Apparatus and method for managing metadata in portable terminal

Abstract

A method and apparatus for managing metadata in a portable terminal are provided. The method includes, upon insertion of an external memory, acquiring a unique identifier of an external memory, determining whether a record having information identical to information of a file included in the external memory exists if the unique identifier is identical to a previously stored unique identifier, and reusing metadata included in the record if the record exists.

What is claimed is: 
     
         1 . A method comprising:
 acquiring, at an electronic device, a first identifier from a first external device;   comparing the first identifier with a second identifier stored at the electronic device and corresponding to a second external device previously coupled with the electronic device; and   accessing one or more resources of the first external device using information previously stored at the electronic device in relation with the second external device, the accessing based at least in part on a determination that the first identifier matches the second identifier.   
     
     
         2 . The method of  claim 1 , wherein the information comprises:
 metadata corresponding to one or more files stored in the second external device.   
     
     
         3 . The method of  claim 1 , wherein the information is received from the second external device. 
     
     
         4 . The method of  claim 1 , wherein at least one of the first external device or the second external device comprises a storage device to store data. 
     
     
         5 . The method of  claim 1 , wherein the acquiring is performed in response to the first external device being coupled with the electronic device. 
     
     
         6 . The method of  claim 1 , wherein the first identifier comprises a serial number of the first external device, and wherein the second identifier comprises a serial number of the second external device. 
     
     
         7 . The method of  claim 1 , wherein the accessing comprises:
 updating at least one portion of the information according to a change in one or more files stored in the first external device.   
     
     
         8 . The method of  claim 1 , further comprising:
 based at least in part on a determination that the first identifier does not match the second identifier, discarding the information.   
     
     
         9 . The method of  claim 8 , further comprising:
 obtaining from the first external device metadata corresponding to one or more files stored in the first external device; and   accessing the one or more resources using the metadata obtained from the first external device.   
     
     
         10 . The method of  claim 1 , further comprising:
 based at least in part on a determination that the information does not exist, obtaining from the first external device metadata corresponding to one or more files stored in the first external device and accessing the one or more resources using the metadata obtained from the first external device.   
     
     
         11 . An apparatus comprising:
 a memory configured to store information associated with one or more of external devices including a first external device and a second external device; and   a controller operatively coupled with the memory, the controller configured to:
 acquire a first identifier from the first external device, 
 compare the first identifier with a second identifier stored at the apparatus and corresponding to the second external device previously coupled with the apparatus, and 
 access one or more resources of the first external device using at least one portion of the information previously stored in relation with the second external device, the accessing based at least in part on a determination that the first identifier matches the second identifier. 
   
     
     
         12 . The apparatus of  claim 11 , wherein the one or more of external devices comprises:
 a storage device configured to store data.   
     
     
         13 . The apparatus of  claim 11 , wherein the first identifier comprises a serial number of the first external device, and wherein the second identifier comprises a serial number of the second external device. 
     
     
         14 . The apparatus of  claim 11 , wherein the controller is further configured to:
 acquire the first identifier in response to the first external device being coupled with the apparatus.   
     
     
         15 . The apparatus of  claim 11 , wherein the controller is further configured to:
 update at least one portion of the information according to a change in one or more files stored in the first external device.   
     
     
         16 . The apparatus of  claim 11 , wherein the one or more resources comprise one or more files stored in the first external device, and wherein the controller is further configured to:
 access the one or more files using the at least one portion of the information.   
     
     
         17 . The apparatus of  claim 11 , wherein the controller is further configured to:
 based at least in part on a determination that the first identifier does not match the second identifier, discard at least one portion of the information.   
     
     
         18 . The apparatus of  claim 17 , wherein the controller is further configured to:
 obtain from the first external device metadata corresponding to one or more files stored in the first external device; and   access the one or more resources using the metadata obtained from the first external device.   
     
     
         19 . The apparatus of  claim 11 , wherein the controller is further configured to:
 based at least in part on a determination that the information previously stored in relation with the second external device does not exist, obtain from the first external device metadata corresponding to one or more files stored in the first external device and access the one or more resources using the metadata obtained from the first external device.   
     
     
         20 . A non-transitory machine-readable storage device storing instructions that, when executed by one or more processors, cause the one or more processors to perform operations comprising:
 acquiring, at an electronic device, a first identifier from a first external device;   comparing the first identifier with a second identifier stored at the electronic device and corresponding to a second external device previously coupled with the electronic device; and   accessing one or more resources of the first external device using information previously stored at the electronic device in relation with the second external device, the accessing based at least in part on a determination that the first identifier matches the second identifier.