Constraint driven schema association

• US 20040158567A1
• Filed: 02/12/2003
• Published: 08/12/2004
• Est. Priority Date: 02/12/2003
• Status: Abandoned Application

• Current Assignee: International Business Machines Corporation
• Original Assignee: International Business Machines Corporation
• Inventors: Dettinger, Richard D., Stevens, Richard J., Will, Eric W., Kulack, Frederick A.
• Application Number:
  US10/365,098
• Publication Number:
  US 20040158567A1
• Time in Patent Office: Days
• US Class Current: 707/100
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 16/211 Schema design and management

Abstract

A method, apparatus and article of manufacture for mapping schemas to one another. The fields of a target schema are characterized by constraint metadata. The constraint metadata represents rules or guidelines used to identify source fields in a source schema, which source fields are candidates for being mapped to the target fields.

Claims

1. A method of mapping schemas, comprising:

retrieving constraint data for a first schema, wherein the constraint data characterizes a field of the first schema;

for each field of a second schema, determining whether the field of the second schema satisfies the constraint data; and

if so, mapping the field of the second schema to the field of the first schema.

2. The method of claim 1, further comprising, prior to mapping:

displaying an indication that the field of the second schema satisfies the constraint; and

requesting user confirmation to map the field of the second schema to the field of the first schema.

3. The method of claim 1, wherein the constraint data is a name constraint specifying at least one of a name or name pattern, and wherein the determining step comprises searching the second schema for fields matching the name constraint.

4. The method of claim 1, wherein the constraint data is a data type constraint specifying a type and a length, and wherein the determining step comprises searching the second schema for fields with a matching type and length.

5. The method of claim 1, wherein the constraint data is a value-based constraint specifying at least one of a value, a value range, a value list and a value pattern, and wherein the determining step comprises obtaining a data sample from each field of the second schema and searching each data sample for data satisfying the value-based constraint.

6. The method of claim 1, wherein different constraint data is defined for each field of the first schema and retrieving and determining are performed for the respective different constraint data for each field of the first schema.

7. The method of claim 6, wherein the constraint data is selected from at least one of name-based constraints, type-based constraints and value-based constraints.

8. A method of mapping schemas, comprising:

retrieving constraint data for a first schema, wherein the constraint data comprises a plurality of constraints each characterizing one of a plurality of fields of the first schema; and

for each of the plurality of constraints which characterizes a particular one of the plurality of fields of the first schema, determining whether any fields of a second schema satisfy the constraint;

ranking each field of the second schema which satisfies at least one of the plurality of constraints; and

mapping a highest ranked field of the second schema which satisfies at least one of the plurality of constraints to the particular one field of the first schema characterized by the constraint.

9. The method of claim 8, wherein the constraint data is a name constraint specifying at least one of a name or name pattern, and wherein the determining step comprises searching the second schema for fields matching the name constraint.

10. The method of claim 8, wherein the constraint data is a data type constraint specifying a type and a length, and wherein the determining step comprises searching the second schema for fields with a matching type and length.

11. The method of claim 8, wherein the constraint data is a value-based constraint specifying at least one of a value, a value range, a value list and a value pattern, and wherein the determining step comprises obtaining a data sample from each field of the second schema and searching each data sample for data satisfying the value-based constraint.

12. The method of claim 8, wherein the determining, ranking and mapping is performed for each of the plurality of fields of the first schema.

13. The method of claim 8, wherein the constraint data is selected from at least one of name-based constraints, type-based constraints and value-based constraints.

14. The method of claim 8, wherein at least some of the plurality of fields of the first schema are characterized by two or more constraints.

15. The method of claim 14, wherein each of the two or more constraints have an assigned priority level, and wherein ranking comprises sorting the fields of the second schema according to priority levels of the constraints satisfied by the fields of the second schema.

16. The method of claim 14, wherein ranking comprises sorting the fields of the second schema according to a number of the constraints satisfied by each of the fields of the second schema.

17. A computer readable medium containing a program which, when executed, performs an operation of mapping schemas, the operation comprising:

retrieving constraint data for a first schema, wherein the constraint data characterizes a field of the first schema;

for each field of a second schema, determining whether the field of the second schema satisfies the constraint data; and

if so, mapping the field of the second schema to the field of the first schema.

