In a production environment, a xbook server will be storing hundreds to thousands of xbooks, most being subxbooks (i.e., results). Therefore, we need a mechanism by which users can easily locate xbooks based on their properties (i.e., meta-data). The xbook directory service is a such a mechanism by which users can publish their xbooks (i.e., their results). Users will send their xbook property files to the directory server along with a URI describing its location. Other users will then be able to query the directory service to locate a xbook and be redirected to its location. If the user is authorized to use the xbook, they will then be able to execute/view it. Optionally, users can also publish the actual xbook (e.g., a tar file) to the directory for others to download and deploy into their own xbook servers (i.e., if they are not authorized to execute the registered xbook or want to modify it).
Users should be able to query for xbooks based on the properties described in their properties file. Examples of this include:
The querying interface uses a filtering methodology much like a Google advanced search. See Figure 4.1 for an example querying interface. When the results of the search are returned, users should be able to view the xbook's full set of properties and run additional refining queries.
Note: this idea is based on a "personal index" conversation with Beth many moons ago.
