Document Tracking via Tombstone Records in Safe Save Operations
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Solution Overview
Problem
Existing document tracking methods, such as those used in safe save operations, face challenges in persisting the file identifier of a document after a safe save, making it difficult to track documents effectively due to changes in file identifiers during the safe save process.
Innovation Solution
The kernel of an operating system monitors processing threads and file system calls to identify safe save operations, generating a universally unique identifier (UUID) for tracked documents, which remains associated with the edited version, allowing for rollback of edits and preserving metadata to restore original document versions.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Reliability
If a safe save operation is performed using traditional file identifier tracking, then the document can be saved safely with backup protection, but the file identifier changes during the operation making it difficult to track the document
Solution Approach 1:
The patent introduces a tombstone record as an intermediary data structure that stores the original file identifier and document metadata separately from the file system operations. This tombstone acts as a mediator that preserves the link between the original document and its edited versions throughout the safe save process, allowing tracking to continue despite file identifier changes.
Solution Approach 2:
The patent segments the document tracking information into separate components: the tombstone record stores metadata and original file identifiers, while the actual file operations proceed with new file identifiers. This segmentation allows the tracking system to maintain document identity independently from the file system's identifier assignments.
2Reliability
If the file system creates a temporary file with a new file identifier during safe save, then the original document is protected from corruption, but the document tracking becomes difficult because the file identifier changes
Solution Approach 1:
The tombstone record serves as an intermediary that bridges the original document and the temporary edited file. It stores the original file identifier and metadata, allowing the system to track the document's lifecycle without requiring the file identifier to remain constant through the safe save process.
Solution Approach 2:
The patent creates a copy of the essential tracking information (file identifier, metadata, timestamps) in the tombstone record before the safe save operation begins. This copying mechanism ensures that even though the file identifier changes when creating the temporary file, the original tracking information is preserved for later retrieval and synchronization.
3Ease of manufacture
If traditional timing-based methods are used to detect file operations, then simple implementation is achieved, but the methods are unreliable for detecting safe save operations
Solution Approach 1:
The patent implements a feedback mechanism where the kernel monitors file system calls and processing thread operations, and the application responds by updating the tombstone record with current document state information. This continuous feedback loop between the operating system and application ensures reliable detection of safe save operations without depending on timing assumptions.
Solution Approach 2:
The application itself is responsible for maintaining the tombstone record and updating it with accurate document metadata. This self-service approach allows the application to reliably track its own documents using information only it has access to, rather than relying on external timing-based detection that may be inaccurate.
Data Source
AI summary
Systems and methods are disclosed that track a document within a file system using document identifier (DOCID) that is preserved during safe save operations. The DOCID can be a universally unique identifier (UUID). The DOCID can be generated on a local file system or generated during a synchronization process with a remote synchronization service. Applications can opt in to document tracking. The kernel of the operating system can monitor file system operations on a per-application and per-thread basis and determine when a processing thread is about to perform a safe save. When a sequence of file system operations indicates that a safe save is to be performed, the kernel can generate and store a tombstone record that includes the DOCID and other metadata of the tracked document and pass the DOCID and metadata to the newly saved document.