DATABASE PART CREATION, MERGE AND REUSE

• US 20090132576A1
• Filed: 11/20/2007
• Published: 05/21/2009
• Est. Priority Date: 11/20/2007
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Microsoft Technology Licensing LLC (Microsoft Corporation)
• Original Assignee: Microsoft Corporation
• Inventors: Mital, Vijal, Poozhiyil, Suraj, Gardner, Scott T., Coggins, Robert E., Bould, Jason A., McCormack, Michael J., Miller, Andrew R., Chauhan, Sumit, Conger, David Jon
• Granted Patent: US 7,870,164 B2
• Time in Patent Office: Days
• US Class Current: 1/1
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 16/21 Design, administration or maintenance of databases
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 16/2456 Join operations

Abstract

Embodiments are provided to merge, manage, create, and reuse database parts in a computer system. Database parts may include database tables, datatypes, field combinations or entire databases. A selection of a database part is received by a database software application executing on a computer system. The application may be configured to check for metadata associated with the database part to identify an action property. If, after checking for the metadata, a merge action property is identified, then the application may check for a metadata property associated with a database table. If a merge action associated with the database table is identified, then the application may merge the database part with the database table in the database. The application may also be configured to generate a user interface for creating database parts using database tables and for creating a database part by saving a database.

Claims

1. A method in a computer system for merging database parts into a database, comprising:

receiving a selection of a database part, the database part comprising a table;

checking for metadata associated with the database part to identify an action property;

if, after checking for the metadata, a merge action property is identified, then determining from the metadata, if a table type is set for the database part;

if it is determined that a table type is set for the database part then determining whether the table type matches a target table type for the at least one database table in the database; and

if the table type matches the target table type, merging the database part with the at least one database table in the database.

2. The method of claim 1 further comprising if, after checking for the metadata, an action property is not identified, then receiving a selection to perform at least one of importing the database part into the database and junctioning the database part with the at least one database table in the database.

3. The method of claim 1 further comprising if it is determined that the table type is not set for the database part, then junctioning the database part with the at least one database table in the database.

4. The method of claim 1 further comprising if the table type does not match a target table type for the at least one database table in the database, then receiving a selection to perform at least one of importing the database part into the database and junctioning the at database part with the at least one database table in the database.

5. The method of claim 1 further comprising if, after checking for the metadata, a junction action property is identified, then junctioning the database part with the at least one database table in the database.

6. The method of claim 1 further comprising if, after checking for the metadata, an import action property is identified, then importing the database part with the at least one database table in the database.

7. The method of claim 1, wherein receiving a selection of a database part comprises receiving a selection of a database template file.

8. The method of claim 1, wherein checking for metadata associated with the database part to identify an action property comprises checking XML data associated with the database part.

9. The method of claim 1, wherein merging the database part with the at least one database table comprises creating a new database table having a relationship with the database part and the at least one database table.

10. The method of claim 5, wherein Functioning the database part with the at least one database table in the database comprises establishing a relationship between the database part and the at least one database table in the database.

11. The method of claim 2, wherein merging the database part with the at least one database table in the database comprises automatically merging the database part with the at least one database table in the database.

12. The method of claim 1, wherein determining whether the table type matches a target table type for the at least one database table in the database comprises determining whether the table type matches a target table type for a plurality of database tables in the database.

13. The method of claim 12, wherein if the table type matches a target table type for a plurality of database tables in the database, then receiving a selection of one of the plurality of database tables to merge with the database part.

14. A system of creating and managing database parts, comprising:

a memory for storing executable program code; and

a processor, functionally coupled to the memory, the processor being responsive to computer-executable instructions contained in the program code and operative;

to display a user interface comprising fields for receiving instructions associated with creating a database part;

to receive instructions in the user interface to create a database part having a relationship with at least one database table, the instructions including at least a name of the database part, an icon for the database part, and a category for the database part; and

to save a file comprising the received instructions to create the database part.

15. The system of claim 14, wherein the processor is further operative to receive an instruction in the user interface to create an instantiation form associated with the database part, wherein the instantiation form is utilized to insert and remove database fields and data in the database part.

16. The system of claim 14, wherein the processor is further operative to receive, in the user interface, a selection of a priority table utilized in creating relationships with data when the database part is imported into the database.

17. The system of claim 14, wherein the processor in saving a file comprising the received instructions to create the database part is operative to save the file in a trusted directory, the trusted directory comprising a directory of safe templates which are imported into trusted databases.

18. The system of claim 14, wherein the processor in saving a file comprising the received instructions to create the database part is operative to create a database template.

19. A computer-readable storage medium containing computer executable instructions which, when executed on a computer, will cause the computer to perform a method for displaying on a display device a user interface for creating a database part from a database, comprising:

displaying a database gallery representative of a database in the user interface;

displaying a selectable functionality control proximate to the gallery; and

receiving a selection of the selectable functionality control to save the database as a new database part.

20. The computer-readable storage medium of claim 19, wherein displaying a database gallery in the user interface comprises displaying at least one data type and at least one database table associated with the at least one data type in the user interface.