RE-RANKING SEARCH RESULTS FROM AN ENTERPRISE SYSTEM

• US 20100185611A1
• Filed: 03/31/2010
• Published: 07/22/2010
• Est. Priority Date: 03/01/2006
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Oracle International Corporation (Oracle Corporation)
• Original Assignee: Oracle International Corporation (Oracle Corporation)
• Inventors: Liao, Ciya, Krishnaprasad, Muralidhar, Bhavsar, Meeten, Chang, Thomas
• Granted Patent: US 7,970,791 B2
• Time in Patent Office: Days
• US Class Current: 707/728
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 16/2228 Indexing structures
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 16/2455 Query execution
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 16/248 Presentation of query results
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 16/93 Document management systems
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 16/951 Indexing; Web crawling techniques
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 16/9535 Search customisation based on user profiles and personalisation
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 16/9538 Presentation of query results
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 21/31 User authentication
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 21/6227 where protection concerns the structure of data, e.g. records, types, queries
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 63/08 for authentication of entities cryptographic mechanisms or cryptographic arrangements for entity authentication H04L9/32
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 63/0815 providing single-sign-on or federations
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 63/083 using passwords cryptographic mechanisms or cryptographic arrangements for entity authentication using a predetermined code H04L9/3226
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 63/102 Entity profiles

Abstract

A flexible and extensible architecture allows for secure searching across an enterprise. Such an architecture can provide a simple Internet-like search experience to users searching secure content inside (and outside) the enterprise. The architecture allows for the crawling and searching of a variety of sources across an enterprise, regardless of whether any of these sources conform to a conventional user role model. The architecture further allows for security, recency, or other attributes to be submitted at query time, for example, in order to re-rank query results from enterprise resources. The user query also can be transformed to provide for dynamic querying that provides for a more current result list than can be obtained for static queries.

Claims

1. A method of improving ranking results for a data query, the method comprising:

receiving an attribute for ranking query results;

receiving query results from a query of a data source, each received query result having a respective numeric relevancy score relating to the query;

for each received query result, concatenating with its relevancy score, using a processor operatively coupled to a memory, a segment of digits representing a value for the attribute corresponding to the query result to form numeric keys, such that the segment of digits is enabled as a score tie breaking factor among query results; and

returning the query results ordered by the numeric keys.

2. The method according to claim 1, wherein:

the received attribute is selected from the group consisting of creation date, modified date, and occurrence date.

3. The method according to claim 1, wherein the received attribute is a recency.

4. The method according to claim 3, wherein the recency for each query result is a difference in time.

5. The method according to claim 1, further comprising:

storing the query results before the concatenating.

6. The method according to claim 1, wherein:

the keys take the form of a high segment of digits occupied by a relevancy score and a lower segment of digits representing the value for the attribute of the respective query result.

7. The method according to claim 6, wherein the received attribute is a recency calculated using the following:

recency=|sysdate−

last_modified_date|,—

in number of days

when recency>

30 then recency=30+recency/30,

when recency>

99 then recency=99,

when recency<

0 then recency=99, and

wherein sysdate is the current system date.

8. The method according to claim 1, further comprising:

appending a lowest segment of digits occupied by a sequence number from an original hit list, such that the segment of digits representing the attribute of the respective query result is a middle segment between the relevancy score and lowest segments.

9. A machine readable storage medium embodying information indicative of instructions for causing one or more machines to perform operations comprising:

receiving an attribute for ranking query results;

receiving query results from a query of a data source, each received query result having a respective numeric relevancy score relating to the query;

for each received query result, concatenating with its relevancy score a segment of digits representing a value for the attribute corresponding to the query result to form numeric keys, such that the segment of digits is enabled as a score tie breaking factor among query results; and

returning the query results ordered by the numeric keys.

10. The machine readable storage medium according to claim 9, wherein:

the received attribute is selected from the group consisting of creation date, modified date, and occurrence date.

11. The machine readable storage medium according to claim 9, wherein the received attribute is a recency.

12. The machine readable storage medium according to claim 9, further comprising:

storing the query results before the concatenating.

13. The machine readable storage medium according to claim 12, wherein:

the keys take the form of a high segment of digits occupied by a relevancy score and a lower segment of digits representing the value for the attribute of the respective query result.

14. The machine-readable storage medium according to claim 13, wherein the received attribute is a recency calculated using the following:

recency=|sysdate−

last_modified_date|,—

in number of days

when recency>

30 then recency=30+recency/30,

when recency>

99 then recency=99,

when recency<

0 then recency=99, and

wherein sysdate is the current system date.

15. A computer system executing instructions set forth in a computer program, the computer system comprising:

a processor; and

a memory coupled to the processor, wherein the computer program includes;

program code for receiving an attribute for ranking query results;

program code for receiving query results from a query of a data source, each received query result having a respective numeric relevancy score relating to the query;

program code for, for each received query result, concatenating with its relevancy score a segment of digits representing a value for the attribute corresponding to the query result to form numeric keys, such that the segment of digits is enabled as a score tie breaking factor among query results; and

program code for returning the query results ordered by the numeric keys.

16. The computer system according to claim 15, wherein:

the received attribute is selected from the group consisting of creation date, modified date, and occurrence data.

17. The computer system according to claim 15, wherein the received attribute is a recency.

18. The computer system according to claim 15, further comprising:

program code for storing the query results before the concatenating.

19. The computer system according to claim 15, wherein:

the keys take the form of a high segment of digits occupied by a relevancy score and a lower segment of digits representing the value for the attribute of the respective query result.

20. The computer system according to claim 19, wherein the received attribute is a recency calculated using the following:

recency=|sysdate−

last_modified_date|,—

in number of days

when recency>

30 then recency=30+recency/30,

when recency>

99 then recency=99,

when recency<

0 then recency=99, and

wherein sysdate is the current system date.