Re-ranking search results from an enterprise system
A flexible and extensible architecture allows for secure searching across an enterprise. Such an architecture can provide a simple Internet-like search experience to users searching secure content inside (and outside) the enterprise. The architecture allows for the crawling and searching of a variety of sources across an enterprise, regardless of whether any of these sources conform to a conventional user role model. The architecture further allows for security, recency, or other attributes to be submitted at query time, for example, in order to re-rank query results from enterprise resources. The user query also can be transformed to provide for dynamic querying that provides for a more current result list than can be obtained for static queries.
1. A method of improving ranking results for a data query, the method comprising:
receiving an attribute for ranking query results;
receiving query results from a query of a data source, each received query result having a respective numeric relevancy score relating to the query;
for each received query result, concatenating with its relevancy score, using a processor operatively coupled to a memory, a segment of digits representing a value for the attribute corresponding to the query result to form numeric keys, such that the segment of digits is enabled as a score tie breaking factor among query results; and
returning the query results ordered by the numeric keys, wherein the numeric keys take the form of a high segment of digits occupied by a relevancy score and a lower segment of digits representing the value for the attribute of the respective query result.
2. The method according to claim 1 , wherein:
the received attribute is selected from the group consisting of creation date, modified date, and occurrence date.
3. The method according to claim 1 , wherein the received attribute is a recency.
4. The method according to claim 3 , wherein the recency for each query result is a difference in time.
5. The method according to claim 1 , further comprising:
storing the query results before the concatenating.
6. The method according to claim 1 , wherein the received attribute is a recency calculated using the following:
recency=|sysdate−last_modified_date|, —in number of days
when recency>30 then recency=30+recency/30,
when recency>99 then recency=99,
when recency<0 then recency=99, and
wherein sysdate is the current system date.
7. The method according to claim 1 , further comprising:
appending a lowest segment of digits occupied by a sequence number from an original hit list, such that the segment of digits representing the attribute of the respective query result is a middle segment between the relevancy score and lowest segments.
8. A non-transitory machine readable storage medium embodying information indicative of instructions for causing one or more machines to perform operations comprising:
receiving an attribute for ranking query results;
receiving query results from a query of a data source, each received query result having a respective numeric relevancy score relating to the query;
for each received query result, concatenating with its relevancy score a segment of digits representing a value for the attribute corresponding to the query result to form numeric keys, such that the segment of digits is enabled as a score tie breaking factor among query results; and
returning the query results ordered by the numeric keys, wherein the numeric keys take the form of a high segment of digits occupied by a relevancy score and a lower segment of digits representing the value for the attribute of the respective query result.
9. The non-transitory machine readable storage medium according to claim 8 , wherein:
the received attribute is selected from the group consisting of creation date, modified date, and occurrence date.
10. The non-transitory machine readable storage medium according to claim 8 , wherein the received attribute is a recency.
11. The non-transitory machine readable storage medium according to claim 8 , further comprising:
storing the query results before the concatenating.
12. The non-transitory machine-readable storage medium according to claim 8 , wherein the received attribute is a recency calculated using the following:
recency=|sysdate−last_modified_date|, —in number of days
when recency>30 then recency=30+recency/30,
when recency>99 then recency=99,
when recency<0 then recency=99, and
wherein sysdate is the current system date.
13. A computer system executing instructions set forth in a computer program, the computer system comprising:
a processor; and
a memory coupled to the processor, wherein the computer program includes:
program code for receiving an attribute for ranking query results;
program code for receiving query results from a query of a data source, each received query result having a respective numeric relevancy score relating to the query;
program code for, for each received query result, concatenating with its relevancy score a segment of digits representing a value for the attribute corresponding to the query result to form numeric keys, such that the segment of digits is enabled as a score tie breaking factor among query results; and
program code for returning the query results ordered by the numeric keys, wherein the numeric keys take the form of a high segment of digits occupied by a relevancy score and a lower segment of digits representing the value for the attribute of the respective query result.
14. The computer system according to claim 13 , wherein:
the received attribute is selected from the group consisting of creation date, modified date, and occurrence data.
15. The computer system according to claim 13 , wherein the received attribute is a recency.
16. The computer system according to claim 13 , further comprising:
program code for storing the query results before the concatenating.
17. The computer system according to claim 13 , wherein the received attribute is a recency calculated using the following:
recency=|sysdate−last_modified_date|, —in number of days
when recency>30 then recency=30+recency/30,
when recency>99 then recency=99,
when recency<0 then recency=99, and
wherein sysdate is the current system date.