System and Method for Sharing Data Between Occasionally Connected Devices and Remote Global Database

• US 20120290531A1
• Filed: 08/31/2010
• Published: 11/15/2012
• Est. Priority Date: 04/05/2010
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: TATA Consultancy Services Limited (Tata Sons Pvt Ltd.)
• Original Assignee: TATA Consultancy Services Limited (Tata Sons Pvt Ltd.)
• Inventors: Kallakuri, Sankalp, Ghanto, Arpan, Cherusseri, Suresh
• Granted Patent: US 8,924,348 B2
• Time in Patent Office: Days
• US Class Current: 707/610
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 16/27 Replication, distribution or synchronisation of data between databases or within a distributed database system; Distributed database system architectures therefor

Abstract

The invention provides system and method for deployment and maintenance of lightweight local databases on the Occasionally Connected Devices (OCD) and synchronization of data between the local database and the remote global database (RGDb). The database to be accessed by the user is generally located on at least one remote server. As the OCDs are intended for offline use, a module for local data handling is provided. This module for local data handling is a lightweight non-relational database. The data is stored in the form of objects on the OCD. Each such stored object is captured in the form of a screen instance disposed at the OCD when the user is online. The present invention provides screen based non-relational data sharing, wherein screens are means to capture and display the data shared in an online mode and invoke the data from the stored objects in an offline mode.

Claims

1. A system for sharing data between one or more occasionally connected devices and a remote global database, wherein the database is stored on at least one remote server communicatively coupled to occasionally connected device via a network, the system comprising of:

a) an occasionally connected device at a user end having a module for local data handling;

b) a non relational local database stored the occasionally connected device, wherein the local database is a lightweight database application;

c) a screen instance disposed at the occasionally connected device having one or more objects, wherein the objects are stored in the local database and each object has one or more components, each component having uniform shape, size, format and semantics;

d) a remote global database, having multiple records stored therein;

e) an object management engine stored at the occasionally connected device for packing one or more contents of the screen accessed by the user into one or more objects and unpacking the said objects for screen display and for storing in the local database;

f) a rendering engine stored at the occasionally connected device for receiving one or more packaged objects from the object management engine and painting the screen for displaying one or more objects stored in the local database and/or remote global database;

g) a data synchronization module stored at the occasionally connected device for synchronizing data instances of one or more objects from the remote global database to the local database of the occasionally connected device by means of a download sync utility and from the local database of the occasionally connected device to the remote global database by means of an upload sync utility;

h) a middle layer, an integration layer and a business logic hosted at the remote global database, wherein the middle layer is capable of interacting with the data synchronization module during data synchronization between the local database and the remote global database; and

i) an orchestration layer hosted at the remote global database capable of communicating with the middle layer during data synchronization between the local database and the remote global database,

wherein the user at the occasionally connected device when online generates at least one instance of the data queried and accessed thereby from the remote global database, the instance of the data is then captured in the screen by means of predefined components thereof for data handling, the said one or more screen captured instances are made available on the occasionally connected device in an offline mode, the subsequent local changes and global structural and data specific changes are synchronized among the occasionally connected device and the remote global database in a next online session that follows the offline operation.

2. The system of claim 1, wherein the each screen capturing one or more instances of the data contents accessed from the remote global database and stores the objects associated therewith in the non-relational local database of the occasionally connected device.

3. The system of claim 1, wherein the occasionally connected device comprises thin client, and offline client including mobile phone, computer, PDA and laptop having a user interface, module to handle one or more objects, a data synchronization module, a local database, and a module to handle one or more tasks in the local database.

4. The system and of claim 1, wherein the said instance of the data captured in the screen are stored in a single object in the occasionally connected device, wherein a primary key stored in the column of a single table or file for storing a single instance of the same screen represents a screen ID.

5. The system of claim 1, wherein the screen are stored in a multiple objects in the occasionally connected device and an object is disintegrated into plurality of parameters thereof representing respective columns in a table or file, the said table or file is associated with a single screen.

6. The system of claim 1, wherein each screen having one or more instances are identified by a unique id thereof, each such instance is made accessible to the user at the occasionally connected device.

7. The system of claim 1, wherein each screen having one or more objects and one or more data instances and each such instance is identified by a unique ID thereof, enabling the user at the occasionally connected device, to query multiple instances of multiple disintegrated objects of at least a single screen.

8. The system of claim 1, wherein each of the objects accessed in an online mode are stored on the local database and changes and updates related to each object are stored as a separate object in the local database of the occasionally connected device.

