Tracking changes to a business object

• US 20090193054A1
• Filed: 05/09/2008
• Published: 07/30/2009
• Est. Priority Date: 01/24/2008
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Oracle International Corporation (Oracle Corporation)
• Original Assignee: Oracle International Corporation (Oracle Corporation)
• Inventors: Puri, Srinivasulu, Durgada, Savita, Karimisetty, Srikanth
• Granted Patent: US 8,234,248 B2
• Time in Patent Office: Days
• US Class Current: 1/1
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 16/2358 Change logging, detection, and notification replication G06F16/27
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 16/86 Mapping to a database

Abstract

Systems, methods, and other embodiments associated with database auditing are described. One example method includes generating a first extensible markup language (XML) document using data from a database object. A database object may include data from multiple relational data tables. The method includes generating a second XML document in response to an event causing a change to the database object. The method also includes comparing the first and second XML documents to identify changed values. The method also includes displaying the identified changes.

Claims

1. A computer-implemented method, comprising:

generating a first extensible markup language (XML) document using data from a database object, the first XML document representing a pre-change state of the database object;

in response to an event causing a change to the database object, generating a second XML document using data from the database object, the second XML document representing a post-change state of the database object;

comparing the first and second XML documents to identify changed values; and

displaying the identified changed values.

2. The computer-implemented method of claim 1, where the comparing includes generating notations within the second XML document that identify the changed values.

3. The computer-implemented method of claim 1, where the displaying includes reconstructing a database object from the second XML document having the changed values distinguished.

4. A computer-implemented method, comprising:

executing a batch process for a drug manufacturing process;

collecting data from the executing batch process at various times and storing the data into a database;

monitoring the batch process and capturing a snapshot of the database at a plurality of times, where each snapshot represents the database in a different state;

generating an extensible markup language (XML) document from each of the snapshots of the database, the XML document representing data of the corresponding state of the database;

storing each of the XML documents in a computer-readable medium.

5. The computer-implemented method of claim 4, including comparing a selected first XML document and a selected second XML document to identify changed data values, the changed data values representing changes made to the database from the associated states of the first and second XML documents.

6. A system, comprising:

a database that includes one or more database objects, where a database object includes data associated with one or more relational data tables;

a document logic to generate a state document upon detecting a change to one of the one or more database objects, where a state document includes state data describing a state of a database object, where the state data is independent of the structure and arrangement of the database object;

a comparison logic to generate a differences document that includes data describing content differences between two or more state documents; and

an output logic to output data from the differences document.

7. The system of claim 6, where a state document is an extensible markup language (XML) document.

8. The system of claim 7, where the differences document is an XML document.

9. The system of claim 8, where the comparison logic generates the differences document by merging the two or more state documents.

10. The system of claim 9, including a data store to store state documents, and where state data describing a current state of a database object is stored in a state document in the database.

11. The system of claim 6, where the change to the database object is a result of a user driven query.

12. The system of claim 6, where the change to the database object is a result of a logic driven query.

13. The system of claim 9, where the comparison logic generates the differences document upon receipt of a user driven request.

14. The system of claim 9, where the comparison logic generates the differences document upon receipt of a logic driven request.

15. The system of claim 10, where the output logic displays the output data using a graphical user interface.

16. The system of claim 10, where the output logic stores data from the differences document to a machine readable medium.

17. The system of claim 10, where the output logic supplies data from the differences document to an external logic.

18. A computer-readable medium storing processor executable instructions that when executed by a processor cause a machine to perform a method, the method comprising:

detecting a change to a database object in a database, where a database object includes data from one or more relational data tables;

storing one or more information records in a data store, where an information record includes information describing a condition of a database object, where the information is independent of the structure and arrangement of the database object state;

generating a change log that includes data describing content differences between two or more information records stored in the data store; and

outputting data from the change log.

19. The computer-readable medium of claim 18, where the one or more information records are state documents.

20. The computer-readable medium of claim 19, where generating the change log includes generating a differences document as the change log.

21. The method of claim 20, where the state documents and the differences document are generated as extensible markup language (XML) documents.

22. The method of claim 18, where detecting the change to the database object is a result of one or more of, a user driven query, and a logic driven query.

23. The method of claim 18, where the data from the change log is output to one or more of, a display logic, a machine readable medium, and an external logic.

24. A system, comprising:

means for detecting a change to a database object in a database, where a database object includes data from one or more relational data tables;

means for generating a state document, where a state document includes state data describing a state of a database object;

means for storing one or more state documents;

means for comparing content differences between two or more of the state documents;

means for generating a differences document, where a differences document includes data describing one or more content differences between the two or more state documents; and

means for outputting data from the differences document.