comprising:

i) receiving a plurality of digital resource identifiers and, for each identified digital resource, a set of one or more tags attributed to said digital resource; and

ii) generating a classification of said digital resources by automatically generating categories of said digital resources by calculating a measure of the similarity between said sets of one or more tags, each category including one or more of said digital resources;

iii) generating a display including a graphical user interface enabling modification of said classification;

iv) modifying said classification in accordance with user commands received via said graphical user interface; and

v) utilising said modified classification in identifying one or more digital resources in said digital system; and

vi) using said digital resource in said distributed system.