Document Attribute Search Indexing via Manifest Templates
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Solution Overview
Problem
Conventional search engines face limitations in accurately matching documents with specific attributes due to incomplete and inaccurate inference, and lack user support for explicit attribute specification, leading to inclusion of low-quality documents in search results.
Innovation Solution
A facility that enables explicit specification of document attributes through a manifest template, allowing publishers to define attribute values, and uses these attributes to improve search indexing and querying, incorporating features like vouching and certification to enhance document quality and trustworthiness.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Device complexity
If conventional search engines use automatic inference to extract document attributes, then the system complexity is reduced, but the accuracy and reliability of attribute values deteriorate
Solution Approach 1:
The patent applies preliminary action by requiring attribute values to be specified in advance during document publishing, rather than inferring them later during search. Publishers complete a manifest template with explicit attribute values before the document is added to the index, ensuring accuracy is established upfront rather than attempted through post-hoc inference.
2Productivity
If conventional search engines rely on literal word matching, then the search process is simple and fast, but the ability to find documents with specific attributes deteriorates
Solution Approach 1:
The patent segments the search process into two independent components: literal word matching and attribute value matching. The search index stores both the document content and explicit attribute values separately, allowing queries to efficiently filter by attributes while maintaining fast text search capabilities, thus resolving the trade-off between speed and accuracy.
3Ease of operation
If no quality control is applied to published documents, then the ease of publishing is maximized, but the quality and trustworthiness of search results deteriorates
Solution Approach 1:
The patent applies self-service by requiring publishers to explicitly specify attribute values themselves through the manifest template during the publishing process. This self-declared information approach maintains ease of publishing while improving reliability, as publishers are directly responsible for the accuracy of their own document's attributes without requiring external verification.
Data Source
AI summary
A facility for indexing documents is described. The facility accesses a number of document manifests, each (a) corresponding to a different published document among a set of published documents, and (b) identifying, for each of a plurality of document attributes, a value of the attribute explicitly specified for the published document which the document manifest corresponds. The facility uses the accessed plurality of document manifests to construct a search index covering the set of published documents that is usable by a search engine to resolve queries each specifying a particular value for each of one or more of the plurality of document attributes.