Method of and system for creating queries that operate on unstructured data stored in a database

• US 20050108211A1
• Filed: 12/08/2003
• Published: 05/19/2005
• Est. Priority Date: 11/18/2003
• Status: Abandoned Application

• Current Assignee: Oracle International Corporation (Oracle Corporation)
• Original Assignee: Oracle International Corporation (Oracle Corporation)
• Inventors: Puri, Srinivasulu, Durgada, Savita, Akella, Ravindra, Karimisetty, Srikanth, Singh, Charanjeet
• Application Number:
  US10/731,604
• Publication Number:
  US 20050108211A1
• Time in Patent Office: Days
• US Class Current: 1/1
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 16/81 Indexing, e.g. XML tags; Data structures therefor; Storage structures

Abstract

A method of and system for searching unstructured data stored in a database. In one embodiment the method comprises storing unstructured data in a column of a database table; allowing a user to identify elements in the unstructured data as indexed elements; creating an intermediate index into the unstructured data from the identified elements; and allowing a user to create queries on the unstructured data using the indexed elements. In some implementations of this embodiment the unstructured data comprises a well-formed XML document stored within a column of a database table. Also, in some implementations the unstructured data is part of an electronic record stored in a common repository of electronic records that provides an audit trail that cannot be altered or disabled by users of the database.

Claims

1. A method of searching unstructured data stored in a database, the method comprising:

storing unstructured data in a column of a database table;

allowing a user to identify elements in the unstructured data as indexed elements;

creating an intermediate index into the unstructured data from the identified elements; and

allowing a user to create queries on the unstructured data using the indexed elements.

2. The method of claim 1 wherein the queries specify at least one value and an operation that is to be performed on an identified element.

3. The method of claim 2 wherein the queries further include a start date and an end date.

4. The method of claim 1 wherein the unstructured data is stored in character large object (CLOB) format.

5. The method of claim 4 wherein the unstructured data comprises a well-formed XML document stored within a column of a database table.

6. The method of claim 5 wherein XML fields of the unstructured data are filled with transaction data from a database transaction based on a predefined mapping to multiple data sources.

7. The method of claim 6 wherein the multiple data sources are comprise multiple tables of a database.

8. The method of claim 1 wherein the unstructured data is part of an electronic record stored in a common repository of electronic records that provides an audit trail that cannot be altered or disabled by users of the system.

9. A method of searching XML data stored in a column of a database table in character large object (CLOB) format, the method comprising:

storing the XML data in the column of the database table, wherein the XML data comprises a first plurality of XML elements that conform to a first data type definition (DTD) and a second plurality of XML elements that conform to a second DTD;

allowing a user to identify elements from the first and second plurality of XML elements in XML data as indexed elements;

creating an intermediate index into the XML data from the identified elements; and

allowing a user to create queries on the unstructured data using the indexed elements.

10. The method of claim 9 wherein the first and second DTDs include first and second XML elements, respectively, that share a common name but represent different types of data and wherein the user can create a first indexed element that represents the first XML element and not the second XML element and a second indexed element that represents the second XML element and not the first XML element.

11. A computer system for searching unstructured data stored in a database, the computer system comprising:

a processor;

a database; and

a computer-readable memory coupled to the processor, the computer-readable memory configured to store a computer program;

wherein the processor is operative with the computer program to;

(i) store unstructured data in a column of a database table;

(ii) allow a user to identify elements in the unstructured data as indexed elements;

(iii) create an intermediate index into the unstructured data from the identified elements; and

(iv) allow a user to create queries on the unstructured data using the indexed elements.

12. The computer system of claim 11 wherein the queries specify at least one value and an operation that is to be performed on an identified element.

13. The computer system of claim 11 wherein the unstructured data is stored in character large object (CLOB) format.

14. The computer system of claim 163 wherein the unstructured data comprises well-formed XML documents stored within a column of a table stored in the database.

15. The computer system of claim 14 wherein fields of the unstructured data are filled with transaction data from a database transaction based on a predefined mapping to multiple data sources.

20. The computer program of claim 14 wherein fields of the unstructured data are filled with transaction data from a database transaction based on a predefined mapping to multiple data sources.

16. A computer program stored on a computer-readable storage medium for searching unstructured data stored in a database, the computer program comprising:

storing unstructured data in a column of a database table;

allowing a user to identify elements in the unstructured data as indexed elements;

creating an intermediate index into the unstructured data from the identified elements; and

allowing a user to create queries on the unstructured data using the indexed elements.

17. The computer program of claim 16 wherein the queries specify at least one value and an operation that is to be performed on an identified element.

18. The computer program of claim 16 wherein the unstructured data is stored in character large object (CLOB) format.

19. The computer program of claim 16 wherein the unstructured data comprises well-formed XML documents stored within a column of a table stored in the database.