Dynamic metabase store

• US 20040002982A1
• Filed: 06/27/2002
• Published: 01/01/2004
• Est. Priority Date: 06/27/2002
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Microsoft Technology Licensing LLC (Microsoft Corporation)
• Original Assignee: Microsoft Corporation
• Inventors: Craig, Robert M., Srivastava, Mohit, Staples, William J., Rakonza, Stephen L., Ersek, Richard A., Jayasimha, Varsha
• Granted Patent: US 6,990,656 B2
• Time in Patent Office: Days
• US Class Current: 707/100
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 8/658 Incremental updates; Differential updates
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 9/44505 Configuring for program initiating, e.g. using registry, configuration files

Abstract

Methods, systems, and computer program products for editing configuration data such that alterations in one representation of the configuration data are reflected in one or more other representations of the configuration data. The altered configuration data may take effect without having to restart a corresponding program module. Multiple alterations to the configuration data may be consolidated. A differencing operation may be used to identify an altered portion of the configuration data. For one or more altered portions, an “updategram” may be generated and used to update a multiple program modules at various interconnected computer systems. A history of alterations to configuration data also may be maintained, making it possible to revert to an earlier version of the configuration data. Erroneous data may be ignored. Access to updated representations of the configuration data may be provided at a configuration management interface.

Claims

1. For a computer system capable of executing one or more program modules that operate in accordance with configuration data, a method of editing the configuration data such that changes made to one representation of the configuration data are reflected in one or more other representations of the configuration data, thereby keeping each of multiple representations of the configuration data current, the method comprising acts of:

using a software interface to alter an in-memory representation of the configuration data;

updating the file representation of the configuration data to reflect at least the altered portion of the in-memory representation of the configuration data;

using software to alter a file representation of the configuration data;

identifying at least an altered portion of the file representation; and

updating the in-memory representation of the configuration data to reflect at least the altered portion of the file representation of the configuration data.

2. A method as recited in claim 1, wherein the one or more program modules operate in accordance with the altered in-memory representation of the configuration data without having to be restarted.

3. A method as recited in claim 1, wherein the software interface is used to make multiple alterations to the in-memory representation of the configuration data at distinct times, the method further comprising acts of:

defining an update time period; and

deferring update of the file representation of the configuration data until expiration of the update time period, such that a single update reflects all alterations that occurred during the update time period.

4. A method as recited in claim 3, further comprising an act of defining an alteration threshold, such that when the number of alterations within an update time period reaches the alteration threshold, updating the file representation of the configuration data is deferred for another update time period.

5. A method as recited in claim 4, further comprising an act of defining a deferral threshold, such that when the number of consecutive deferrals reaches the deferral threshold, updating the file representation of the configuration data cannot be deferred for another update time period.

6. A method as recited in claim 1, further comprising acts of:

using a differencing operation to identify only the altered portion of the file representation of the configuration data; and

updating the in-memory representation of the configuration data with only the altered portion of the file representation of the configuration file that is identified by the differencing operation.

7. A method as recited in claim 6, further comprising acts of:

generating an updategram comprising one or more altered portions of the file representation of the configuration data that are identified in one or more differencing operations; and

updating an in-memory representation of configuration data for a plurality of program modules at one or more interconnected computer systems with the updategram.

8. A method as recited in claim 6, further comprising an act of storing one or more altered portions of the file representation of the configuration data that are identified in one or more differencing operations as a history of alterations to the file representation of the configuration data.

9. A method as recited in claim 8, wherein a later altered portion of the file representation of the configuration data, corresponding to a later differencing operation, contains erroneous configuration data, the method further comprising an act of ignoring the later altered portion.

10. A method as recited in claim 1, wherein at least one of the in-memory representation of the configuration data and the file representation of the configuration data is structured in accordance with an extensible Markup Language (“

XML”

) schema.

11. A method as recited in claim 10, wherein the file representation of the configuration data conforms to valid XML syntax, but contains at least some erroneous data, the method further comprising the act of ignoring the at least some erroneous data.

12. A method as recited in claim 10, wherein the XML schema supports custom configuration data for one or more data elements at one or more specific locations within the configuration data that are not otherwise represented in the XML schema.

13. A method as recited in claim 10, wherein the custom configuration data comprises a custom element tag containing one or more XML tags or attributes corresponding to one or more properties of the one or more data elements, wherein the one or more XML tags or attributes are not defined by the XML schema.

14. A method as recited in claim 10, further comprising an act of using th e software interface to alter a binary representation of the XML schema.

15. A method as recited in claim 1, wherein the software to alter the file representation of the configuration data comprises at least one of a text editor and a software interface.

16. A method as recited in claim 1, further comprising an act of exporting the updated in-memory representation of the configuration data to a configuration management interface.

17. A method as recited in claim 1, further comprising an act of exporting either the file representation or in-memory representation of the configuration data for subsequent importing by some computer system.