18. The computer readable medium of claim 17, further comprising, prior to mapping:

displaying an indication that the field of the second schema satisfies the constraint; and

requesting user confirmation to map the field of the second schema to the field of the first schema.

19. The computer readable medium of claim 17, wherein the constraint data is a name constraint specifying at least one of a name or name pattern, and wherein the determining step comprises searching the second schema for fields matching the name constraint.

20. The computer readable medium of claim 17, wherein the constraint data is a data type constraint specifying a type and a length, and wherein the determining step comprises searching the second schema for fields with a matching type and length.

21. The computer readable medium of claim 17, wherein the constraint data is a value-based constraint specifying at least one of a value, a value range, a value list and a value pattern, and wherein the determining step comprises obtaining a data sample from each field of the second schema and searching each data sample for data satisfying the value-based constraint.

22. The computer readable medium of claim 17, wherein different constraint data is defined for each field of the first schema and retrieving and determining are performed for the respective different constraint data for each field of the first schema.

23. The computer readable medium of claim 17, wherein the constraint data is selected from at least one of name-based constraints, type-based constraints and value-based constraints.

24. The computer readable medium of claim 17, wherein different constraint data is defined for each field of the first schema and retrieving and determining are performed for the respective different constraint data for each field of the first schema.

25. The computer readable medium of claim 17, wherein mapping comprises generating a schema map which maps each individual field of the first schema to a field of the second schema satisfying the constraint data of the individual field of the first schema.

26. A computer readable medium containing a program which, when executed, performs an operation of mapping schemas, the operation comprising:

retrieving constraint data for a first schema, wherein the constraint data comprises a plurality of constraints each characterizing one of a plurality of fields of the first schema;

for each of the plurality of constraints which characterizes a particular one of the plurality of fields of the first schema, determining whether any fields of a second schema satisfy the constraint;

ranking each field of the second schema which satisfies at least one of the plurality of constraints; and

mapping a highest ranked field of the second schema which satisfies at least one of the plurality of constraints to the particular one field of the first schema characterized by the constraint.

27. The computer readable medium of claim 26, wherein the constraint data is a name constraint specifying at least one of a name or name pattern, and wherein the determining step comprises searching the second schema for fields matching the name constraint.

28. The computer readable medium of claim 26, wherein the constraint data is a data type constraint specifying a type and a length, and wherein the determining step comprises searching the second schema for fields with a matching type and length.

29. The computer readable medium of claim 26, wherein the constraint data is a value-based constraint specifying at least one of a value, a value range, a value list and a value pattern, and wherein the determining step comprises obtaining a data sample from each field of the second schema and searching each data sample for data satisfying the value-based constraint.

30. The computer readable medium of claim 26, further comprising, following ranking and before mapping:

displaying a ranked list of each field of the second schema which satisfies at least one of the plurality of constraints; and

requesting user confirmation to map the highest ranked field of the second schema to the particular one of the plurality of fields of the first schema.

31. The computer readable medium of claim 26, wherein the determining, ranking and mapping is performed for each of the plurality of fields of the first schema.

32. The computer readable medium of claim 26, wherein the constraint data is selected from at least one of name-based constraints, type-based constraints and value-based constraints.

33. The computer readable medium of claim 26, wherein at least some of the plurality of fields of the first schema are characterized by two or more constraints.

34. The computer readable medium of claim 33, wherein each of the two or more constraints have an assigned priority level, and wherein ranking comprises sorting the fields of the second schema according to priority levels of the constraints satisfied by the fields of the second schema.

35. The computer readable medium of claim 33, wherein ranking comprises sorting the fields of the second schema according to a number of the constraints satisfied by each of the fields of the second schema.

36. A system for mapping schemas, comprising a memory containing at least:

a source schema defining a plurality of source fields;

a target schema defining a plurality of target fields;

schema association constraints defined for the target schema and comprising a constraints set for each of the plurality of target fields, wherein constraints defined by the constraints set for a given target field characterize acceptable field attributes from the source schema for the given target field; and

a schema map generator configured to map one or more of the plurality of target fields to one or more of the plurality of source fields according to the schema association constraints.

37. The system of claim 36, wherein, for the given target field, the schema map generator is configured determine which of the plurality of source fields satisfies the constraints set corresponding to the given target field.

38. The system of claim 37, wherein the schema map generator is configured to rank the plurality of source fields which satisfy the constraints set corresponding to be given target field.