Selective synchronization in a hierarchical folder structure

Patent metadata

Field	Value
Publication number	US-9336227-B2
Application number	US-201314047748-A
Country	US
Kind code	B2
Filing date	Oct 7, 2013
Priority date	Oct 7, 2013
Publication date	May 10, 2016
Grant date	May 10, 2016

Abstract

A technique is described to selectively synchronize content on a client database with content from a server database. As the user traverses a hierarchical folder structure of the client database, he may run into content that has been deleted or moved in the server database. If the content is something that the user wishes to store locally, the content can be stored as an orphan. An orphan is content stored on the client that cannot be traversed by the hierarchical folder structure. When the user traverses to a node in the hierarchical folder structure that is missing an object existing on the server, a determination can be made as to whether the orphan object is the missing object. If so, the orphan object can be connected once against to the hierarchical folder structure. This may minimize the content that needs to be re-downloaded from the server.

First claim

What is claimed is:

1. A computer-implemented method, comprising:
receiving, at a processor, a request to synchronize a first folder object in a first folder structure of a first database with a first corresponding folder object in a second folder structure of a second database, wherein the first folder structure is configured to traverse objects stored in the first database and the second folder structure is configured to traverse objects stored in the second database;
determining, by the processor, that the first folder object contains a first child object that is missing from the first corresponding folder object;
identifying, by the processor, that the first child object is selected for selective synchronization;
converting, by the processor, the first child object to an orphan object, wherein the orphan object is stored in the first database but is inaccessible by traversing the first folder structure;
receiving, by the processor, another request to synchronize a second folder object in the first folder structure with a second corresponding folder object in the second folder structure;
determining, by the processor, that the second corresponding folder object contains a second child object that is missing from the second folder object;
identifying, by the processor, that the second child object corresponds to the orphan object, or that the second child object does not correspond to the orphan object;
when the second child object corresponds to the orphan object:
adopting, by the processor, the orphan object as part of the second folder object such that traversing the second folder object includes visiting the orphan object; and

when the second child object does not correspond to the orphan object:
downloading, by the processor, the second child object from the second database to the first database.

2. The computer-implemented method of claim 1 , wherein determining that the first folder object contains a first child object that is missing from the first corresponding folder object comprises:
querying, by the processor, a first list of child objects associated with the first folder from the first database;
retrieving, by the processor, a second list of child objects associated with the corresponding folder from the second database; and
determining, by the processor, that the first child object is in the first list but is missing from the second list.

3. The computer-implemented method of claim 1 , wherein converting the first child object to an orphan object comprises clearing, by the processor, a parent folder field of the first child object, the parent folder field being configured to store an identifier belonging to a parent of the first child object.

4. The computer-implemented method of claim 1 , wherein identifying that the first child object is selected for selective synchronization comprises determining, by the processor, that a content synchronization flag belonging to the first child object has been set.

5. The computer-implemented method of claim 1 , wherein identifying that the second child object corresponds to the orphan object includes determining, by the processor, that an identifier associated with the second child object is the same as another identifier associated with the orphan object.

6. The computer-implemented method of claim 1 , wherein adopting the orphan object includes setting, by the processor, a parent folder field of the orphan object to an identifier associated with the second folder object.

7. The computer-implemented method of claim 1 , wherein identifying, by the processor, that the first child object is selected for selective synchronization further comprises identifying, by the processor, that the first child object is not selected for selective synchronization,
when the first child object is selected for selective synchronization:
converting, by the processor, the first child object to the orphan object; and

when the first child object is not selected for selective synchronization:
deleting, by the processor, the first child object from the first database.

8. A non-transitory computer readable storage medium storing one or more programs, the one or more programs comprising instructions for:
receiving a request to synchronize a first folder object in a first folder structure of a first database with a first corresponding folder object in a second folder structure of a second database, wherein the first folder structure is configured to traverse objects stored in the first database and the second folder structure is configured to traverse objects stored in the second database;
determining that the first folder object contains a first child object that is missing from the first corresponding folder object;
identifying that the first child object is selected for selective synchronization;
converting the first child object to an orphan object, wherein the orphan object is stored in the first database but is inaccessible by traversing the first folder structure;
receiving another request to synchronize a second folder object in the first folder structure with a second corresponding folder object in the second folder structure;
determining that the second corresponding folder object contains a second child object that is missing from the second folder object;
identifying that the second child object corresponds to the orphan object, or that the second child object does not correspond to the orphan object;
when the second child object corresponds to the orphan object:
adopting the orphan object as part of the second folder object such that traversing the second folder object includes visiting the orphan object; and

when the second child object does not correspond to the orphan object:
downloading the second child object from the second database to the first database.

9. The non-transitory computer readable storage medium of claim 8 , wherein determining that the first folder object contains a first child object that is missing from the first corresponding folder object comprises:
querying a first list of child objects associated with the first folder from the first database;
retrieving a second list of child objects associated with the corresponding folder from the second database; and
determining that the first child object is in the first list but is missing from the second list.

10. The non-transitory computer readable storage medium claim 8 , wherein converting the first child object to an orphan object comprises clearing a parent folder field of the first child object, the parent folder field being configured to store an identifier belonging to a parent of the first child object.

11. The non-transitory computer readable storage medium of claim 8 , wherein identifying that the first child object is selected for selective synchronization comprises determining that a content synchronization flag belonging to the first child object has been set.

12. The non-transitory computer readable storage medium of claim 8 , wherein identifying that the second child object corresponds to the orphan object includes determining that an identifier associated with the second child object is the same as another identifier associated with the orphan object.

13. The non-transitory computer readable storage medium of claim 8 , wherein adopting the orphan object includes setting a parent folder field of the orphan object to an identifier associated with the second folder object.

14. The non-transitory computer readable storage medium of claim 8 , wherein identifying that the first child object is selected for selective synchronization further includes identifying that the first ch

Assignees

• Eberlein Peter
• Gross Lukas
• Sap Se

Inventors

• Eberlein Peter
• Gross Lukas

Classifications

• G06F17/30174 Primary

  Physics · mapped topic

• G06F17/30176

  Physics · mapped topic

• G06F16/1787 Primary

  Details of non-transparently synchronising file systems · CPC title

• G06F16/178 Primary

  Techniques for file synchronisation in file systems · CPC title