Method and apparatus for synchronizing of databases connected by wireless interface

• US 20080005200A1
• Filed: 06/29/2006
• Published: 01/03/2008
• Est. Priority Date: 06/29/2006
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Malikie Innovations Limited (Key Patent Innovations Limited)
• Original Assignee: Blackberry Limited
• Inventors: Tysowski, Piotr K., Hardy, Michael T.
• Granted Patent: US 7,478,118 B2
• Time in Patent Office: Days
• US Class Current: 707/204
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 16/27 Replication, distribution or synchronisation of data between databases or within a distributed database system; Distributed database system architectures therefor
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 67/1095 Replication or mirroring of data, e.g. scheduling or transport for data synchronisation between network nodes
• CPC Class Codes: Y10S 707/99953 Recoverability
• CPC Class Codes: Y10S 707/99955 Archiving or backup

Abstract

A method for synchronizing databases at a portable electronic device with corresponding databases at a second electronic device, the method including determining which one of the databases at the portable electronic device is to be synchronized based on a directed acyclic graph representing database dependencies, and synchronizing the one of the databases at the portable electronic device with a corresponding one of the databases at the second electronic device.

Claims

1. A method for synchronizing databases at a portable electronic device with corresponding databases at a second electronic device, the method comprising:

determining which one of said databases at said portable electronic device is to be synchronized based on a directed acyclic graph representing database dependencies; and

synchronizing said one of said databases at said portable electronic device with a corresponding one of said databases at said second electronic device;

determining a next one of said databases at said portable electronic device to be synchronized based on said directed acyclic graph;

synchronizing said next one of said databases at said portable electronic device with a corresponding next one of said databases at said second electronic device; and

repeating determining said next one of said databases and synchronizing said next one of said databases until all said databases at said portable electronic device are synchronized with said corresponding databases at said second electronic device.

2. The method according to claim 1, wherein determining which one of said databases at said portable electronic device is to be synchronized comprises determining based on database dependencies and based on weighting factors associated with said databases at said portable electronic device.

3. The method according to claim 1, wherein said databases are represented as nodes of said directed acyclic graph and database dependencies are represented by edges of said directed acyclic graph.

4. The method according to claim 3, wherein said databases are weighted in said directed acyclic graph by respective assigned values.

5. The method according to claim 4, wherein determining which one of said databases at said portable electronic device is to be synchronized comprises determining based first on said database dependencies and second on said assigned values.

6. The method according to claim 4, wherein said values are representative of one of an estimation of time involved in synchronizing respective databases, a size of said respective databases, and a number of data records of said respective databases.

7. An electronic device comprising:

at least one memory for storing a plurality of databases and a directed acyclic graph representing database dependencies;

a processor for determining which one of said databases is to be synchronized based on said directed acyclic graph, initiating synchronization of said one of said databases with a corresponding database at a second electronic device, determining a next one of said databases to be synchronized based on said directed acyclic graph, initiating synchronization of said next one of said databases with a corresponding next database at said second electronic device, and repeating determining said next one of said databases and initiating synchronization of said next one of said databases until all said databases are synchronized with corresponding databases at said second electronic device.

8. The electronic device according to claim 7, wherein said processor determines said one of said databases at said portable electronic device to be synchronized based on database dependencies and based on weighting factors associated with said databases at said portable electronic device.

9. The electronic device according to claim 7, wherein said plurality of databases are represented as nodes of said directed acyclic graph and database dependencies are represented by edges of said directed acyclic graph.

10. The electronic device according to claim 9, wherein said databases are weighted in said directed acyclic graph by respective assigned values.

11. The electronic device according to claim 10, wherein determining which one of said databases at said portable electronic device is to be synchronized comprises determining based first on said database dependencies and second on said assigned values.

12. The electronic device according to claim 10, wherein said values are representative of one of an estimation of time involved in synchronizing respective ones of said databases, a size of said respective ones of said databases, and a number of data records of said respective ones of said database.

13. A computer-readable medium having computer readable code embodied therein for:

determining which one of said databases at said portable electronic device is to be synchronized based on a directed acyclic graph representing database dependencies;

synchronizing said one of said databases at said portable electronic device with a corresponding one of said databases at said second electronic device;

determining a next one of said databases at said portable electronic device to be synchronized based on said directed acyclic graph;

synchronizing said next one of said databases at said portable electronic device with a corresponding next one of said databases at said second electronic device; and

repeating determining said next one of said databases and synchronizing said next one of said databases until all said databases at said portable electronic device are synchronized with said corresponding databases at said second electronic device.