Unified Search Metadata Mapping for Portable Devices
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Solution Overview
Problem
Portable electronic devices face challenges in providing unified and consistent search results across various applications due to differing data record structures, which prevents generic search clients from effectively querying and filtering data across multiple content providers.
Innovation Solution
The solution involves storing metadata for each application that includes information on the location of data records, a mapping of data fields to a unified format, and identification of filterable fields and filtering methods, allowing a search client to perform searches and provide results in a unified format across multiple applications.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Adaptability or versatility
If a generic search client is used to query data across multiple applications, then search coverage is improved, but the ability to perform consistent filtering and sorting is degraded due to differing data record structures
Solution Approach 1:
The patent introduces an intermediary layer consisting of metadata and mapping definitions that sits between the generic search client and the diverse data sources. This intermediary translates various data record structures into a unified format, enabling consistent filtering and sorting operations while maintaining broad search coverage across multiple applications with different data structures
Solution Approach 2:
The patent changes the parameter representation of data by introducing a unified data format with standardized field names and data types. Through mapping definitions, diverse data records from different applications are transformed into this unified format, allowing the search client to operate with consistent parameters regardless of the source application's native data structure
2Reliability
If application-specific search structures are maintained, then data integrity is preserved, but unified search functionality across applications is degraded
Solution Approach 1:
The patent creates a copied representation of diverse data records in a unified format through mapping definitions. The original data records remain intact in their application-specific structures, while a standardized copy is generated that can be uniformly searched. This copying approach preserves data integrity in the source systems while enabling unified search functionality across applications
3Measurement precision
If metadata mapping is implemented for each application, then search consistency is improved, but system complexity is increased
Solution Approach 1:
The patent implements a universal metadata schema and mapping framework that can accommodate multiple applications with different data structures. This universal approach allows the same search client and processing logic to handle diverse data sources consistently, improving search precision while managing system complexity through reuse and standardization rather than requiring separate handling for each application
Data Source
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AI summary
A portable electronic device includes a display for displaying results of a search for data records, and a memory for storing a plurality of applications and, for each application of the plurality of applications, respective associated metadata identifying a location of the data records associated with the application, a mapping for associating data in the data records with a unified format utilized by a search client, and an identification of filterable fields and the filtering method. The portable electronic device also includes a processor coupled to the display and to the memory to utilize the metadata stored in association with the plurality of applications to perform a search of the data records and identify a plurality of the data records that accord with the search query to provide search results, and provide the search results in a unified format on the portable electronic device.