Methods and systems for managing data

Abstract

Systems and methods for managing data, such as metadata. In one exemplary method, a selection of at least one file having metadata stored in a metadata database is received, and a selection of a command to search, using at least a portion of the metadata, is received, and a search through the metadata database is performed. Methods and data processing systems and machine readable media are also described.

1 . A machine implemented method of processing data, the method comprising: 
 receiving a selection of at least one file having metadata stored in a metadata database;    receiving a selection of a command to search using at least a portion of the metadata of the at least one file;    searching through the metadata database using the at least a portion of the metadata.    
     
     
         2 . A method as in  claim 1  further comprising: 
 displaying results of the searching, and wherein the receiving a selection of at least one file and the receiving a selection of a command occur through a single user interaction.    
     
     
         3 . A method as in  claim 1  wherein, in the metadata database, the type of information in metadata for files of a first type differs from the type of information in metadata for files of a second type.  
     
     
         4 . A method as in  claim 3  wherein the searching further comprises searching through an index database using the at least a portion of the metadata used to search the metadata database.  
     
     
         5 . A method as in  claim 3  wherein the searching uses a BOOLEAN OR operator among attributes of the at least a portion of the metadata.  
     
     
         6 . A method as in  claim 1  further comprising: 
 displaying results of the searching in a ranked manner based on an order of selected attributes within at least a portion of the metadata of the at least one file.    
     
     
         7 . A method as in  claim 1  wherein the selection of at least one file selects a plurality of files each having metadata stored in the metadata database and wherein a Boolean operator is selected for performing the searching with metadata of the plurality of files.  
     
     
         8 . A method as in  claim 6  wherein a set of selected attributes for metadata of a first type of file differ from a set of selected attributes of metadata of a second type of file and wherein results of the searching are ranked based on an order of the set of selected attributes for metadata of the first type if the first type of file is selected or an order of the set of selected attributes for metadata of the second type if the second type of file is selected.  
     
     
         9 . A machine readable medium providing instructions which when executed by a data processing system cause the data processing system to perform a method of processing data, the method comprising: 
 receiving a selection of at least one file having metadata stored in a metadata database;    receiving a selection of a command to search using at least a portion of the metadata of the at least one file;    searching through the metadata database using the at least a portion of the metadata.    
     
     
         10 . A medium as in  claim 9 , the method further comprising: 
 displaying results of the searching.    
     
     
         11 . A medium as in  claim 9  wherein, in the metadata database, the type of information in metadata for files of a first type differs from the type of information in metadata for files of a second type.  
     
     
         12 . A medium as in  claim 11  wherein the searching further comprises searching through an index database using the at least a portion of the metadata used to search the metadata database.  
     
     
         13 . A medium as in  claim 11  wherein the searching uses a BOOLEAN OR operator among attributes of the at least a portion of the metadata.  
     
     
         14 . A medium as in  claim 9 , the method further comprising: 
 display results of the searching in a ranked manner based on an order of selected attributes within at least a portion of the metadata of the at least one file.    
     
     
         15 . A medium as in  claim 9  wherein the selection of at least one file selects a plurality of files each having metadata stored in the metadata database and wherein a Boolean operator is selected for performing the searching with metadata of the plurality of files.  
     
     
         16 . A medium as in  claim 14  wherein a set of selected attributes for metadata of a first type of file differ from a set of selected attributes of metadata of a second type of file and wherein results of the searching are ranked based on an order of the set of selected attributes for metadata of the first type if the first type of file is selected or an order of the set of selected attributes for metadata of the second type if the second type of file is selected.  
     
     
         17 . A data processing system comprising: 
 means for receiving a selection of at least one file having metadata stored in a metadata database;    means for receiving a selection of a command to search using at least a portion of the metadata of the at least one file;    means for searching through the metadata database using the at least a portion of the metadata.    
     
     
         18 . A system as in  claim 17  further comprising: 
 means for displaying results of the searching.    
     