10. The system of claim 1, wherein the user while in an online mode accesses the data objects from the remote global database and the data objects so accessed are captured in the respective screens thereof, wherein the said data objects are sourced from the database layer of the remote global database and processed through the business logic and the middle layer for disposing each of the objects on the screens and storing them on the local database of the occasionally connected device by means of a download sync utility of the synchronization module.

11. The system of claim 1, wherein the contents of each screen captured in the one or more screens instances, while in an online mode, the system or method caches a last viewed instance of the screen in the local database of the occasionally connected device.

9. (canceled)

12. A method for sharing data between one or more occasionally connected devices and a remote global database, the database being stored on at least one remote server communicatively coupled to occasionally connected device via a network, the method comprising the machine implemented steps of:

a) providing occasionally connected device at user end with a module for local data handling;

b) providing and storing a non relational and lightweight local database in the occasionally connected device;

c) storing each object of the data in the local database of the occasionally connected device;

d) storing plurality of records on the remote global database;

e) accessing one or more data contents at the occasionally connected device in online mode and generating at least one instance of the data queried and accessed thereby from the remote global database;

f) capturing at least one instance of the data at the occasionally connected device in the screen by means of predefined components thereof having uniform shape, size, format and semantics;

g) providing the occasionally connected device with at least one screen instance for disposing at least one object of the data contents from the remote global database;

h) storing said one or more screen instances of the objects and changes made therein in an offline mode in the local database,

i) packing one or more contents of the screen into one or more objects and/or unpacking the said objects for screen display and for local storage by an object management engine;

j) receiving one or more such packaged objects from the object management engine and painting the screen for displaying one or more objects stored in the local database and/or remote global database, wherein a rendering engine stored at the said occasionally connected device receives the said objects from the object management engine;

k) updating changes in one or more objects at the local database and remote global database by facilitating data flow between synchronization module and an application server of the remote global database;

l) streaming one or more queries for objects updating in a next online session;

m) facilitating interaction between the middle layer, an integration layer, a business logic, and an orchestration layer hosted at the remote global database; and

n) synchronizing one or more data instances of one or more objects from the remote global database to the local database of the occasionally connected device by means of a download sync utility and from the local database of the occasionally connected device to the remote global database by means of an upload sync utility by a data synchronization module.

13. The method of claim 12, wherein the each screen capturing one or more instances of the data contents accessed from the remote global database and stores the objects associated therewith in the non-relational local database of the occasionally connected device.

14. The method of claim 12, wherein the occasionally connected device comprises thin client, and offline client including mobile phone, computer, PDA and laptop having a user interface, module to handle one or more objects, a data synchronization module, a local database, and a module to handle one or more tasks in the local database.

15. The method of claim 12, wherein the said instance of the data captured in the screen are stored in a single object in the occasionally connected device, wherein a primary key stored in the column of a single table or file for storing a single instance of the same screen represents a screen ID.

16. The method of claim 12, wherein the screen are stored in a multiple objects in the occasionally connected device and an object is disintegrated into plurality of parameters thereof representing respective columns in a table or file, the said table or file is associated with a single screen.

17. The method of claim 12, wherein each screen having one or more instances are identified by a unique id thereof, each such instance is made accessible to the user at the occasionally connected device.

18. The method of claim 12, wherein each screen having one or more objects and one or more data instances and each such instance is identified by a unique ID thereof, enabling the user at the occasionally connected device, to query multiple instances of multiple disintegrated objects of at least a single screen.

19. The method of claim 12, wherein each of the objects accessed in an online mode are stored on the local database and changes and updates related to each object are stored as a separate object in the local database of the occasionally connected device.

20. The method of claim 12, where while the user switches from an offline to an online mode, the updated objects stored in the local database of the occasionally connected device are synchronized with the remote global database by means of the upload sync utility of the data synchronization module, thereby synchronizing the said updates through the middle layer and the business logic to the database layer of the remote global database.

21. The method of claim 12, wherein the user while in an online mode accesses the data objects from the remote global database and the data objects so accessed are captured in the respective screens thereof, wherein the said data objects are sourced from the database layer of the remote global database and processed through the business logic and the middle layer for disposing each of the objects on the screens and storing them on the local database of the occasionally connected device by means of a download sync utility of the synchronization module.

22. The method of claim 12, wherein the contents of each screen captured in the one or more screens instances, while in an online mode, the method caches a last viewed instance of the screen in the local database of the occasionally connected device.