Flexible handling of datetime XML datatype in a database system

• US 20070038649A1
• Filed: 08/11/2005
• Published: 02/15/2007
• Est. Priority Date: 08/11/2005
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Oracle International Corporation (Oracle Corporation)
• Original Assignee: Oracle International Corporation (Oracle Corporation)
• Inventors: Sedlar, Eric, Agrawal, Abhyudaya, Chandrasekar, Sivasankaran, Murthy, Ravi, Agarwal, Nipun
• Granted Patent: US 7,406,478 B2
• Time in Patent Office: Days
• US Class Current: 1/1
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 16/86 Mapping to a database
• CPC Class Codes: Y10S 707/99942 Manipulating data structure, e.g. compression, compaction, compilation
• CPC Class Codes: Y10S 707/99943 Generating database or data structure, e.g. via user interface

Abstract

A database server registers an XML schema and determines a database representation for the XML schema and mapping information, determining what database types should be used to represent an XML schema and/or how instances of the XML schema are stored by a database system. The mapping information indicates the mapping between the constructs declared in the XML schema and the constructs included in the appropriate database representation. The XML schema may contain annotations that describe one or more properties of a database representation of an XML date-time type. Based on the annotations, the database determines an appropriate database representation and generates mapping information mapping the declaration of the XML date-time type of the XML schema to the constructs of the database representation.

Claims

1. A method for managing XML data in a database system, comprising the steps of

a database server receiving a XML schema;

wherein said XML schema includes;

a certain declaration of a XML date-time type, and

a certain annotation associated with said certain declaration, said certain annotation specifying an aspect of a database representation of said XML date-time type;

based on the XML schema, said database server determining a database representation for storing, within said database system, documents that conform to an XML schema;

wherein said database server determining a database representation includes said database server determining, based on the certain annotation, a certain database representation for said declaration of said XML date-time type; and

said database server generating mapping data that indicates correlations between said declaration of the XML date-time and said certain database representation.

2. The method of claim 1, wherein said certain annotation specifies a database date-time type to use as said database representation.

3. The method of claim 2, wherein said certain annotation specifies one of the following SQL datatypes:

TIMESTAMP;

TIMESTAMP WITH TIME ZONE; and

DATA.

4. The method of claim 2, wherein said certain annotation specifies a level of precision for time.

5. The method of claim 2, wherein said certain annotation specifies a database date-time type that has a property that indicates time zone.

6. The method of claim 2, wherein:

the XML schema includes a second declaration of a XML date-time type;

wherein the second declaration does not include a date-time annotation; and

the steps further include generating a default mapping that indicates a correlation between said second declaration and another database representation.

7. The method of claim 1, wherein:

the XML schema includes a second declaration of the XML date-time type;

said second declaration includes a second annotation that defines the certain database date-time type as a database representation for said second declaration;

the certain annotation and the second annotation define a property of said database date-time type; and

the certain annotation and the second annotation define a different value for said property.

8. The method of claim 1, wherein:

said certain declaration is an element within said XML schema; and

said certain annotation is an attribute of an XML schema belonging to a particular namespace.

9. The method of claim 1, wherein the step of said database server determining a database representation and generating mapping data are performed as part of an XML schema registration operation that causes modifications within said database system.

10. The method of claim 1, further comprising the steps of:

the database server creating structures within a database based on said database representation; and

the database server storing in said structures data from XML documents that conform to said XML schema.

11. A computer-readable medium carrying one or more sequences of instructions which, when executed by one or more processors, causes the one or more processors to perform the method recited in claim 1.

12. A computer-readable medium carrying one or more sequences of instructions which, when executed by one or more processors, causes the one or more processors to perform the method recited in claim 2.

13. A computer-readable medium carrying one or more sequences of instructions which, when executed by one or more processors, causes the one or more processors to perform the method recited in claim 3.

14. A computer-readable medium carrying one or more sequences of instructions which, when executed by one or more processors, causes the one or more processors to perform the method recited in claim 4.

15. A computer-readable medium carrying one or more sequences of instructions which, when executed by one or more processors, causes the one or more processors to perform the method recited in claim 5.

16. A computer-readable medium carrying one or more sequences of instructions which, when executed by one or more processors, causes the one or more processors to perform the method recited in claim 6.

17. A computer-readable medium carrying one or more sequences of instructions which, when executed by one or more processors, causes the one or more processors to perform the method recited in claim 7.

18. A computer-readable medium carrying one or more sequences of instructions which, when executed by one or more processors, causes the one or more processors to perform the method recited in claim 8.

19. A computer-readable medium carrying one or more sequences of instructions which, when executed by one or more processors, causes the one or more processors to perform the method recited in claim 9.

20. A computer-readable medium carrying one or more sequences of instructions which, when executed by one or more processors, causes the one or more processors to perform the method recited in claim 10.