Dynamic cube services

• US 20060218157A1
• Filed: 03/22/2005
• Published: 09/28/2006
• Est. Priority Date: 03/22/2005
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Microsoft Technology Licensing LLC (Microsoft Corporation)
• Original Assignee: Microsoft Corporation
• Inventors: Sourov, Alexander A., Yuen, Philip, Lin, James Zhen, Puttaswamy, Keshav
• Granted Patent: US 7,587,410 B2
• Time in Patent Office: Days
• US Class Current: 1/1
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 16/283 Multi-dimensional databases or data warehouses, e.g. MOLAP or ROLAP
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 21/6218 to a system of files or objects, e.g. local or distributed file system or database
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 21/6227 where protection concerns the structure of data, e.g. records, types, queries
• CPC Class Codes: Y10S 707/99935 Query augmenting and refining, e.g. inexact access
• CPC Class Codes: Y10S 707/99943 Generating database or data structure, e.g. via user interface

Abstract

A method and system for dynamic creation of an OLAP cube is disclosed which enables OLAP cubes to be created from custom database entities and custom database entity relationships. A created cube may be implemented on a local or remote data server using a variety of modular database protocols. A computer-readable medium and system for OLAP cube data permission derivation is also disclosed. OLAP cube data permissions are derived from category data associated with an OLAP database. The resulting cube data permissions are associated with data in the OLAP cube.

Claims

1. A computer-implemented method for the dynamic creation of an OLAP cube comprising:

receiving a data source specification;

computing one or more dynamic relationships between entities in the specified data source; and

implementing an OLAP cube on a data server based on said one or more dynamic relationships between entities.

2. A computer-implemented method as defined in claim 1, wherein said computing one or more dynamic relationships between entities further comprises:

detecting one or more entities related to a root entity;

building a graph; and

traversing the graph.

3. A computer-implemented method as defined in claim 2, wherein said traversing the graph comprises analyzing a relational structure of the one or more entities.

4. A computer-implemented method as defined in claim 2, further comprising receiving a specification of the root entity.

5. A computer-implemented method as defined in claim 2, further comprising automatically selecting the root entity.

6. A computer-implemented method as defined in claim 1, wherein said implementing the OLAP cube on a data server further comprises selecting and using an appropriate transaction protocol.

7. A computer-implemented method as defined in claim 1, further comprising deriving permissions for the OLAP cube.

8. A computer-implemented method as defined in claim 2, wherein said traversing the graph further comprises detecting one or more previously-encountered values.

9. A computer-implemented method as defined in claim 1, wherein a given OLAP cube may be implemented on a plurality of data servers.

10. A computer-implemented method as defined in claim 9, wherein said plurality of data servers includes data servers using a plurality of transaction protocols.

11. A computer-implemented method as defined in claim 1, wherein said entities are derived from one or more custom fields.

12. A computer readable medium accessible to a computing system and encoding a computer program for automatically deriving cube permission settings in an OLAP environment comprising:

receiving category data;

analyzing one or more categories;

deriving cube data permission settings; and

associating said cube data permission settings with cube data.

13. A computer readable medium as defined in claim 12, wherein said automatic derivation of cube permission settings is performed in real time.

14. A system for creating a dynamic OLAP cube comprising:

an I/O module for receiving user input and for displaying results;

a graphing module for analyzing entity interrelationships and building a cube;

a translation module for implementing the cube on a data server; and

a security module for deriving cube permission settings.

15. A system as defined in claim 14, wherein said translation module further uses a transaction protocol for implementing the cube on a particular data server.

16. A system as defined in claim 14, wherein said graphing module is capable of processing association tables and modeling many-to-many relationships.

17. A system as defined in claim 16, wherein said graphing module prevents the double-measuring of cube data.

18. A system as defined in claim 14, wherein said graph module builds and traverses a graph to analyze entity interrelationships.

19. A system as defined in claim 14, wherein said translation module is capable of implementing the cube on a plurality of data servers.