Systems and methods for searching a database
First Claim
1. A data processing system for retrieving data elements of an entity-relation database (ERDB) comprising:
- a memory containing the ERDB;
means for establishing inquiry paths to the data elements of the ERDB, the inquiry paths corresponding to known associations between the data elements;
means for relating the inquiry paths to query procedures; and
means for storing in the memory a listing of the query procedures and the related inquiry paths.
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Abstract
Systems and methods that retrieve at least one data element from a database include a database and a plurality of predefined query procedures, each predefined query procedure referencing an inquiry path, entering a query having a query procedure and at least one parameter, locating the query procedure and the referenced inquiry path, and using the referenced inquiry path with the parameter to retrieve at least one data element from the database, that is the result of the query. Generally, the system will be used to retrieve data for entity-relation databases (ERDBs) using Structured Query Language (SQL) queries, but that is not required.
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Citations
26 Claims
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1. A data processing system for retrieving data elements of an entity-relation database (ERDB) comprising:
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a memory containing the ERDB;
means for establishing inquiry paths to the data elements of the ERDB, the inquiry paths corresponding to known associations between the data elements;
means for relating the inquiry paths to query procedures; and
means for storing in the memory a listing of the query procedures and the related inquiry paths. - View Dependent Claims (2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10)
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11. A memory for storing data elements in an entity-relation database (ERDB) for access by an application program being executed on a data processing system, comprising:
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inquiry paths to the data elements of the ERDB, the inquiry paths corresponding to known associations between the data elements; and
query procedures related to the inquiry paths, the query procedures and inquiry paths stored in the memory, an input query of the application program matching a query procedure causing the execution of the related inquiry path to retrieve data elements in accordance with the associations corresponding to the related inquiry path. - View Dependent Claims (12, 13, 14, 15, 16, 18, 19, 20, 21, 22, 23, 24, 25, 26)
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17. A program storage device readable by a machine, tangibly embodying a program of instructions executable by the machine to perform method steps for retrieving data elements of an entity-relation database (ERDB), said method steps comprising:
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establishing inquiry paths to the data elements of the ERDB to correspond to known associations between the data elements;
relating the inquiry paths to query procedures; and
storing in the program storage device a listing of the query procedures and the related inquiry paths.
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Specification