Techniques to automatically manage file descriptors

• US 9,069,781 B2
• Filed: 05/24/2012
• Issued: 06/30/2015
• Est. Priority Date: 05/24/2012
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Microsoft Technology Licensing LLC (Microsoft Corporation)
• Original Assignee: Microsoft Technology Licensing LLC (Microsoft Corporation)
• Inventors: Rajabi, Zeyad, Roth, Tali, Wood, Matthew, Leung, James, Zheng, Oliver, Bishop, Andrew
• Primary Examiner(s): To, Baoquoc N
• Application Number:
  US13/479,786
• Publication Number:
  US 20130318042A1
• Time in Patent Office: 1,132 Days
• Field of Search: 707/610
• US Class Current: 1/1
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 16/13 File access structures, e.g. distributed indices arrangements of input from, or output to, record carriers G06F3/06

Abstract

Techniques to automatically manage file descriptors are described. An apparatus may comprise a processor circuit and a file descriptor application operative on the processor circuit to manage file descriptors for content files, the file descriptor application arranged to receive a file descriptor request from a client application, generate a file descriptor or file descriptor construct information for a content file, and send a file descriptor response with the file descriptor or file descriptor construct information to the client application. Other embodiments are described and claimed.

Claims

1. An apparatus, comprising:

a processor circuit; and

a file descriptor application operative on the processor circuit to manage file descriptors for content files, the file descriptor application arranged to

receive a file descriptor request from a client application,

generate a file descriptor or file descriptor construct information for a content file, wherein the file descriptor provides a preview of contents of the content file and the file descriptor construct information is for use by the client application to generate the file descriptor,

synchronize changes made to the content file with the file descriptor, and

send a file descriptor response with the file descriptor or file descriptor construct information to the client application.

2. The apparatus of claim 1, the file descriptor application comprising a file descriptor extractor component operative to retrieve a file descriptor model for the file descriptor, extract one or more content parts from the content file based on the file descriptor model, and identify each of the extracted content parts with a content part identifier, wherein each of the extracted content parts corresponds to a file descriptor tile of a file descriptor surface of the file descriptor.

3. The apparatus of claim 1, the file descriptor application comprising a file descriptor substitute component operative to substitute an extracted content part from the content file with a replacement content part.

4. The apparatus of claim 1, the file descriptor application comprising a file descriptor assembly component operative to generate the file descriptor from one or more extracted content parts from the content file based on a file descriptor model.

5. The apparatus of claim 1, the file descriptor application comprising a file descriptor assembly component operative to generate the file descriptor construct information for use by the client application to generate the file descriptor for the content file, the file descriptor construct information comprising a file descriptor model with a file descriptor surface and one or more file descriptor tiles arranged to present one or more extracted content parts from the content file.

6. The apparatus of claim 1, the file descriptor application comprising a file descriptor assembly component operative to generate the file descriptor construct information for use by the client application to generate the file descriptor for the content file, the file descriptor construct information comprising a file descriptor model identifier, at least one file descriptor tile identifier to identify a file descriptor tile of a file descriptor model, and at least one content part identifier to identify a content part of the content file corresponding to the file descriptor tile identified by the file descriptor tile identifier.

7. The apparatus of claim 1, the file descriptor application comprising a file descriptor synchronizer component operative to synchronize changes to content parts of the content file with corresponding extracted content parts of the content file of the file descriptor.

8. A computer-implemented method, comprising:

receiving a file descriptor request to generate file descriptor construct information or a file descriptor for a content file, the file descriptor to provide a preview of contents of the content file, the file descriptor construct information for use by a client application to generate the file descriptor for the content file;

generating, by a processor circuit, a file descriptor response to the file descriptor request; and

sending the file descriptor response to the client application.

9. The computer-implemented method of claim 8, comprising retrieving a file descriptor model for the file descriptor.

10. The computer-implemented method of claim 8, comprising extracting one or more content parts from the content file based on a file descriptor model.

11. The computer-implemented method of claim 8, comprising identifying one or more extracted content parts from the content file.

12. The computer-implemented method of claim 8, comprising generating a replacement content part for an extracted content part of the content file.

13. The computer-implemented method of claim 8, comprising generating the file descriptor construct information comprising a file descriptor model and one or more extracted content parts from the content file.

14. The computer-implemented method of claim 8, comprising generating file descriptor construct information for use by the client to generate the file descriptor for the content file, the file descriptor construct information comprising a file descriptor model identifier for a file descriptor model, one or more file descriptor tile identifiers for file descriptor tiles of the file descriptor model, and one or more content part identifiers for extracted content parts from the content file corresponding to the file descriptor tiles.

15. The computer-implemented method of claim 8, comprising generating the file descriptor from one or more extracted content parts from the content file based on a file descriptor model.

16. The computer-implemented method of claim 8, comprising sending the file descriptor response with file descriptor construct information or the file descriptor to the client.

17. The computer-implemented method of claim 8, comprising synchronizing changes to content parts of the content file with corresponding extracted content parts of the content file of the file descriptor.

18. A computer-readable storage medium, comprising a memory to store instructions that, when executed, cause a system to:

receive a file descriptor request to generate a file descriptor or file descriptor construct information for a content file, the file descriptor to provide a preview of contents of the content file, file descriptor construct information for use by a client application to generate the file descriptor for the content file;

retrieve a file descriptor model for the file descriptor;

extract one or more content parts from the content file based on the file descriptor model;

generate a file descriptor response to the file descriptor request, the file descriptor response comprising the file descriptor construct information or the file descriptor generated using the file descriptor model and the extracted content parts; and

send the file descriptor response to the client application.

19. The computer-readable storage medium of claim 18, comprising instructions that when executed cause the system to substitute an extracted content part from the content file with a replacement content part.

20. The computer-readable storage medium of claim 18, comprising instructions that when executed cause the system to:

identify each extracted content part from the content file with a content part identifier; and

synchronize changes to each content part of the content file having a corresponding extracted content part of the content file of the file descriptor based on the content part identifier.