Universal Interface for URI-Based Data Access
Find Innovative SolutionsGenerate Solutions
Solution Overview
Problem
Existing data storage and retrieval methods on devices are fragmented, with different applications using different parameters and file structures, making it complex for applications to access and manage data stored by other applications without knowing the storage location or method.
Innovation Solution
The use of uniform resource identifiers (URIs) to specify and manage all data on a device, allowing applications to request data through a universal interface that determines the responsible content provider, enabling uniform access and retrieval of data regardless of storage location or method.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Adaptability or versatility
If different applications use different parameters and file structures to store data, then each application can optimize its own data storage, but the complexity of the system increases and data access becomes difficult
Solution Approach 1:
The patent implements a universal content provider interface that can handle multiple types of data storage methods through a single unified API. The content provider system is designed to work with various file structures and parameters while presenting a consistent interface to applications, thereby reducing system complexity while maintaining application-specific optimization capabilities.
Solution Approach 2:
The content provider acts as an intermediary layer between applications and the underlying data storage mechanisms. This mediator translates universal content provider requests into application-specific data access operations, shielding applications from the complexity of different storage methods while enabling optimized data access for each application type.
2Adaptability or versatility
If applications need to access data stored by other applications, then data sharing capability improves, but the difficulty of detecting and measuring storage location and method increases
Solution Approach 1:
The content provider system serves as an intermediary that abstracts away the physical storage location and method details. Applications access data through content provider URIs that logically identify data without revealing where or how it is physically stored. The content provider resolves these logical identifiers to the actual storage locations and retrieves data using the appropriate application-specific methods.
Solution Approach 2:
The system transforms the complexity of storage location and method detection into a simplified parameter-based access model. Instead of applications needing to detect and measure storage details, they simply provide content provider URIs with appropriate parameters that describe the data being requested. The content provider handles the translation of these parameters into the specific access methods required for each data type.
Data Source
AI summary
The subject matter of this specification can be embodied in, among other things, a method that includes specifying, with uniform resource identifiers (URIs), substantially all data accessible by applications on a device. The method also includes receiving at a universal interface a request from an application on the device for data that is specified by a URI associated with the request. Substantially all requests for data from applications on the device are received at the universal interface. The method also includes determining, based on the URI associated with the request, a content provider responsible for managing the requested data, and outputting the requested data to the application using the determined content provider to obtain the requested data based on the URI associated with the request.