ENHANCED CONTROL TO USERS TO POPULATE A CACHE IN A DATABASE SYSTEM

• US 20120203797A1
• Filed: 04/19/2012
• Published: 08/09/2012
• Est. Priority Date: 08/13/2007
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Oracle International Corporation (Oracle Corporation)
• Original Assignee: Oracle International Corporation (Oracle Corporation)
• Inventors: Kumbi, Niranjan, Mishra, Amulya
• Granted Patent: US 8,868,595 B2
• Time in Patent Office: Days
• US Class Current: 707/770
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 12/0862 with prefetch
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 12/0866 for peripheral storage systems, e.g. disk cache
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 16/24552 Database cache management
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 2212/465 Structured object, e.g. database record

Abstract

Providing enhanced control to users to populate a cache in a database system. A user provides an explicit indication indicating the specific information (available from the data stored in a storage of the database system) to be populated in the cache, and the cache is populated with the corresponding information. The information in the cache (whether due to explicit indications or otherwise) can then be used to generate results of queries, without having to access the same information from the storage of the database system.

Claims

1. A method of facilitating a user to populate a cache in a database system, said method being performed in a client system, said method comprising:

determining in said client system, that processing of a first query in said database system requires an information stored in said database system;

sending, from said client system to said database system on a network, first an explicit indication to load said information into said cache contained in said database system and then said first query to be performed in said database system, wherein said explicit indication is sent in response to said determining; and

receiving, in said client system on said network, a result of performance of said first query from said database system in response to said sending said first query,

wherein said client system and said database system are implemented as separate systems coupled by said network.

2. The method of claim 1, wherein said explicit indication is included in a second request sent prior to said first query, said second request also including a second query and a comment,

wherein said database system is designed to process said second query and send a second result of processing of said second query as a response to said second request,

wherein said comment represents said explicit indication,

said database system being designed to ignore said comment in processing of said second query but being designed to load said information in response to said explicit indication as said comment.

3. The method of claim 2, wherein said first query and said second query are specified according to SQL (structured query language).

4. The method of claim 1, wherein said information comprises at least one of:

A. data stored in some of said plurality of rows,

B. an index information specifying the specific ones of the plurality of rows of a table matching each of the values in a column of said table, and

C. a relation information indicating specific ones of the plurality of rows of a second table matching a corresponding value in a first column of a first table.

5. A computing system comprising:

a network;

a database system comprising;

a storage storing user data in a plurality of tables, with each table containing a plurality of rows to store corresponding user data;

a cache; and

a processor to perform queries received on said user data; and

a client system operable to;

determine that processing of a first query by said database system requires an information stored in said storage;

in response to said determination, send on said network, an explicit indication indicating that said information in said storage of said database system is to be loaded into said cache;

after sending of said explicit indication, send on said network to said database system, a first request specifying said first query,

wherein said processor is designed to receive on said network said explicit indication, examine said storage to determine said information and store said information in said cache as a response to said explicit indication,

wherein said processor is further designed to receive on said network said first request, process said first query based on said information already stored in said cache, and send a result of processing of said first query as a response to said first request,

wherein said client system and said database system are implemented as separate systems coupled by said network.

6. The computing system of claim 5, wherein said explicit indication is contained in a second request received by said database system prior to said first request, wherein said second request includes a second query and a comment,

wherein said processor is designed to process said second query and send a second result of processing of said second query as a response to said second request,

wherein said comment represents said explicit indication,

said processor being designed to ignore said comment in processing of said second query but being designed to load said information in response to said explicit indication as said comment.

7. The computing system of claim 6, wherein said first query and said second query are specified according to SQL (structured query language).

8. The computing system of claim 5, wherein said information comprises at least one of:

A. data stored in some of said plurality of rows,

B. an index information specifying the specific ones of the plurality of rows of a table matching each of the values in a column of said table, and

C. a relation information indicating specific ones of the plurality of rows of a second table matching a corresponding value in a first column of a first table.

9. A computer readable medium storing one or more sequences of instructions for causing a client system to facilitate a user to populate a cache in a database system, wherein execution of said one or more sequences of instructions by one or more processors contained in said client system causes said client system to perform the actions of:

determining in said client system, that processing of a first query in said database system requires an information stored in said database system;

sending, from said client system to said database system on a network, first an explicit indication to load said information into said cache contained in said database system and then said first query to be performed in said database system, wherein said explicit indication is sent in response to said determining; and

receiving, in said client system on said network, a result of performance of said first query from said database system in response to said sending said first query,

wherein said client system and said database system are implemented as separate systems coupled by said network.

10. The computer readable medium of claim 9, wherein said explicit indication is included in a second request sent prior to said first query, said second request also including a second query and a comment,

wherein said database system is designed to process said second query and send a second result of processing of said second query as a response to said second request,

wherein said comment represents said explicit indication,

said database system being designed to ignore said comment in processing of said second query but being designed to load said information in response to said explicit indication as said comment.

11. The computer readable medium of claim 10, wherein said first query and said second query are specified according to SQL (structured query language).

12. The computer readable medium of claim 9, wherein said information comprises at least one of:

A. data stored in some of said plurality of rows,

B. an index information specifying the specific ones of the plurality of rows of a table matching each of the values in a column of said table, and

C. a relation information indicating specific ones of the plurality of rows of a second table matching a corresponding value in a first column of a first table.