18. For a computer system capable of executing one or more program modules that operate in accordance with configuration data, a method of editing the configuration data such that changes made to one representation of the configuration data are reflected in one or more other representations of the configuration data, thereby keeping each of multiple representations of the configuration data current, the method comprising steps for:

altering an in-memory representation of the configuration data;

reflecting at least the altered portion of the in-memory representation of the configuration data in the file representation of the configuration data;

altering a file representation of the configuration data;

detecting at least an altered portion of the file representation; and

reflecting at least the altered portion of the file representation of the configuration data in the in-memory representation of the configuration.

19. A method as recited in claim 18, wherein the in-memory representation of the configuration data is altered through a software interface and wherein the file representation of the configuration data is altered through either a text editor or a software interface.

20. A method as recited in claim 18, wherein the one or more program modules operate in accordance with the altered in-memory representation of the configuration data without having to be restarted.

21. A method as recited in claim 18, wherein the software interface is used to make multiple alterations to the in-memory representation of the configuration data at distinct times, the method further comprising a step for consolidating two or more alterations to the in-memory representation of the configuration data that occur during an update time period into a single update of the file representation of the configuration data.

22. A method as recited in claim 21, further comprising acts of:

defining an alteration threshold, such that when the number of alterations within an update time period reaches the alteration threshold, updating the file representation of the configuration data is deferred for another update time period; and

defining a deferral threshold, such that when the number of consecutive deferrals reaches the deferral threshold, updating the file representation of the configuration data cannot be deferred for another update time period.

23. A method as recited in claim 18, wherein the step for reflecting at least the altered portion of the file representation of the configuration data in the in-memory representation of the configuration comprises acts of:

using a differencing operation to identify only the altered portion of the file representation of the configuration data; and

updating the in-memory representation of the configuration data with only the altered portion of the file representation of the configuration file that is identified by the differencing operation.

24. A method as recited in claim 23, further comprising acts of:

generating an updategram comprising one or more altered portions of the file representation of the configuration data that are identified in one or more differencing operations; and

updating an in-memory representation of configuration data for a plurality of program modules at one or more interconnected computer systems with the updategram.

25. A method as recited in claim 18, further comprising a step for maintaining a history of alterations to the file representation of the configuration data.

26. A method as recited in claim 25, wherein the history of alterations defines one or more versions of the file representation of the configuration data, and wherein the file representation of the configuration data contains erroneous data, the method further comprising an act of:

(i) ignoring the erroneous data, or (ii) reverting to an earlier version of the file representation of the configuration data if one exists.

27. A method as recited in claim 18, wherein at least one of the in-memory representation of the configuration data and the file representation of the configuration data is structured in accordance with an eXtensible Markup Language (“

XML”

) schema, and wherein the XML schema allows for custom configuration data for one or more data elements at one or more specific locations within the configuration data that are not otherwise represented in the XML schema.

28. A method as recited in claim 27, further comprising a step for altering a binary representation of the XML schema.

29. A method as recited in claim 18, further comprising a step for providing access to one or more updated in-memory representations of the configuration data at a configuration management interface.

30. For a computer system capable of executing one or more program modules that operate in accordance with configuration data, a computer program product comprising a computer readable medium carrying computer executable instructions that implement a method of editing the configuration data such that changes made to one representation of the configuration data are reflected in one or more other representations of the configuration data, thereby keeping each of multiple representations of the configuration data current, the method comprising acts of:

using a software interface to alter an in-memory representation of the configuration data;

updating the file representation of the configuration data to reflect at least the altered portion of the in-memory representation of the configuration data;

using software to alter a file representation of the configuration data;

identifying at least an altered portion of the file representation; and

updating the in-memory representation of the configuration data to reflect at least the altered portion of the file representation of the configuration data.

31. A computer program product as recited in claim 30, wherein the one or more program modules operate in accordance with the altered in-memory representation of the configuration data without having to be restarted.

32. A computer program product as recited in claim 30, wherein the software interface is used to make multiple alterations to the in-memory representation of the configuration data at distinct times, the method further comprising acts of:

defining an update time period; and

deferring update of the file representation of the configuration data until expiration of the update time period, such that a single update reflects all alterations that occurred during the update time period.

33. A computer program product as recited in claim 32,-wherein the method further comprises an act of defining an alteration threshold, such that when the number of alterations within an update time period reaches the alteration threshold, updating the file representation of the configuration data is deferred for another update time period.

34. A computer program product as recited in claim 33, wherein the method further comprises an act of defining a deferral threshold, such that when the number of consecutive deferrals reaches the deferral threshold, updating the file representation of the configuration data cannot be deferred for another update time period.

35. A computer program product as recited in claim 30, wherein the method further comprises acts of:

using a differencing operation to identify only the altered portion of the file representation of the configuration data; and

updating the in-memory representation of the configuration data with only the altered portion of the file representation of the configuration file that is identified by the differencing operation.

