Audio/video transfer and storage
A method, apparatus, and article of manufacture provide the ability to share audio/video clips on a network. A clip comprising a collection of formatted frames is stored on a proprietary file system that is hosted by a server. A lightweight application programming interface (API) enables communication with the server, exposes clip information for clips on the proprietary file system through a tree-like hierarchy, and enables a clip to be referred to anywhere on a network independent of underlying storage. In addition, data may be transferred in the background. A background server is coupled to the file system and hosts a background input/output (I/O) plug-in. Further, a background I/O manager receives a request to transfer data and communicates with the plug-in to coordinate the data transfer in the background. Pursuant to the instructions from the manager, the plug-ins transfer the data from the file system to a server(s) in the background.
1 . A computer implemented system for sharing audio/video clips on a network comprising:
(a) a clip comprising a collection of formatted frames;
(b) a proprietary file system configured to store the clip;
(c) a server configured to host the proprietary file system;
(d) a lightweight application programming interface (API) that enables communication with the server, wherein:
(i) the API exposes clip information for clips on the proprietary file system through a tree-like hierarchy;
(ii) the API enables a clip to be referred to anywhere on a network independent of underlying storage.
2 . The system of claim 1 wherein the API provides an ability to read and write the clip information and frame data directly to/from native storage.
3 . The system of claim 1 wherein the lightweight API comprises a simple unified interface to a small set of utility functions.
4 . The system of claim 1 further comprising a protocol used to enable communication across a network for remote communication.
5 . The system of claim 1 wherein the API is configured to communicate with a server daemon/service on the server.
6 . The system of claim 1 wherein storage structures on the proprietary file system are exposed as nodes in the tree-like hierarchy.
7 . The system of claim 6 wherein a node in the hierarchy is represented using an XML (extensible markup language) metadata stream.
8 . The system of claim 6 wherein a metadata hook is provided at the node level of the hierarchy to allow access to metadata at each node level.
9 . A computer implemented system for a background transferring of data comprising:
(a) a file system;
(b) a background server communicatively coupled to the file system;
(c) a background input/output (I/O) plug-in installed in the background server, wherein the background I/O plug-in is configured to:
(i) communicate with a background I/O manager;
(ii) transfer data from the file system to one or more servers in the background;
(d) the background I/O manager configured to:
(i) receive a request to transfer data;
(ii) communicate with the background I/O plug-in to coordinate the data transfer in the background.
10 . The system of claim 9 , wherein the background I/O manager receives the request from an application hosting a proprietary file system.
11 . The system of claim 9 , wherein the background I/O plug-in is configured to transfer the data from the file system to a disc.
12 . A computer-implemented method for sharing audio/video clips on a network comprising:
(a) storing a clip that comprises a collection of formatted frames on a proprietary file system hosted by a server;
(b) enabling communication with the server through a lightweight application programming interface (API), wherein:
(i) the API exposes clip information for clips on the proprietary file system through a tree-like hierarchy;
(ii) the API enables a clip to be referred to anywhere on a network independent of underlying storage.
13 . The method of claim 12 wherein the API provides an ability to read and write the clip information and frame data directly to/from native storage.
14 . The method of claim 12 wherein the lightweight API comprises a simple unified interface to a small set of utility functions.
15 . The method of claim 12 wherein the API further utilizes a protocol to enable communication across the network for remote communication.
16 . The method of claim 12 wherein the API is configured to communicate with a server daemon/service on the server.
17 . The method of claim 12 wherein storage structures on the proprietary file system are exposed as nodes in the tree-like hierarchy.
18 . The method of claim 17 wherein a node in the hierarchy is represented using an XML (extensible markup language) metadata stream.
19 . The method of claim 17 wherein a metadata hook is provided at the node level of the hierarchy to allow access to metadata at each node level.
20 . A computer implemented method for transferring data in the background comprising:
(a) installing a background input/output (I/O) plug-in on a background server that is communicatively coupled to a file system;
(b) receiving a request, in a background I/O manager, to transfer data;
(c) the background I/O manager communicating with the background I/O plug-in to coordinate the transfer of data in the background; and
(d) the background I/O plug-in transferring data from the file system to one or more servers in the background pursuant to the communication from the background I/O manager.
21 . The method of claim 20 , wherein the background I/O manager receives the request from an application hosting a proprietary file system.
22 . The method of claim 20 , wherein the background I/O plug-in is configured to transfer the data from the file system to a disc.