SPREADSHEET MODEL FOR DISTRIBUTED COMPUTATIONS

• US 20120110428A1
• Filed: 11/03/2010
• Published: 05/03/2012
• Est. Priority Date: 11/03/2010
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Microsoft Technology Licensing LLC (Microsoft Corporation)
• Original Assignee: Microsoft Corporation
• Inventors: Meijer, Henricus Johannes Maria
• Granted Patent: US 9,952,893 B2
• Time in Patent Office: Days
• US Class Current: 715/219
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 40/18 of spreadsheets form-filling G06F40/174
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 9/46 Multiprogramming arrangements

Abstract

A spreadsheet model is employed to facilitate distributed computations. Spreadsheets and cells are generalized to correspond to arbitrary data sources that can be remote from each other, among other things. Functions can be specified with respect to these arbitrary data sources to produce combinations of data or mashups, for example, wherein changes initiate re-computation with respect to dependent data sources.

Claims

1. A method of distributed computation, comprising:

employing at least one processor configured to execute computer-executable instructions stored in memory to perform the following acts;

triggering computation with respect to a first data source as a function of a second data source, the first data source and second data source are distributed data sources.

2. The method of claim 1 further comprising triggering computation of the second data source as a function of the first data source.

3. The method of claim 2 further comprising confining computation with respect to the first and second data sources to a limited number of cycles.

4. The method of claim 1 further comprising pulling data from the second data source and pushing the data to the first data source.

5. The method of claim 1 further comprising capturing data pushed by the second data source and enabling the data to be retrieved by the first data source.

6. The method of claim 1 further comprising triggering generation of a stream of values in the first data source.

7. The method of claim 6 further comprising triggering generation of the stream of values based on a change in a value in the second data source.

8. The method of claim 1 further comprising exposing the first data source to a third data source, wherein the first data source is embedded within the third data source.

9. A system of distributed computation, comprising:

a processor coupled to a memory, the processor configured to execute the following computer-executable components stored in the memory;

a first component configured to compute a first-data-source value as a function of changes to a second-data-source value, wherein the first data source and the second data source are distributed data sources.

10. The system of claim 9, the first component is configured to compute the first-data-source values transactionally as a function of the changes.

11. The system of claim 9 further comprising a second component configured to expose the first-data-source value to the second data source.

12. The system of claim 9, at least one of the first data source or the second data source is embedded within a third data source.

13. The system of claim 9, at least one of the first data source or the second data source is supported by a key-value data model.

14. The system of claim 13, the key-value data model is a mathematical dual of a relational data model.

15. The system of claim 9, at least one of the first data source or the second data source produces a push-based stream of data.

16. The system of claim 9 further comprising an adapter component configured to receive a value from the second data source and provide the value to the first data source upon request.

17. The system of claim 9 further comprising an adapter component configured to retrieve a value from the second data source provide the value to the first data source.

18. A computer-readable storage medium having instructions stored thereon that enables at least one processor to perform the following acts:

generating a second stream of data as a function of a first stream of data from a first distributed data-source; and

exposing the second stream of data to a second distributed data-source.

19. The computer-readable storage medium of claim 18 further comprising providing data received from the first stream of data incrementally upon request.

20. The computer-readable storage medium of claim 18 further comprising retrieving data from the first stream of data at periodic intervals.