Methods, systems and computer program products for coupling electronic mail and relational database functions

• US 20020194395A1
• Filed: 05/30/2001
• Published: 12/19/2002
• Est. Priority Date: 05/30/2001
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: International Business Machines Corporation
• Original Assignee: International Business Machines Corporation
• Inventors: Cutlip, Robert Russell
• Granted Patent: US 6,886,173 B2
• Time in Patent Office: Days
• US Class Current: 719/328
• CPC Class Codes: G06Q 10/107 Computer-aided management of electronic mailing [e-mailing]
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 51/00 User-to-user messaging in packet-switching networks, transmitted according to store-and-forward or real-time protocols, e.g. e-mail
• CPC Class Codes: Y10S 707/99944 Object-oriented database structure

Abstract

Methods, systems and computer program products provide for generating an electronic mail message by automatically generating an electronic mail message responsive to an action being performed on a database entry. In particular embodiments of the present invention, performance of an action on the entry in the database is detected and a user defined function (UDF) of the database triggered which provides access to an electronic mail system. The UDF is triggered in response to the detection of performance of the action on the entry. The electronic mail system is accessed utilizing the UDF to generate the electronic mail message responsive to the UDF being triggered. Thus, an electronic mail message may be automatically generated via triggers and user defined functions which may be provided by the programmatic use of layering and abstraction.

Claims

1. A method of generating an electronic mail message, comprising:

automatically generating an electronic mail message responsive to an action being performed on a database entry.

2. The method of claim 1, wherein the step of generating an electronic mail message comprises:

detecting performance of the action performed on the entry in the database;

triggering a user defined function (UDF) of the database which provides access to an electronic mail system in response to the detection of performance of the action on the entry; and

accessing the electronic mail system utilizing the UDF to request generation of the electronic mail message responsive to the UDF being triggered.

3. The method of claim 2, wherein the steps of detecting performance of the action and triggering a user defined function comprise establishing a database trigger associated with entries in the database which database trigger activates the UDF upon an action being performed on at least one of the entries associated with the database trigger.

4. The method of claim 3, wherein the UDF carries out the steps of:

obtaining electronic mail information associated with the entry in the database; and

providing the obtained electronic mail information to an application program interface for the electronic mail system.

5. The method of claim 4, wherein the application program interface provides abstract layering for the electronic mail system.

6. The method of claim 4, wherein the application program interface comprises the JavaMail Application Program Interface.

7. The method of claim 2, wherein the action performed comprises an insertion of the entry into the database.

8. The method of claim 3, wherein the database comprises a DB2 database.

9. The method of claim 2, wherein the UDF comprises a first class which obtains the electronic mail information and a second class which provides the electronic mail message information to the electronic mail system.

10. The method of claim 2, wherein the electronic mail system executes on a second data processing system remote from a first data processing system on which the database executes.

11. A system for generating an electronic mail message, comprising:

a database having database entries;

a user defined function configured to wrap access to an electronic mail system so as to generate an electronic mail message upon invocation of the user defined function; and

a database trigger associated with at least one of the database entries and configured to invoke the user defined function upon performance of an action on the at least one of the database entries.

12. The system of claim 11, wherein the user defined function comprises a first class which obtains electronic mail information associated with the database entry and a second class which provides the electronic mail message information to the electronic mail system.

13. The system of claim 12, wherein the user defined function is configured to wrap access to the electronic mail system utilizing an application program interface which provides abstract layering for the electronic mail system.

14. The system of claim of claim 13, wherein the application proggram interface comprises a JavaMail application program interface.

15. A system for generating an electronic mail message, comprising:

means for detecting performance of an action performed on an entry in a database;

means for triggering a user defined function (UDF) of the database which provides access to an electronic mail system in response to the detection of performance of the action on the entry; and

means for accessing the electronic mail system utilizing the UDF to initiate generation of the electronic mail message responsive to the UDF being triggered.

16. A computer program product for generating an electronic mail message, comprising:

a computer readable media having computer readable program code embodied therein, the computer readable program code comprising;

computer readable program code that detects performance of an action performed on an entry in a database;

computer readable program code which triggers a user defined function (UDF) of the database which provides access to an electronic mail system in response to the detection of performance of the action on the entry; and

computer readable program code which accesses the electronic mail system utilizing the UDF to initiate generation of the electronic mail message responsive to the UDF being triggered.