Presentation of search results

Abstract

Objects contained within enormous geographically distributed virtual file servers spanning thousands (or even millions) of organizations are each assigned globally unique object identifiers, enabling the implementation of highly distributed indexing and retrieval operations. The file system API (application programming interface) is extended to provide a search capability. A search request targeting a specific domain creates a parallel namespace anchored in that domain's root directory. The parallel namespace, containing directories and links to all objects satisfying the search criteria, may be navigated using the standard file system API. Relevance scores, added as new members of the file attribute structure, enable the construction and presentation of views that convey where the centers of expertise associated with the search matter are located. In addition, a wide range of methods addressing the scalability issues associated with integrating retrieval operations into the fabric of geographically distributed virtual file servers are disclosed.

What is claimed is: 
     
         1 . A method of handling a search request in a distributed global file system, comprising:
 receiving a search request containing search criteria at a domain portal node;   searching the domain for any objects satisfying the search criteria;   creating a parallel namespace root directory in a search result directory in the domain, wherein the parallel namespace is configured to:
 contain a subset of the objects contained in a primary namespace, the subset composed of objects identified by the search; 
   storing links to the objects identified by the search in the parallel namespace; and   preparing a response to the search request including a file descriptor for the parallel namespace root directory.   
     
     
         2 . The method of  claim 1  wherein processing the search request further comprises determining whether to:
 process the search request at the domain portal node; 
 forward the search request to one or more selected subdomains of the domain; or 
 process part of the search request at the domain portal node and forward part of the search request to one or more selected subdomains. 
 
     
     
         3 . The method of  claim 2  wherein preparing the response further comprises including links to all objects satisfying the search criteria located within the domain and all subdomains. 
     
     
         4 . The method of  claim 3  further comprising assigning a relevance weighting to each link to an object satisfying the search criteria. 
     
     
         5 . The method of  claim 3  wherein preparing the response further comprises indicating the number of objects found within the domain and each subdomain that satisfy the search criteria. 
     
     
         6 . The method of  claim 5  further comprising assigning a relevance weighting to each link to an object satisfying the search criteria. 
     
     
         7 . The method of  claim 6  further comprising calculating an overall relevance weighting for the domain and each subdomain based upon the number and relevance weighting of the objects satisfying the search criteria found in the domain and each subdomain. 
     
     
         8 . The method of  claim 7  further comprising preparing a visual representation of the search results based on the weightings of the domain and each subdomain. 
     
     
         9 . The method of  claim 1  wherein searching the domain further comprises limiting the search to a subset of the subdomains in the domain. 
     
     
         10 . The method of  claim 9  wherein the subset of subdomains is selected based upon a windowed view of the public namespace. 
     
     
         11 . The method of  claim 10  further comprising expanding the subset of subdomains searched based upon input from the user submitting the search request. 
     
     
         12 . The method of  claim 11  wherein the input from the user further comprises identifying one or more subdomains to be added to the subset of subdomains searched. 
     
     
         13 . The method of  claim 10  wherein the windowed view of the public namespace contains the subdomains previously accessed by the user submitting the search request within a predetermined time of making the request. 
     
     
         14 . The method of  claim 10  wherein the windowed view of the public namespace contains subdomains selected based upon an interest profile of the user submitting the search request. 
     
     
         15 . The method of  claim 1  further comprising:
 generating an inverted file for each subdomain; and 
 merging the generated inverted files into a composite inverted file for the domain. 
 
     
     
         16 . The method of  claim 15  wherein generating an inverted file for each subdomain further comprises:
 generating an inverted file for at least one subdomain at the subdomain; and 
 forwarding the inverted file generated at the subdomain to the domain. 
 
     
     
         17 . The method of  claim 1  wherein preparing the response further comprises providing a link to a directory having sub-directories, each sub-directory representing a sub-domain. 
     
     
         18 . The method of  claim 1  wherein creating a parallel namespace directory further comprises creating a directory structure that duplicates those portions of the domain directory in which objects are found that satisfy the search criteria. 
     
     
         19 . A method of handling a search request in a distributed global file system, comprising:
 receiving a search request containing search criteria at a domain portal node;   searching the domain for any objects satisfying the search criteria;   creating a parallel namespace root directory in a search result directory in the domain, wherein:
 the parallel namespace is configured to contain a subset of the objects contained in a primary namespace, the subset composed of objects identified by the search; 
 the pathname of each object within the parallel namespace differs from the pathname of the corresponding object in the primary namespace only by the addition of the search results directory; 
   creating a file within the parallel namespace containing a set of inverted index entries, each entry including a link to an object satisfying the search criteria; and   preparing a response to the search request including a file descriptor for the file containing the set of inverted index entries.