SCHEMA UPDATING FOR SYNCHRONIZING DATABASES CONNECTED BY WIRELESS INTERFACE

• US 20080077632A1
• Filed: 09/22/2006
• Published: 03/27/2008
• Est. Priority Date: 09/22/2006
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Malikie Innovations Limited (Key Patent Innovations Limited)
• Original Assignee: Research In Motion Limited (Blackberry Limited)
• Inventors: MAY, Darrell R., TYSOWSKI, Piotr K.
• Granted Patent: US 7,730,028 B2
• Time in Patent Office: Days
• US Class Current: 707/204
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 16/211 Schema design and management
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 16/2358 Change logging, detection, and notification replication G06F16/27
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 67/1095 Replication or mirroring of data, e.g. scheduling or transport for data synchronisation between network nodes

Abstract

A method of updating a database, including data records, to accord with an updated schema. The method includes obtaining, at a portable electronic device, the updated schema associated with the database. If a field is deleted in the updated schema, the data records are updated by deleting the field from each of the data records. An update command is transmitted from the portable electronic device for updating the database schema for a corresponding backup database at a server.

Claims

1. A method of updating a database, including data records, to accord with an updated schema, the method comprising:

obtaining at a portable electronic device the updated schema associated with the database;

updating the data records by deleting a field from each of the data records if the field is deleted in the updated schema;

transmitting an update command from said portable electronic device for updating the database schema for a corresponding backup database at a server and a mapping between field tags of the updated schema and the field tags in a messaging application programming interface (MAPI).

2. The method of updating a database according to claim 1 comprising updating the data records, if a field is modified in the updated schema, by one of deleting data from the modified field for each of the data records and modifying the field data for each of the data records.

3. The method of updating a database according to claim 1, comprising carrying out a comparison of the updated schema with a previous schema to determine schema changes and wherein said updating the data records comprises updating data records based on the comparison.

4. The method of updating a database according to claim 3, wherein said previous schema is stored in memory at the portable electronic device.

5. The method of updating a database according to claim 1, wherein transmitting an update command comprises transmitting an update command for updating backup data records in said corresponding backup database if a field is deleted in the updated schema.

6. The method of updating a database according to claim 5, wherein transmitting an update command comprises transmitting an update command for updating backup data records in said corresponding backup database if a field is modified in the updated schema.

7. The method of updating a database according to claim 1, wherein said obtaining at a portable electronic device the updated schema includes obtaining the mapping between field tags of the updated schema and field tags in a messaging application programming interface (MAPI).

8. The method of updating a database according to claim 1, comprising storing said updated schema at the portable electronic device.

9. The method according to claim 1, comprising:

receiving at the server the update command from the portable electronic device for updating the database schema for a corresponding backup database and the mapping between field tags of the updated schema and the field tags in the MAPI; and

updating the backup data records by deleting a field from each of the backup data records if the field is deleted in the updated schema.

10. The method according to claim 9 comprising updating the backup data records, if a field is modified in the updated schema, by one of:

deleting data from the modified field for each of the backup data records and modifying the field data for each of the backup data records.

11. The method according to claim 9, comprising storing said updated schema in association with said backup database.

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

obtaining at a portable electronic device an updated schema associated with a database including data records;

updating the data records by deleting a field from each of the data records if the field is deleted in the updated schema; and

transmitting an update command from said portable electronic device for updating the database schema for a corresponding backup database at a server and a mapping between field tags of the updated schema and the field tags in a messaging application programming interface (MAPI).

13. A portable electronic device comprising:

an input for receiving an updated schema associated with a database;

a memory for storing data records in said database;

a processor, connected to the input and the memory, for updating data records of the database, based on the updated schema, by deleting the field from each of the data records if a field is deleted in the updated schema; and

a transmitter, connected to the processor, for transmitting an update command from said portable electronic device for updating a database schema for a corresponding backup database at a server and a mapping between field tags of the updated schema and the field tags in a messaging application programming interface (MAPI).

14. The portable electronic device according to claim 13 wherein said input comprises at least one of a user input device, a receiver, and a connector.