Auditing Tool For a Legacy Software Modernization System

• US 20090164492A1
• Filed: 12/21/2007
• Published: 06/25/2009
• Est. Priority Date: 12/21/2007
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: NTT DATA Canada, Inc. (Nippon Telegraph and Telephone Corporation)
• Original Assignee: MAKE Technologies, Inc. (Dell Technologies Inc.)
• Inventors: Green, David, Cotichini, Christian, White, Michael E.F.
• Granted Patent: US 8,150,896 B2
• Time in Patent Office: Days
• US Class Current: 1/1
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 16/214 Database migration support

Abstract

A database modernization auditing system and method is disclosed. One embodiment comprises a method for loading a legacy data object, transforming the legacy data object into a modern data object according to a rule set, wherein transforming the legacy data object into the modern data object further includes abstracting at least a portion of the legacy data object into semantic information and transforming the semantic information into the modern data object, and generating an audit log entry corresponding to an error that occurs while transforming the semantic information into the modern data object, wherein the audit log entry contains a unique identifier that relates the audit log entry with the legacy data object.

Claims

1. A database modernization auditing method, comprising:

loading a legacy data object;

transforming the legacy data object into a modern data object according to a rule set, wherein transforming the legacy data object into the modern data object further includes abstracting at least a portion of the legacy data object into semantic information and transforming the semantic information into the modern data object; and

generating an audit log entry corresponding to an error that occurs while transforming the semantic information into the modern data object, wherein the audit log entry contains a unique identifier that relates the audit log entry with the legacy data object.

2. The database modernization auditing method of claim 1, wherein the legacy data object is one of a field, a data record, an arbitrarily defined set of data records, or an entire database.

3. The database modernization auditing method of claim 1, wherein the rule set includes at least one of a record-level transformation rule, a field level rule, a source expression, and a caster.

4. The database modernization auditing method of claim 3, wherein if the rule set includes more than one of a record-level transformation rule, a field level rule, a source expression, and a caster, the method further comprising generating an audit log entry corresponding to a plurality of errors that occur while transforming the semantic information into the modern data object, wherein the audit log can be viewed at the level of each rule in the rule set.

5. The database modernization auditing method of claim 1, further comprising changing rules in the rule set based upon an audit log entry.

6. The database modernization auditing method of claim 1, further comprising at least one of detecting a dynamic change in a legacy program that contained the legacy data object and detecting an error introduced by a change in the rule set.

7. The database modernization auditing method of claim 1, further comprising using an audit tool to view or adjust components of the database modernization auditing method.

8. A computer-readable medium comprising computer-executable instructions for auditing a database modernization, the instructions being executable by a modernization system to:

load a legacy data object;

transform the legacy data object into a modern data object according to a rule set, wherein to transform the legacy data object into the modern data object further includes instructions to abstract at least a portion of the legacy data object into semantic information and instructions to transform the semantic information into the modern data object; and

generate an audit log entry corresponding to an error in transforming the semantic information into the modern data object, wherein the audit log entry contains a unique identifier that relates the audit log entry with the legacy data object.

9. The computer-readable medium of claim 8, wherein the legacy data object is one of a field, a data record, an arbitrarily defined set of data records, or an entire database.

10. The computer-readable medium of claim 8, wherein the rule set includes at least one of a record-level transformation rule, a field level rule, a source expression, and a caster.

11. The computer-readable medium of claim 10, wherein if the rule set includes more than one of a record-level transformation rule, a field level rule, a source expression, and a caster, the medium further comprising instructions for generating an audit log entry corresponding to a plurality of errors that occur while transforming the semantic information into the modern data object, wherein the audit log can be viewed at the level of each rule in the rule set.

12. The computer-readable medium of claim 8, further comprising instructions for changing rules in the rule set based upon an audit log entry.

13. The computer-readable medium of claim 12, further comprising instructions to provide an audit tool to view or adjust components of the rule set.

14. The computer-readable medium of claim 8, further comprising instructions for at least one of detecting a dynamic change in a legacy program that contained the legacy data object and detecting an error introduced by a change in the rule set.

15. A database modernization auditing system, comprising:

a loader to provide a legacy data object;

a transformer coupled with the loader, the transformer to receive the legacy data object from the loader and transform the legacy data object into a modern data object according to a rule set, the transformer further to abstract at least a portion of the legacy data object into semantic information and transform the semantic information into a modern data object, and to generate an audit log entry corresponding to an error in transforming the semantic information into the modern data object, wherein the audit log entry contains a unique identifier that relates the audit log entry with the legacy data object.

16. The database modernization auditing system of claim 15, wherein the legacy data object is one of a field, a data record, an arbitrarily defined set of data records, or an entire database.

17. The database modernization auditing system of claim 15, wherein the rule set includes at least one of a record-level transformation rule, a field level rule, a source expression, and a caster.

18. The database modernization auditing system of claim 17, wherein if the rule set includes more than one of a record-level transformation rule, a field level rule, a source expression, and a caster, the loader being further configured to generate an audit log entry corresponding to a plurality of errors that occur while transforming the semantic information into the modern data object, wherein the audit log can be viewed at the level of each rule in the rule set.

19. The database modernization auditing system of claim 15, further comprising means for changing rules in the rule set based upon an audit log entry.

20. The database modernization auditing system of claim 15, further comprising at least one of means for detecting a dynamic change in a legacy program that contained the legacy data object and means for detecting an error introduced by a change in the rule set.

21. The database modernization auditing system of claim 15, further comprising an audit tool to view or adjust components of the database modernization auditing system.