Database system having heterogeneous object types
First Claim
1. A method for extracting metadata for plural related objects of different types from a database, comprising:
- defining a heterogeneous object type as a collection of database objects of different types; and
upon a request to fetch a particular heterogeneous object, fetching member objects from the particular heterogeneous object in a specific order based on the definition of the heterogeneous object'"'"'s type.
2 Assignments
0 Petitions
Accused Products
Abstract
A method for extracting metadata for plural related objects of different types from a database includes defining a heterogeneous object type as a collection of database objects of different types. Upon a request to fetch a particular heterogeneous object, member objects of the heterogeneous object are fetched from the particular heterogeneous object in a specific order based on the definition of the heterogeneous object'"'"'s type, such as a valid order for re-creating the particular heterogeneous object. The set of member objects to be fetched can be restricted according to at least one specified filter, which itself may be translated into a second filter according to a type of a member object being fetched. Such translated filters can inherit values from the filter specified in the request for the particular heterogeneous object type, or can have a fixed value of some data type. The extracted metadata can be formatted to recreate the particular heterogeneous object.
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Citations
69 Claims
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1. A method for extracting metadata for plural related objects of different types from a database, comprising:
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defining a heterogeneous object type as a collection of database objects of different types; and
upon a request to fetch a particular heterogeneous object, fetching member objects from the particular heterogeneous object in a specific order based on the definition of the heterogeneous object'"'"'s type. - View Dependent Claims (2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10, 11, 12, 13, 14, 15, 16, 17, 18)
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19. A method for retrieving, from a relational database, object metadata, comprising:
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receiving a single request for metadata for a logical unit within the database, the logical unit comprising plural objects of different types;
extracting the requested metadata; and
returning the extracted metadata in an order in which the logical unit can be recreated. - View Dependent Claims (20, 21, 22, 23, 24, 25, 26, 27, 28, 29, 30, 31, 32, 33)
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34. A database in which plural related objects of different types are defined, comprising:
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a definition of at least one heterogeneous object type as a collection of member database objects of different types; and
an order specification for fetching member object types of the at least one heterogeneous object type in a specified order. - View Dependent Claims (35, 36, 37, 38, 39, 40, 41, 42, 43, 44, 45, 46, 47, 48, 49, 50, 51)
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52. A database for storing data for retrieval, comprising:
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an interface which receives a single request for metadata for a logical unit within the database, the logical unit comprising plural objects of different types;
an extractor which extracts the requested metadata; and
a formatter which formats and returns the extracted metadata in a specified order. - View Dependent Claims (53, 54, 55, 56, 57, 58, 59, 60, 61, 62, 63, 64, 65, 66, 67)
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68. A computer program product for extracting metadata for plural related objects of different types from a database, the computer program product comprising a computer usable medium having computer readable code thereon, including program code which:
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defines a heterogeneous object type as a collection of database objects of different types; and
upon a request to fetch a particular heterogeneous object, fetches member objects from the particular heterogeneous object in a specific order based on the definition of the heterogeneous object'"'"'s type.
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69. A computer program product for retrieving, from a relational database, object metadata, the computer program product comprising a computer usable medium having computer readable code thereon, including program code which:
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receives a single request for metadata for a logical unit within the database, the logical unit comprising plural objects of different types;
extracts the requested metadata; and
returns the extracted metadata in an order in which the logical unit can be recreated.
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Specification