     
         19 . A system as in  claim 17  wherein, in the metadata database, the type of information in metadata for files of a first type differs from the type of information in metadata for files of a second type.  
     
     
         20 . A system as in  claim 19  wherein the searching further comprises searching through an index database using the at least a portion of the metadata used to search the metadata database.  
     
     
         21 . A system as in  claim 19  wherein the searching uses a BOOLEAN OR operator among attributes of the at least a portion of the metadata.  
     
     
         22 . A system as in  claim 17  further comprising: 
 means for displaying results of the searching in a ranked manner based on an order of selected attributes within at least a portion of the metadata of the at least one file.    
     
     
         23 . A system as in  claim 17  wherein the selection of at least one file selects a plurality of files each having metadata stored in the metadata database and wherein a Boolean operator is selected for performing the searching with metadata of the plurality of files.  
     
     
         24 . A system as in  claim 22  wherein a set of selected attributes for metadata of a first type of file differ from a set of selected attributes of metadata of a second type of file and wherein results of the searching are ranked based on an order of the set of selected attributes for metadata of the first type if the first type of file is selected or an order of the set of selected attributes for metadata of the second type if the second type of file is selected.  
     
     
         25 . A machine implemented method of processing data, the method comprising: 
 performing a search through a metadata database using, as a search query, metadata of at least one selected file;    ranking search results from the search based on a predefined order of attributes in the metadata of the at least one selected file.    
     
     
         26 . A method as in  claim 25  wherein the predefined order of attributes depends upon the type of file which is the at least one selected file.  
     
     
         27 . A method as in  claim 26  wherein a first type of file has a first predefined order and a second type of file has a second predefined order which is different than the first predefined order.  
     
     
         28 . A method as in  claim 27  further comprising: 
 displaying the search results.    
     
     
         29 . A method as in  claim 25  wherein, in the metadata database, the type of information in the metadata for files of a first type differs from the type of information in metadata for files of a second type.  
     
     
         30 . A method as in  claim 25  wherein the search further comprises a search through a full text index database using the metadata of the at least one selected file.  
     
     
         31 . A machine readable medium providing instructions which when executed by a data processing system cause the data processing system to perform a method of processing data, the method comprising: 
 performing a search through a metadata database using, as a search query, metadata of at least one selected file;    ranking search results from the search based on a predefined order of attributes in the metadata of the at least one selected file.    
     
     
         32 . A medium as in  claim 31  wherein the predefined order of attributes depends upon the type of file which is the at least one selected file.  
     
     
         33 . A medium as in  claim 32  wherein a first type of file has a first predefined order and a second type of file has a second predefined order which is different than the first predefined order.  
     
     
         34 . A medium as in  claim 33 , the method further comprising: 
 displaying the search results.    
     
     
         35 . A medium as in  claim 31  wherein, in the metadata database, the type of information in the metadata for files of a first type differs from the type of information in metadata for files of a second type.  
     
     
         36 . A medium as in  claim 31  wherein the search further comprises a search through a full text index database using the metadata of the at least one selected file.  
     
     
         37 . A data processing system comprising: 
 means for performing a search through a metadata database using, as a search query, metadata of at least one selected file;    means for ranking search results from the search based on a predefined order of attributes in the metadata of the at least one selected file.    
     
     
         38 . A system as in  claim 37  wherein the predefined order of attributes depends upon the type of file which is the at least one selected file.  
     
     
         39 . A system as in  claim 36  wherein a first type of file has a first predefined order and a second type of file has a second predefined order which is different than the first predefined order.  
     
     
         40 . A system as in  claim 39  further comprising: 
 means for displaying the search results.    
     
     
         41 . A system as in  claim 37  wherein, in the metadata database, the type of information in the metadata for files of a first type differs from the type of information in metadata for files of a second type.  
     
     
         42 . A system as in  claim 37  wherein the search further comprises a search through a full text index database using the metadata of the at least one selected file.