COMPOSITIONAL QUERY COMPREHENSIONS

• US 20080189258A1
• Filed: 02/05/2007
• Published: 08/07/2008
• Est. Priority Date: 02/05/2007
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Microsoft Technology Licensing LLC (Microsoft Corporation)
• Original Assignee: Microsoft Corporation
• Inventors: Zabokritski, Eugueni, Vick, Paul A., Silver, Amanda K., Tsingauz, Aleksey V., Miejer, Henricus Johannes Maria
• Granted Patent: US 7,865,533 B2
• Time in Patent Office: Days
• US Class Current: 707/4
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 16/9032 Query formulation

Abstract

The claimed subject matter relates to an architecture that can facilitate query comprehension that are constructed in a compositional manner. In accordance therewith, the query comprehensions can be assembled together in virtually in order without common requirements that force query operators of a query expression to follow ordering/syntactic rules. In addition, the architecture can provide for query expressions that arbitrarily composable and which can be terminated at any point. If the query expression terminates without a Select or Return clause at the end, the architecture can facilitate generation of an implicit Select or Return, and output results.

Claims

1. A computer-implemented system that facilitates composable and/or extensible query comprehensions, comprising:

a transformation component that receives initialization data and a set of query clauses in a sequence characterized by a query expression, the transformation component resolves values of a control variable in scope for each query clause, respectively, and in a manner that is independent of an ordering of the sequence; and

a comprehension component that manages a scope of the control variable.

2. The system of claim 1, the initization data includes a first control variable and at least one of a collection or an expression.

3. The system of claim 1, the transformation component resolves the values of the control variable based upon a type of query clause received.

4. The system of claim 1, the comprehension component declares a new control variable and bring the new control variable in scope based upon a type of query clause received.

6. The system of claim 1, the comprehension component takes an extant control variable out of scope based upon a type of query clause received.

7. The system of claim 1, the comprehension component, based upon a type of query clause received, declares and scopes a new control variable and brings an extant control variable in scope for a particular set of subsequent query clauses.

8. The system of claim 1, the comprehension component takes all extant control variables out of scope based upon a type of query clause received.

9. The system of claim 1, the comprehension component generates an alias for a tuple of an extant control variable based upon a type of query clause received.

10. The system of claim 1, the transformation component outputs results of a current query clause to a next query clause in the sequence.

11. The system of claim 10, the transformation component passes control variables in scope to the next query clause.

12. The system of claim 1, the set of query clauses is not required to include an explicit termination query clause.

13. The system of claim 1, the transformation component is configured to append an implicit termination clause to each query clause received.

14. The system of claim 13, the implicit termination clause facilitates return of the values of the control variable when only one control variable is in scope.

15. The system of claim 13, the implicit termination clause facilitates return of a name-value pair tuple for each control variable when more than one control variable is in scope.

16. The system of claim 1, the transformation component is configured to allow arbitrary nesting of sets of query clauses.

17. The system of claim 1, the transformation component evaluates a query clause based upon an expected type associated with the query clause.

18. The system of claim 1, the transformation component is configured to receive multiple collections and output a single collection with control variables associated with the multiple collections merged according to a type of query clause.

5. The system of claim 5, the new control variable is associated with at least one of a collection or a computed expression.

19. A computer-implemented method for facilitating construction of query comprehensions in a compositional manner, comprising:

obtaining a collection and a control variable associated with the collection;

receiving in succession a current query clause from a set of query clauses included in a query expression without placing syntactical ordering restrictions on the expression;

modifying the collection based upon the current query clause; and

providing access to control variables that are in scope for the current query clause, the access is provided to a next query clause.

20. A computer-implemented system for facilitating compositional query comprehensions, comprising:

computer-implemented means for acquiring a collection or an expression, and a control variable associated with the collection or the expression;

computer-implemented means for receiving a present query clause from a sequence of query clauses, the sequence is not required to conform to a predefined order;

computer-implemented means for transforming the collection based upon the present query clause; and

computer-implemented means for granting a next query clause access to control variables in scope for the present query clause.