Techniques for performing file operations involving a link at a database management system

• US 20070130157A1
• Filed: 12/05/2005
• Published: 06/07/2007
• Est. Priority Date: 12/05/2005
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Oracle International Corporation (Oracle Corporation)
• Original Assignee: Oracle International Corporation (Oracle Corporation)
• Inventors: Sedlar, Eric, Jain, Namit, Murthy, Ravi, Agarwal, Nipun, Pannala, Syam, Kapoor, Vikram
• Granted Patent: US 7,610,304 B2
• Time in Patent Office: Days
• US Class Current: 1/1
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 16/16 File or folder operations, e.g. details of user interfaces specifically adapted to file systems
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 16/24562 Pointer or reference processing operations
• CPC Class Codes: Y10S 707/99931 Database or file accessing
• CPC Class Codes: Y10S 707/99943 Generating database or data structure, e.g. via user interface

Abstract

A method and apparatus for performing file system operations involving a link is provided. A request to perform a file system operation involving a link is received from a client at a database server. The link may establish a relationship a source resource has to a target resource. The source resource and the target resource may be stored within a repository implemented by a storage medium, such as a database. The database server may perform the file system operation by storing, in the database, one or more link records that identifies the link between the first resource and the second resource. File system operations, such as a NFS file system operation, which involve links may be performed at a database management system.

Claims

1. A method comprising performing a machine-executed operation involving instructions, wherein the machine-executed operation is at least one of:

A) sending said instructions over transmission media;

B) receiving said instructions over transmission media;

C) storing said instructions onto a machine-readable storage medium; and

D) executing the instructions;

wherein said instructions are instructions which, when executed by one or more processors, cause;

receiving, at a database server, a request to perform a file system operation involving a link from a source resource to a target resource, wherein the source resource is stored within a repository implemented by a database; and

the server performing the file system operation by accessing, in the database, one or more link records to carry out the request file system operation.

2. The method of claim 1, wherein at least a portion of said link records are stored in the database in a structure separate from said first resource and said second resource.

3. The method of claim 1, wherein said link records are stored in the database in a structure also storing either said first resource or said second resource.

4. The method of claim 1, wherein the file system operation is a NFS file system operation to create a symbolic link, and wherein the instructions, when executed by the one or more processors, further cause:

accessing configuration information to determine that the NFS file system should be processed to create a weak link and not a symbolic link.

5. The method of claim 4, wherein the configuration information is an attribute of the source resource or the target resource.

6. The method of claim 4, wherein the configuration information describes how to interpret any requests, received by the database server, for the creation of a symbolic link.

7. The method of claim 1, wherein the file system operation specifies the creation of the link, wherein accessing the one or more link records includes adding a new link record to the one or more link records, and wherein the new link record identifying characteristics about the link.

8. The method of claim 1, wherein the instructions, when executed by the one or more processors, further cause:

in response to receiving a second request, at the database server, to delete the link from the repository, deleting the link from the repository by removing a particular link record, associated with the link, from the one or more link records.

9. The method of claim 1, wherein the instructions, when executed by the one or more processors, further cause:

in response to receiving a second request, from a client, to read the target resource associated with the link, retrieving the target resource and a filehandle for the target resource from the repository; and

the database server transmitting target resource and the filehandle to the client.