Incremental approach to an object-relational solution

• US 20070055692A1
• Filed: 02/28/2006
• Published: 03/08/2007
• Est. Priority Date: 09/07/2005
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Microsoft Technology Licensing LLC (Microsoft Corporation)
• Original Assignee: Microsoft Corporation
• Inventors: Muralidhar, Subramanian, Albahari, Benjamin, Suver, Chris, Conrad, Andrew, Castro, Pablo, Pizzo, Michael, Blakeley, Jose, Henry, Alyssa
• Granted Patent: US 7,676,493 B2
• Time in Patent Office: Days
• US Class Current: 1/1
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 16/289 Object oriented databases

Abstract

The claimed subject matter relates to an architecture that can facilitate an incremental approach to an Object-Relational mapping solution. The architecture can provide a rich data model that is defined at the value layer. The rich data model can expose an interface that conforms with the interfaces exposed by common storage-specific data providers. The architecture can extend common storage-specific data provider to support common command representations, and provide entity services that work in terms of the rich data model as well as object services such as identity management, updating and change tracking.

Claims

1. A system that facilitates object-relational mapping comprising the following computer-executable components:

a storage-specific provider component that exposes a common schema over a store schema of a data store according to a common data model;

a mapping provider component that exposes a rich schema over the storage-specific provider component in accordance with a rich data model;

a services component that operates in terms of the rich data model; and

an object mapping component that provides object services over the rich schema.

2. The system of claim 1, the storage-specific provider component, the mapping provider component, and the services component operate at a value layer.

3. The system of claim 1, the mapping provider component exposes an application programming interface (API) that conforms to an API exposed by the storage-specific provider component.

4. The system of claim 1, the rich data model includes an entity, the entity is at least one of an entity with strong identity, an entity with inheritance, an entity with complex types, and an entity with relationships.

5. The system of claim 1, the services component includes a common component that compensates for a command operator not supported by the data store.

6. The system of claim 5, the command operator facilitates a representation of nested results.

7. The system of claim 1, the services component includes a cache.

8. The system of claim 7, the cache is employed for at least one of identity management and change tracking.

9. The system of claim 1, the object services includes at least one of object materialization, a typed query, and data aggregation.

10. The system of claim 1, the object services employ an API that is comparable to an API of the storage-specific provider component.

11. The system of claim 1, further comprising a common metadata service component that describes the rich data model and supports services that require metadata.

12. The system of claim 1, the storage-specific provider component is extended to support a common command representation.

13. The system of claim 12, the common command representation is a canonical command tree.

14. The system of claim 1, the storage-specific provider component is extended to compensate for a command operator not supported by the data store.

15. The system of claim 14, the command operator facilitates a representation of nested results.

16. The system of claim 1, the object mapping component receives mapping information by reflecting on properties of the type being materialized.

17. The system of claim 1, the mapping component gets mapping information from an object mapping loaded from one of a file or a data store.

18. A computer implemented method for incrementally extending a data provider, comprising the following computer executable acts:

exposing a common schema over a store schema of a data store in accordance with a common data model;

mapping the common schema to a rich schema in accordance with a rich data model that operates at a value layer;

providing entity services that function in terms of the rich data model; and

providing object services that operate on top of the rich schema.

19. The method of claim 18, further comprising:

exposing an API that is analogous to an API exposed by the common data model;

extending a storage-specific provider to support a common command representation; and

compensating for a command operator that is not supported by the data store.

20. A computer executable system that provides object-relational mapping and incrementally extends a data provider, comprising:

computer implemented means for extending a storage-specific data provider to support a common command representation;

computer implemented means for mapping a storage-specific data model to a rich data model that is defined at the value layer;

computer implemented means for providing entity services that conform to the rich data model; and

computer implemented means for providing object services built over the rich data model.