Method and apparatus for employing a searchable abstraction layer over enterprise-wide searchable objects
First Claim
1. A method comprising:
- performing a first search in a set of fields of a set of searchable objects;
after said performing the first search, mapping the set of fields to a set of searchable fields, whereinthe set of fields comprises a first set of fields defined by a configurable field mappings file, whereinthe configurable field mappings file provides an abstraction layer between a plurality of search engines and the set of searchable objects,first set of fields is a subset of a set of all the fields of the searchable objects,the fields of the searchable objects are defined when the searchable objects are designed,said mapping is performed subsequent to a design of the searchable objects,accessible by a search center through a search index that corresponds to the configurable field mappings file, andthe configurable field mappings file is configured to define a relationship between the fields of the searchable objects and the searchable fields;
modifying the set of searchable fields by modifying the fields of searchable objects within the configurable field mappings file, whereinsaid modifying is based at least in part on a second set of fields that are fewer than all the fields of the searchable objects, andthe first and second sets of fields are distinct;
updating a search index in response to said modifying the set of searchable fields; and
performing a second search in the set of fields based at least in part on the updated search index.
1 Assignment
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Accused Products
Abstract
A mechanism for dynamically configuring searchable fields of interest within an enterprise-wide search center is provided. Such functionality is provided through the creation and maintaining of an abstraction layer that represents the searchable fields of interest, which are gathered from the total available fields from enterprise-wide searchable objects. The abstraction layer is defined through the use of a field mappings file that relates searchable fields of interest in searchable objects with fields within a search index accessible to the search center. The field mappings file can provide the defined relationships between searchable object fields and search index fields at runtime of a user session, thus avoiding a rigid configuration at the time of search center initialization. Through such runtime modification of the abstraction layer, costly downtime due to revision of a configuration of the search center can be avoided and a dynamic flexibility in the presentation of the fields in the searchable objects can be provided without a need for modification of the searchable objects themselves.
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Citations
20 Claims
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1. A method comprising:
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performing a first search in a set of fields of a set of searchable objects; after said performing the first search, mapping the set of fields to a set of searchable fields, wherein the set of fields comprises a first set of fields defined by a configurable field mappings file, wherein the configurable field mappings file provides an abstraction layer between a plurality of search engines and the set of searchable objects, first set of fields is a subset of a set of all the fields of the searchable objects, the fields of the searchable objects are defined when the searchable objects are designed, said mapping is performed subsequent to a design of the searchable objects, accessible by a search center through a search index that corresponds to the configurable field mappings file, and the configurable field mappings file is configured to define a relationship between the fields of the searchable objects and the searchable fields; modifying the set of searchable fields by modifying the fields of searchable objects within the configurable field mappings file, wherein said modifying is based at least in part on a second set of fields that are fewer than all the fields of the searchable objects, and the first and second sets of fields are distinct; updating a search index in response to said modifying the set of searchable fields; and performing a second search in the set of fields based at least in part on the updated search index. - View Dependent Claims (2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10, 11)
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12. A system comprising:
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an interface configured to provide access to one or more storage devices, wherein each storage device stores one or more storage objects of a set of searchable objects, and each searchable object comprises a plurality of fields of data; a processor, coupled to the interface, wherein the processor is configured to perform a first search in a set of fields of a set of searchable objects, after said first search, map the set of fields to a set of searchable fields accessible by a search center through a search index that corresponds to a configurable field mappings file, wherein the configurable field mappings file provides an abstraction layer between a plurality of search engines and the set of searchable objects, the set of fields comprises a first set of fields that are fewer than all the fields of the searchable objects, the fields of the searchable objects are defined when the searchable objects are designed, said mapping is performed subsequent to the design of the searchable objects, the configurable field mappings file is configured to define a relationship between the fields of the searchable objects and the searchable fields, and modify the set of searchable fields by modifying the fields of searchable objects within the configurable field mappings file, wherein said modifying is based at least in part on a second set of fields that are fewer than all the fields of the searchable objects, and the first and second sets of fields are distinct, and perform a second search in the set of fields; and a search index adapter, coupled to the processor, wherein the search index adapter is configured to generate a search index in response to said modifying the set of searchable fields by modifying the fields of searchable objects within the configurable field mappings file, wherein the second search is based at least in part on the generated search index. - View Dependent Claims (13, 14)
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15. A tangible non-transitory computer-readable storage medium comprising:
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a first set of instructions, executable by a processor, configured to map a set of fields of a set of searchable objects to a set of searchable fields accessible by a search center through a search index that corresponds to a configurable field mappings file, wherein the configurable field mappings file provides an abstraction layer between a plurality of search engines and the set of searchable objects, the map is performed after a first search in the set of fields, the set of fields comprises a first set of fields that are fewer than all the fields of the searchable objects, the fields of the searchable objects are defined when the searchable objects are designed, said mapping is performed subsequent to the design of the searchable objects, the configurable field mappings file is configured to define a relationship between the fields of the searchable objects and the searchable fields; and a second set of instructions, executable by the processor, configured to modify the set of searchable fields, wherein said modifying the set of searchable fields is based at least in part on a second set of fields that are fewer than all the fields of the searchable objects, and the first and second sets of fields are distinct; and a third set of instructions, executable by the processor, configured to update a search index in response to said modifying the set of searchable fields, wherein the updated search index is usable for a second search in the set of fields. - View Dependent Claims (16, 17, 18, 19, 20)
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Specification