Data Query and Location Through a Central Ontology Model

• US 20090077051A1
• Filed: 10/17/2008
• Published: 03/19/2009
• Est. Priority Date: 05/25/2001
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: International Business Machines Corporation
• Original Assignee: International Business Machines Corporation
• Inventors: Meir, Rannen, Schreiber, Marcel Zvi, Marchant, Hayden, Edelstein, Joseph
• Granted Patent: US 8,060,531 B2
• Time in Patent Office: Days
• US Class Current: 1/1
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 16/25 Integrating or interfacing systems involving database management systems
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 16/84 Mapping; Conversion
• CPC Class Codes: Y10S 707/99943 Generating database or data structure, e.g. via user interface
• CPC Class Codes: Y10S 707/99944 Object-oriented database structure

Abstract

A data query system including a first storage medium including a data schema having a data schema query language associated therewith, a second storage medium including an ontology model including classes and properties, the ontology model having an ontology query language associated therewith, wherein constructs of the database schema are mapped to corresponding classes, properties or compositions of properties of the ontology model, and an ontology query processor generating a query expressed in the data schema query language corresponding to a specified query expressed in the ontology query language. A method is also described and claimed.

Claims

1. A data query system comprising:

a first storage medium including a data schema having a data schema query language associated therewith;

a second storage medium including an ontology model including classes and properties, the ontology model having an ontology query language associated therewith, wherein constructs of the data schema are mapped to corresponding classes, properties or compositions of properties of the ontology model; and

an ontology query processor generating a query expressed in the data schema query language corresponding to a specified query expressed in the ontology query language, providing an additional data schema having an additional data schema query language associated therewith, wherein constructs of the additional data schema are also mapped to corresponding classes, properties or compositions of properties of the ontology model, and generating a query expressed in the additional data schema query language corresponding to the query expressed in the ontology query language.

4. The data query system of claim 1 wherein said first storage medium also provides at least one data source conforming to the data schema, and further comprising a database query processor executing the query expressed in the data schema query language on the at least one data source.

5. The data query system of claim 1 wherein the specified query expressed in the ontology query language includes a clause indicating at least one subject class to which a query applies.

6. The data query system of claim 5 wherein the specified query expressed in the ontology query language includes at least one property or composition of properties defined on the at least one subject class, values of which are to be displayed.

7. The data query system of claim 6 wherein at least one of the at least one property or composition of properties defined on the at least one subject class, are inherited from at least one property or composition of properties defined on a superclass of the subject class.

8. The data query system of claim 5 wherein the specified query expressed in the ontology query language includes at least one condition that must be satisfied by at least one value of a property or composition of properties defined on the at least one subject class.

9. The data query system of claim 8 wherein the property or composition of properties defined on the at least one subject class, is inherited from a property or composition of properties defined on a superclass of the subject class.

10. The data query system of claim 1 further comprising an ontology query builder generating a query expressed in the ontology query language.

11. The data query system of claim 10 wherein said ontology query builder enables a user to specify at least one subject class to which the query applies.

12. The data query system of claim 11 wherein said query builder enables a user to specify at least one property or composition of properties defined on the at least one subject class, values of which are to be displayed.

13. The data query system of claim 12 wherein at least one of the at least one property or composition of properties defined on the at least one subject class, are inherited from at least one property or composition of properties defined on a superclass of the subject class.

14. The data query system of claim 11 wherein said query builder enables a user to specify at least one condition that must be satisfied by at least one value of a property or composition of properties defined on the at least one subject class.

15. The data query system of claim 14 wherein the property or composition of properties defined on the at least one subject class, is inherited from a property or composition of properties defined on a superclass of the subject class.

16. The data query system of claim 1 wherein the data schema is a relational database schema, the constructs of which are tables and fields, and wherein the data schema query language is SQL.

17. The data query system of claim 1 wherein the data schema is an XML schema, the constructs of which are complex types, elements and attributes, and wherein the data schema query language is XQuery.

18. The data query system of claim 1 wherein the data schema is a COBOL Copy Book, the constructs of which are group items and elementary items.

19. The data query system of claim 1 wherein the data schema is an entity-relationship model.

20. The data query system of claim 1 further comprising a display processor generating a visual display of the query expressed in the data schema query language.

21. The data query system of claim 20 wherein the visual display includes a display of the query expressed in the ontology query language.

2-3. -3. (canceled)

22-114. -114. (canceled)

115. A computer readable medium containing executable computer program instructions which, when executed on a processing system, cause the processing system to perform a method for data query comprising:

providing an ontology model including classes and properties, the ontology model having an ontology query language associated therewith, wherein constructs of a data schema having a data schema query language associated therewith are mapped to corresponding classes, properties or compositions of properties of the ontology model;

generating a query expressed in the data schema query language corresponding to a query expressed in the ontology query language;

providing an additional data schema having an additional data schema query language associated Therewith, wherein constructs of the additional data schema are also mapped to corresponding classes, properties or compositions of properties of the ontology model; and

generating a query expressed in the additional data schema query language corresponding to the query expressed in the ontology query language.

116-166. -166. (canceled)