Efficiently providing multiple metadata representations of the same type

• US 9,390,152 B2
• Filed: 09/09/2014
• Issued: 07/12/2016
• Est. Priority Date: 09/12/2011
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Microsoft Technology Licensing LLC (Microsoft Corporation)
• Original Assignee: Microsoft Technology Licensing LLC (Microsoft Corporation)
• Inventors: Kaplan, Jesse D., Farkas, Shawn, Krishnaswamy, Raja, Byers, Richard M., Byington, Ryan A.
• Primary Examiner(s): SCOTT, RANDY A
• Application Number:
  US14/481,323
• Publication Number:
  US 20140379740A1
• Time in Patent Office: 672 Days
• Field of Search: 707/756, 707/809, 707/793, 707/758, 709/214, 709/215, 709/216
• US Class Current: 1/1
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 16/14 Details of searching files based on file metadata
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 16/258 Data format conversion from or to a database
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 16/88 Mark-up to mark-up conversion conversion for visualization in web browsing G06F16/9577
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 3/04842 Selection of displayed objects or displayed text elements G06F3/0482 takes precedence

Abstract

Embodiments are directed to dynamically adapting metadata for use with a native data encoding and to efficiently modifying object model type references. In one scenario, a computer system instantiates a metadata reader over an object model description to access various portions of metadata in the object model description. The metadata reader is configured to read native metadata, where native metadata is metadata represented in an encoding that is expected by the metadata reader. The metadata reader determines that the accessed metadata is encoded in a non-native encoding and then determines which metadata modifications are to be performed to transform the non-native encoding into a native encoding. The computer system then dynamically adapts the metadata of the object model from a non-native encoding to a native encoding according to the determined modifications. As such, the object model is readable by a native runtime.

Claims

1. A computer-implemented method for dynamically adapting metadata for use with a native data encoding, the computer-implemented method being performed by one or more processors executing computer executable instructions for the computer-implemented method, and the computer-implemented method comprising acts of:

accessing one or more portions of metadata in a file containing an object model description of an object model, the metadata comprising metadata represented in an encoding that is expected by a metadata reader configured to read native metadata;

determining that at least some of the one or more portions of the accessed metadata are encoded in a non-native encoding;

determining one or more metadata modifications required to transform the non-native encoding into native encoding for the at least some of the one or more portions of the accessed metadata; and

adapting the accessed portions of metadata from non-native encoding to native encoding according to the determined one or more modifications, such that the native and non-native encodings of the accessed portions of the metadata are contained in the file containing the object model descriptions for the object model, and such that the object model is readable by a native runtime.

2. The computer-implemented method of claim 1, wherein adapting the accessed portions of metadata from non-native encoding to native encoding allows a user to read metadata in a plurality of different non-native encodings.

3. The computer-implemented method of claim 1, wherein adapting the accessed portions of metadata from non-native encoding to native encoding occurs at a metadata importing-reading level.

4. The computer-implemented method of claim 3, wherein adapting the accessed portions of metadata from non-native encoding to native encoding at the metadata importing-reading level prevents one or more subsequent adaptations at a runtime level.

5. The computer-implemented method of claim 1, further comprising applying a visibility modifier to make the adapted accessed portions of metadata internally or publicly visible.

6. The computer-implemented method of claim 1, wherein one or more data types are re-written to comply with the native encoding.

7. The computer-implemented method of claim 1, wherein the metadata reader is configured to determine which user is requesting the file containing the native and non-native encodings of the accessed portions of the metadata and, based on determining which user is requesting the file, passing appropriate encoding of the metadata to the user.

8. The computer-implemented method of claim 7, wherein the encodings are complete and consistent for each user.

9. The computer-implemented method of claim 7, wherein only metadata that is encoded differently for native and non-native users is encoded in both native and non-native encoding.

10. The computer-implemented method of claim 9, wherein users specify which type of encoding is to be provided to them.

11. The computer-implemented method of claim 10, further comprising selecting an appropriate encoding for a given user based on the given user'"'"'s selection.

12. The computer-implemented method of claim 1, wherein adapting the accessed portions of metadata from non-native encoding to native encoding comprises modifying types referenced by the non-native encoding to be types used by the native encoding.

13. The computer-implemented method of claim 1, wherein adapting the accessed portions of metadata from non-native encoding to native encoding comprises modifying metadata flags of the non-native encoding to metadata flags of the native encoding.

14. A computer program product for implementing a method for dynamically adapting metadata for use with a native data encoding, the computer program product comprising one or more computer-readable storage device having stored thereon computer-executable instructions that, when executed by one or more processors of a computing system, cause the computing system to perform the computer-implemented method, and wherein the computer-implemented method comprises acts of:

accessing one or more portions of metadata in a file containing an object model description of an object model, the metadata comprising metadata represented in an encoding that is expected by a metadata reader configured to read native metadata;

determining that at least some of the one or more portions of the accessed metadata are encoded in a non-native encoding;

determining one or more metadata modifications required to transform the non-native encoding into native encoding for the at least some of the one or more portions of the accessed metadata;

adapting the accessed portions of metadata from non-native encoding to native encoding according to the determined one or more modifications, such that the native and non-native encodings of the accessed portions of the metadata are contained in the file containing the object model descriptions for the object model, and such that the object model is readable by a native runtime; and

applying a visibility modifier to make the adapted accessed portions of metadata internally or publicly visible.

15. The computer program product of claim 14, wherein adapting the accessed portions of metadata from non-native encoding to native encoding occurs at a metadata importing-reading level in order to prevent at least one subsequent adaptation at a runtime level.

16. The computer program product of claim 14, wherein the computer-implemented method further comprises acts of:

determining that a given user is requesting the file containing the native and non-native encodings of the accessed portions of the metadata; and

based on the determination that the given user is requesting the file containing the native and non-native encodings of the accessed portions of the metadata, passing the appropriate encoding to the given user.

17. A computer system comprising:

one or more computer-readable storage media having stored thereon computer-executable instructions;

one or more processors that, when executing the executable instructions, causes the computing system to have an architecture that dynamically adapts metadata for use with a native data encoding, by performing the following acts;

instantiating a metadata reader that accesses one or more portions of metadata in a file containing an object model description of an object model, the metadata comprising metadata represented in an encoding that is expected by a metadata reader configured to read native metadata;

the metadata reader determining that at least some of the one or more portions of the accessed metadata are encoded in a non-native encoding;

the metadata reader determining one or more metadata modifications required to transform the non-native encoding into native encoding for the at least some of the one or more portions of the accessed metadata; and

adapting the accessed portions of metadata from non-native encoding to native encoding according to the determined one or more modifications, such that the native and non-native encodings of the accessed portions of the metadata are contained in the file containing the object model descriptions for the object model, and such that the object model is readable by a native runtime.

18. The computer system of claim 17, wherein only metadata that is encoded differently for native and non-native users is encoded in both native and non-native encoding.

19. The computer system of claim 17,

wherein:

the metadata reader determines that a given user is requesting the file containing the native and non-native encodings of the accessed portions of the metadata; and

based on the determination that the given user is requesting the file containing the native and non-native encodings of the accessed portions of the metadata, passing the appropriate encoding to the given user.

20. The computer system of claim 17, wherein adapting the accessed portions of metadata from non-native encoding to native encoding occurs at a metadata importing-reading level in order to prevent at least one subsequent adaptation at a runtime level.