System and Method for Interpreting and Generating Integration Flows

• US 20130179394A1
• Filed: 09/10/2010
• Published: 07/11/2013
• Est. Priority Date: 09/10/2010
• Status: Abandoned Application

• Current Assignee: Hewlett Packard Enterprise Development LP (Hewlett-Packard Enterprise Company)
• Original Assignee: Hewlett Packard Enterprise Development LP (Hewlett-Packard Enterprise Company)
• Inventors: Simitsis, Alkiviadis
• Application Number:
  US13/821,110
• Publication Number:
  US 20130179394A1
• Time in Patent Office: Days
• US Class Current: 707/602
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 16/1865 Transactional file systems
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 16/254 Extract, transform and load [ETL] procedures, e.g. ETL data flows in data warehouses

Abstract

There is provided a computer system for generating an extract, transform, and load (ETL) workflow. The computer system includes a processor configured to receive (502) an ETL workflow, generate (504) a symbolic representation of the ETL workflow, generate (506) an improved representation, and generate (508) the improved ETL workflow. The improved representation may be a symbolic representation of the improved ETL workflow. Generating the improved ETL workflow may be based on the improved representation.

Claims

1. A computer system (800) for generating an extract, transform, and load (ETL) workflow (824), the computer system (800) comprising a processor (812) configured to:

receive (502) an ETL workflow (824);

generate (504) a symbolic representation of the ETL workflow (824);

generate (506) an improved representation, wherein the improved representation is a symbolic representation of an improved ETL workflow; and

generate (508) the improved ETL workflow based on the improved representation.

2. The computer system recited in claim 1, wherein the symbolic representation of the ETL workflow comprises at least one of:

an ETL particle that represents an ETL activity;

an ETL atom that represents an ETL transformation;

an ETL molecule that comprises one or more ETL atoms;

an ETL compound that represents an ETL workflow; and

combinations thereof.

3. The computer system recited in claim 2, wherein the ETL atom comprises:

an input schemata;

the ETL particle; and

an output schemata.

4. The computer system of claim 1, wherein generating the improved representation comprises at least one of:

swapping a first ETL atom with a second ETL atom;

composing an ETL molecule from one or more ETL atoms;

composing a first ETL compound from one or more ETL molecules;

splitting a first ETL molecule into a second ETL molecule and a third ETL molecule;

splitting a second ETL compound into or more ETL molecules; and

combinations thereof.

5. The computer system recited in claim 1, wherein the processor is configured to execute the improved ETL workflow, wherein execution of the improved ETL workflow uses fewer resources than an execution of the ETL workflow.

6. The computer system recited in claim 1, wherein the ETL workflow is proprietary to a first ETL tool, and wherein the improved ETL workflow is proprietary to a second ETL tool.

7. The computer system recited in claim 1, wherein the ETL workflow is proprietary to a first ETL tool, and the improved ETL workflow is proprietary to the first ETL tool, and wherein the processor is configured to:

receive a second ETL workflow that is proprietary to a second ETL tool;

generates a symbolic representation of the second ETL workflow;

generates a second improved representation, wherein the second improved representation is a second symbolic representation of a second improved ETL vvorkflow; and

generates the second improved ETL workflow based on the second improved representation, wherein the second improved ETL workflow is proprietary to the second ETL tool.

8. The computer system recited in claim 1, wherein the symbolic representation of the ETL workflow is generated by interpreting the ETL workflow using a common language and a formal normal form.

9. A method for generating an extract, tran and load (ETL) workflow, comprising:

receiving (502) an ETL workflow (824);

generating (504) a symbolic representation (400) of the ETL workflow (824), wherein the symbolic representation of the ETL workflow comprises at least one of;

an ETL particle (206A, 206B, 206C, 206D, 306B, 406A, 406B) that represents an ETL activity;

an ETL atom (200A, 200B, 200C, 200D) that represents an ETL transformation (100);

an ETL molecule (400) that comprises one or more ETL atoms (200A, 200B, 200C, 200D);

an ETL compound that represents an ETL workflow;

generating (506) an improved representation, wherein the improved representation is a symbolic representation of an improved ETL workflow; and

generating (508) the improved ETL workflow based on the improved representation.

10. The method recited in claim 9, wherein the ETL atom comprises:

an input schemata;

the ETL particle; and

an output schemata.

11. The method recited in claim 9, wherein generating the improved representation comprises at least one of:

swapping a first ETL atom with a second ETL atom;

composing an ETL molecule from one or more ETL atoms;

composing a first ETL compound from one or more ETL molecules;

splitting a first ETL molecule into a second ETL molecule and a third ETL molecule;

splitting a second ETL compound into two or more ETL molecules; and

combinations thereof.

12. A non-transitory, computer-readable medium (822, 922) comprising machine-readable instructions executable by a processor (812, 912) generating an extract, transform, and load (ETL) workflow (824), the non-transitory, computer-readable medium comprising:

computer-readable instructions (924) that, when executed by the processor, receive an ETL workflow (824)

computer-readable instructions (926) that, when executed by the processor, generate an ETL representation of the ETL workflow (824);

computer-readable instructions (928) that, when executed by the processor, generate an improved ETL representation, wherein the improved representation is a symbolic representation of an improved ETL workflow;

computer-readable instructions (930) that, when executed by the processor, generate a first improved ETL workflow based on the improved ETL representation, wherein the first improved ETL workflow is proprietary to a first ETL tool; and

computer-readable instructions (930) that, when executed by the processor, generate a second improved ETL workflow based on the improved ETL representation, wherein the second improved ETL workflow is proprietary to a second ETL tool.

13. The non-transitory, computer-readable medium recited in claim 12, wherein the symbolic representation of the ETL workflow comprises an ETL atom that represents an ETL transformation. wherein the ETL atom comprises:

an input schemata;

the ETL particle; and

an output schemata.

14. The non-transitory, computer-readable medium recited in claim 13, wherein the symbolic representation of the ETL workflow comprises at least one of:

an ETL particle that represents an ETL activity;

an ETL molecule that comprises one or more ETL atoms;

an ETL compound that represents an ETL workflow; and

combinations thereof.

15. The non-transitory, computer-readable medium recited in claim 12, wherein execution of the first improved ETL workflow uses fewer resources than an execution of the ETL workflow.