36. A computer program product as recited in claim 35, wherein the method further comprises acts of:

generating an updategram comprising one or more altered portions of the file representation of the configuration data that are identified in one or more differencing operations; and

updating an in-memory representation of configuration data for a plurality of program modules at one or more interconnected computer systems with the updategram.

37. A computer program product as recited in claim 35, wherein the method further comprises an act of storing one or more altered portions of the file representation of the configuration data that are identified in one or more differencing operations as a history of alterations to the file representation of the configuration data.

38. A computer program product as recited in claim 37, wherein a later altered portion of the file representation of the configuration data, corresponding to a later differencing operation, contains erroneous configuration data, the method further comprising an act of ignoring the later altered portion.

39. A computer program product as recited in claim 30, wherein at least one of the in-memory representation of the configuration data and the file representation of the configuration data is structured in accordance with an eXtensible Markup Language (“

XML”

) schema.

40. A computer program product as recited in claim 39, wherein the file representation of the configuration data conforms to valid XML syntax, but contains at least some erroneous data, the method further comprising the act of ignoring the at least some erroneous data.

41. A computer program product as recited in claim 39, wherein the XML schema supports custom configuration data for one or more data elements at one or more specific locations within the configuration data that are not otherwise represented in the XML schema.

42. A computer program product as recited in claim 39, wherein the method further comprises an act of using the software interface to alter a binary representation of the XML schema.

43. A computer program product as recited in claim 30, wherein the software to alter the file representation of the configuration data comprises at least one of a text editor and a software interface.

44. A computer program product as recited in claim 30, wherein the method further comprises an act of exporting the updated in-memory representation of the configuration data to a configuration management interface.

45. A computer program product as recited in claim 30, wherein the method further comprises an act of exporting either the file representation or in-memory representation of the configuration data for subsequent importing by some computer system.

46. For a computer system capable of executing one or more program modules that operate in accordance with configuration data, a computer program product comprising a computer readable medium carrying computer executable instructions that implement a method of editing the configuration data such that changes made to one representation of the configuration data are reflected in one or more other representations of the configuration data, thereby keeping each of multiple representations of the configuration data current, the method comprising steps for:

altering an in-memory representation of the configuration data;

reflecting at least the altered portion of the in-memory representation of the configuration data in the file representation of the configuration data;

altering a file representation of the configuration data;

detecting at least an altered portion of the file representation; and

reflecting at least the altered portion of the file representation of the configuration data in the in-memory representation of the configuration.

47. A computer program product as recited in claim 46, wherein the in-memory representation of the configuration data is altered through a software interface and wherein the file representation of the configuration data is altered through either a text editor or a software interface.

48. A computer program product as recited in claim 46, wherein the one or more program modules operate in accordance with the altered in-memory representation of the configuration data without having to be restarted.

49. A computer program product as recited in claim 46, wherein the software interface is used to make multiple alterations to the in-memory representation of the configuration data at distinct times, the method further comprising a step for consolidating two or more alterations to the in-memory representation of the configuration data that occur during an update time period into a single update of the file representation of the configuration data.

50. A computer program product as recited in claim 49, wherein the method further comprises acts of:

defining an alteration threshold, such that when the number of alterations within an update time period reaches the alteration threshold, updating the file representation of the configuration data is deferred for another update time period; and

defining a deferral threshold, such that when the number of consecutive deferrals reaches the deferral threshold, updating the file representation of the configuration data cannot be deferred for another update time period.

51. A computer program product as recited in claim 46, wherein the step for reflecting at least the altered portion of the file representation of the configuration data in the in-memory representation of the configuration comprises acts of:

using a differencing operation to identify only the altered portion of the file representation of the configuration data; and

updating the in-memory representation of the configuration data with only the altered portion of the file representation of the configuration file that is identified by the differencing operation.

52. A computer program product as recited in claim 51, wherein the method further comprising acts of:

generating an updategram comprising one or more altered portions of the file representation of the configuration data that are identified in one or more differencing operations; and

updating an in-memory representation of configuration data for a plurality of program modules at one or more interconnected computer systems with the updategram.

53. A computer program product as recited in claim 46, wherein the method further comprises a step for maintaining a history of alterations to the file representation of the configuration data.

54. A computer program product as recited in claim 53, wherein the history of alterations defines one or more versions of the file representation of the configuration data, and wherein the file representation of the configuration data contains erroneous data, the method further comprising an act of:

(i) ignoring the erroneous data, or (ii) reverting to an earlier z version of the file representation of the configuration data if one exists.

55. A computer program product as recited in claim 46, wherein at least one of the in-memory representation of the configuration data and the file representation of the configuration data is structured in accordance with an extensible Markup Language (“

XML”

) schema, and wherein the XML schema allows for custom configuration data for one or more data elements at one or more specific locations within the configuration data that are not otherwise represented in the XML schema.

56. A computer program product as recited in claim 55, wherein the method further comprises a step for altering a binary representation of the XML schema.

57. A computer program product as recited in claim 46, wherein the method further comprises a step for providing access to one or more updated in-memory representations of the configuration data at a configuration management interface.