Method and system for data retrieval using a product information search engine

• US 20070244865A1
• Filed: 04/17/2006
• Published: 10/18/2007
• Est. Priority Date: 04/17/2006
• Status: Abandoned Application

• Current Assignee: International Business Machines Corporation
• Original Assignee: International Business Machines Corporation
• Inventors: Jin, Maobing, Pominville, Patrice, Mathurin, Wolfgang, Prophete, Didier, Gordon, Justin, Kundi, Kamran, See, Patrick
• Application Number:
  US11/406,223
• Publication Number:
  US 20070244865A1
• Time in Patent Office: Days
• US Class Current: 1/1
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 16/252 between a Database Management System and a front-end application

Abstract

A system for searching for data in a database. A query search is received in a query language using objects. The query search includes a number of objects having attributes. A set of hybrid query instructions is generated using the number of objects having attributes for searching relational and hierarchical data in the database. In response to generating the set of hybrid query instructions recognized by the database for searching data, the set of hybrid instructions are executed to obtain a result from the database.

Claims

1. A computer program product for searching for data in a database, the computer program product comprising:

a computer usable medium having computer usable program code embodied therein, the computer usable medium comprising;

computer usable program code for receiving a query search in a query language using objects, wherein the query search includes a number of objects having attributes;

computer usable program code for generating a set of hybrid query instructions using the number of objects having attributes for searching relational and hierarchical data in the database; and

computer usable program code, responsive to generating the set of hybrid query instructions recognized by the database for searching data, for executing the set of hybrid instructions to obtain a result from the database.

2. The computer program product of claim 1, wherein the computer usable program code, responsive to generating the set of hybrid query instructions recognized by the database for searching data, for executing the set of hybrid instructions to obtain a result from the database comprises:

computer usable program code for searching indexed data in the database using the set of hybrid instructions to retrieve the data; and

computer usable program code for searching non-indexed data in the database using the set of hybrid instructions to retrieve the data.

3. The computer program product of claim 1, wherein each hybrid instruction in the set of hybrid instructions comprises a query to indexed data or a query to non-indexed data.

4. The computer program product of claim 1, wherein the computer usable program code for generating a set of hybrid query instructions using the number of objects having attributes for searching relational and hierarchical data in the database comprises:

computer usable program code for creating an abstract syntax tree from the objects in the query search

computer usable program code for mapping the attributes for the number of objects in the abstract syntax tree to data in the database to form a mapped abstract syntax tree; and

computer usable program code for creating a set of queries using the mapped abstract syntax tree to search at least one of indexed data and non-indexed data in the database, wherein the queries are recognized by the database.

5. A computer implemented method for retrieving product information data, the computer implemented method comprising:

responsive to receiving a query search in a product information management domain specific query language to retrieve product information data, generating a set of hybrid query instructions using one or more product information management system objects defined by the product information management domain specific query language, wherein the one or more product information management system objects contain attributes within the product information management domain specific query language for searching relational and hierarchical product information data;

responsive to generating the set of hybrid query instructions, querying indexed product information data within a database using the set of hybrid query instructions to retrieve the product information data; and

responsive to retrieving the product information data, returning a result set.

6. The computer implemented method of claim 5, further comprising:

responsive to generating the set of hybrid query instructions, searching non-indexed product information data within the database to retrieve the product information data if non-indexed product information data is discovered after the indexed product information data query is performed.

7. The computer implemented method of claim 6, further comprising:

parsing the query search to form a parsed query search;

creating an abstract syntax tree from the parsed query search;

populating the abstract syntax tree with attributes from the one or more product information management system objects; and

mapping the attributes in the abstract syntax tree to the product information data to generate the set of hybrid query instructions.

8. The computer implemented method of claim 5, wherein the product information management domain specific query language is a hybrid query language that includes structured query language and object-oriented query language.

9. The computer implemented method of claim 8, wherein the structured query language is used to search the indexed product information data, and wherein the object-oriented query language is used to search the non-indexed product information data.

10. The computer implemented method of claim 7, wherein the generating, querying, returning, parsing, creating, populating, and mapping steps are executed by a search engine.

11. The computer implemented method of claim 10, wherein the search engine uses a query script operation to perform the generating, querying, and returning steps.

12. The computer implemented method of claim 10, wherein the search engine creates the abstract syntax tree.

13. The computer implemented method of claim 10, wherein the search engine uses a syntax parser to parse the query search to create the abstract syntax tree.

14. The computer implemented method of claim 13, wherein the syntax parser determines if the query search contains syntax errors, and wherein the search engine sends an error report if the query search contains syntax errors.

15. The computer implemented method of claim 10, wherein the search engine resides in a product information management system.

16. The computer implemented method of claim 6, wherein the indexed product information data resides in a database, and wherein the non-indexed product information data resides in a memory.

17. The computer implemented method of claim 5, wherein the set of hybrid query instructions includes at least one of a dot notation or a hashtable notation.

18. A computer program product for retrieving product information data, the computer program product comprising:

a computer usable medium having computer usable program code embodied therein, the computer usable medium comprising;

computer usable program code configured to generate a set of hybrid query instructions using one or more product information management system objects defined by the product information management domain specific query language, wherein the one or more product information management system objects contain attributes within the product information management domain specific query language for searching relational and hierarchical product information data in response to receiving a query search to retrieve product information data;

computer usable program code configured to query indexed product information data within a database using the set of hybrid query instructions to retrieve the product information data in response to generating the set of hybrid query instructions; and

computer usable program code configured to return a result set in response to retrieving the product information data.

19. The computer program product of claim 18, further comprising:

computer usable program code configured to search non-indexed product information data within the database to retrieve the product information data if non-indexed product information data is discovered after the indexed product information data query is performed in response to generating the set of hybrid query instructions.

20. The computer program product of claim 19, further comprising:

computer usable program code configured to parse the query search to form a parsed query search;

computer usable program code configured to create an abstract syntax tree from the parsed query search;

computer usable program code configured to populate the abstract syntax tree with attributes from the one or more product information management system objects; and

computer usable program code configured to map the attributes in the abstract syntax tree to the product information data to generate the set of hybrid query instructions.