Patent ID: 6768989
Filing Date: 2004-07-27
Classification: G06F,Y10S

Abstract:
A collection recognizer process for making information about recognized collections available to software programs, to be performed on or with the aid of a programmable device, comprising the following steps:(a) receiving a request for information about detected collections, (b) detecting collection signatures within a collection signature search space, thereby forming a set of detected collections, wherein collection signatures are particular sets of attributes from computer data storage media that are capable of indicating the presence of valid collections, and collection signature search spaces are searchable computer data storage mechanisms that are capable of storing collection signatures, and (c) making information about said detected collections available for use by software programs, wherein collections are data structures comprised of a collection specifier and collection content containing zero or more collection content files, and wherein a collection specifier contains at least a collection type indicator to link a collection instance to a collection type definition, thereby providing software programs with a convenient, practical means for obtaining a list of interesting collections to process, and thereby improving productivity of human workers by making it possible for automated systems to recognize collections for automated processing without human assistance.