Patent ID: 7430565

Claim:
An information processing apparatus comprising: at least one storage component for storing a plurality of pieces of content; and at least one data processing component for: setting a directory having a tree structure; setting by a user layer attribute information representative of attributes of layers which form the tree structure, wherein the attributes facilitate classification of the pieces of content; and coordinating each attribute of the layer attribute information with a group which includes contents or a group belonging to a lower layer than a layer indicated by the attribute to produce a group tree composed of groups and the contents, wherein the group tree is coordinated with a basic group tree management file, an extension group tree management file, and a group fringe file set for the group tree based on a file number of the group tree recorded in a tree item of a group tree list, wherein the basic group tree management file defines a default reproduction order of the contents and the extension group tree management file defines a reproduction order of the contents that is separate from the default reproduction order, and wherein the directory facilitates content management that conforms to a preference of the user and construction of a reproduction list.