Data conversion system, method, and apparatus

• US 20050251812A1
• Filed: 04/27/2005
• Published: 11/10/2005
• Est. Priority Date: 04/27/2004
• Status: Abandoned Application

• Current Assignee: Convertabase Incorporated
• Original Assignee: Convertabase Incorporated
• Inventors: Hayward, Jerry Glade
• Application Number:
  US11/115,898
• Publication Number:
  US 20050251812A1
• Time in Patent Office: Days
• US Class Current: 719/328
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 16/258 Data format conversion from or to a database

Abstract

A data conversion system, method, apparatus, and article of manufacture for applying source data a data target in a computing environment. There may be an extraction module for extracting source data and a conversion module for performing a data conversion process. The data conversion process is graphically configurable; stored and streamed in machine language; and includes integration objects, organized in a drag and drop hierarchical structure, including subordinate integration objects, wherein a property of an integration object may be set at a run time. There is a documentation generation module configured to display data mapping. The extraction module handles large records, parses records into sets in a single pass, permits visual analysis of source data, includes parse objects, permits creation of parse objects by click and drag, and creates key fields at run time.

Claims

1. A data conversion system for applying source data from a data source to a data target in a computing environment, comprising:

an extraction module, configured to extract source data from the data source, thereby forming extracted data; and

a conversion module, stored and streamed in machine language, and configured to utilize the extracted data and perform a data conversion process upon the extracted data, thereby forming converted data that is adapted to the data target.

2. The data conversion system of claim 1, wherein conversion module displays a data conversion configuration that is graphically configurable by a user by user arrangement of representations of conversion steps.

3. The data conversion system of claim 2, wherein the conversion module comprises:

a plurality of integration objects configured to perform conversion steps;

a version object configured to store information regarding a conversion; and

a base module configured to facilitate control of the integration objects and to store information regarding the data source and data target.

4. The data conversion system of claim 3, wherein the plurality of integration objects are organized subordinate to the base module in a drag and drop hierarchical structure defining an order of execution.

5. The data conversion system of claim 3, wherein a first integration object may be controlled by a second integration object during a run time.

6. The data conversion system of claim 3, wherein a property of a first integration object is adjustable by a second integration object during a run time.

7. The data conversion system of claim 1, further comprising a documentation generation module configured to generate documentation describing a configuration of the conversion module by reading through conversion steps as defined in the conversion module and writing a data mapping document.

8. The data conversion system of claim 1, wherein the conversion module comprising a visual output module configured to create a visually organized output from a module selected from the group consisting of extraction module and conversion module.

9. The data conversion system of claim 1, wherein the conversion module comprises an organizational display configured to display a current organization of conversion steps.

10. The data conversion system of claim 1, wherein the extraction module makes no API calls.

11. The data conversion system of claim 1, wherein the extraction module includes a plurality of parse objects that are called to extract portions of a record wherein a single record may be parsed into several sets of extraction data in a single pass.

12. The data conversion system of claim 1, wherein the extraction module includes a data display area that displays a consecutive character set of each of a plurality of lines of data according to an adjustable record length.

13. The data conversion system of claim 1, wherein the extraction module comprises parse objects that are created by clicking and dragging portions of a record in a data display window.

14. The data conversion system of claim 1, wherein the extraction module may create key fields as needed at a run time.

15. The data conversion system of claim 4, wherein a first integration object may be controlled by a second integration object during a run time.

16. The data conversion system of claim 15, wherein a property of a third integration object is adjustable by a fourth integration object during a run time.

17. The data conversion system of claim 16, wherein the conversion module comprises a visual output module configured to create a visually organized output from a module selected from the group consisting of extraction module and conversion module.

18. The data conversion system of claim 17, wherein the conversion module further comprises an organizational display configured to display a current organization of the plurality of integration objects.

19. The data conversion system of claim 2, wherein the conversion module further comprising a visual output module configured to create a visually organized output from a module selected from the group consisting of extraction module and conversion module.

20. The data conversion system of claim 19, wherein the conversion module further comprises an organizational display configured to display a current organization of conversion steps.

21. The data conversion system of claim 20, wherein the conversion module further comprises:

a plurality of integration objects configured to perform conversion steps;

a version object configured to store information regarding a conversion; and

a base module configured to facilitate control of the integration objects and to store information regarding the data source and data target.

22. The data conversion system of claim 21, wherein the plurality of integration objects are organized subordinate to the base module in a drag and drop hierarchical structure defining an order of execution.

23. The data conversion system of claim 22, wherein a first integration object may be controlled by a second integration object during a run time.

24. The data conversion system of claim 23, wherein a property of a third integration object is adjustable by a fourth integration object during a run time.

25. The data conversion system of claim 24, wherein the extraction module makes no API calls, may parse a single record into several sets of extraction data in a single pass, may create key fields as needed at a run time, and comprises:

a data display area that displays a consecutive character set of each of a plurality of lines of data according to an adjustable record length; and

a plurality of parse objects that are created by clicking and dragging portions of a record in a data display window.

26. The data conversion system of claim 8, wherein the conversion module comprises an organizational display configured to display a current organization of conversion steps.

27. The data conversion system of claim 10, wherein the extraction module further comprises a plurality of parse objects that are called to extract portions of a record wherein a single record may be parsed into several sets of extraction data in a single pass.

28. The data conversion system of claim 27, wherein the extraction module further comprises a data display area that displays a consecutive character set of each of a plurality of lines of data according to an adjustable record length.

29. The data conversion system of claim 28, wherein the extraction module comprises parse objects that are created by clicking and dragging portions of a record in a data display window.

30. The data conversion system of claim 29, wherein the extraction module may create key fields as needed at a run time.