BACKWARD COMPATIBILITY IN DATABASE SCHEMAS

• US 20140040321A1
• Filed: 10/11/2013
• Published: 02/06/2014
• Est. Priority Date: 11/24/2003
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: PayPal, Inc. (PayPal Holdings, Inc.)
• Original Assignee: eBay Inc.
• Inventors: Cohen, Alon, Avalani, Bhaven, Ahmed, Zahid N.
• Granted Patent: US 9,058,343 B2
• Time in Patent Office: Days
• US Class Current: 707/803
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 16/211 Schema design and management
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 16/213 with details for schema evolution support
• CPC Class Codes: G06Q 30/08 Auctions
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 67/10 in which an application is distributed across nodes in the network software deployment G06F8/60; multiprogramming arrangements G06F9/46

Abstract

A method of accommodating at least one difference between a first database schema and a second database schema is provided. The method includes receiving a response generated by a first application program using a first database schema, identifying a value in the response that is unrecognizable to a second application program using a second database schema and substituting, using a processor, the value that is unrecognizable to the second application program with a reserved element recognizable to the second application program, the reserved element indicating to the second application program that a portion of the response is not recognizable to the second application program. The method further includes communicating the response to the second application program.

Claims

1. A method comprising:

receiving a request generated by a first application program using a first database schema;

the request including a first version identifier identifying the first database schema, the request being received at a second application program using a second database schema;

determining the first version identifier is different than a second version identifier corresponding to the second database schema;

generating, using a processor, a response including a reserved element that corresponds to a custom slot provided in the first database schema, the reserved element being an indication that at least one new schema definition element is included in the second database schema and the at least one new schema is not recognizable by the first application program; and

communicating the response to the first application program.

2. The method of claim 1, wherein the first database schema is a client-side database schema and the first application program is a client application, and the second database schema is a server-side database schema and the second application program is a server application.

3. The method of claim 1, wherein the custom slot is included in the first database schema upon creating the second database schema.

4. The method of claim 1, wherein the at least one new schema definition element is an XML schema definition and the custom slot is provided in a schema dictionary.

5. The method of claim 1, wherein the second database schema is a later version of the first database schema.

6. The method of claim 5, further comprising determining the second database schema contains an element not found in the first database schema.

7. The method of claim 1, wherein the response is generated in response to a request from the second application program.

8. The method of claim 1, wherein the at least one new schema definition element is unrecognizable to the first application program using the first database schema because the value is not included in the first database schema.

9. The method of claim 1, wherein the first application program is a client application, and the first database schema is a client-side database, the second application program is an

Application Program Interface (API), the second database schema is a server-side database schema.

10. A system comprising:

one or more processors to execute at least one processing module, the at least one processing module configured to;

receive a request generated by a first application program using a first database

schema, the request including a first version identifier identifying the first database schema, the request being received at a second application program using a second database schema;

determine the first version identifier is different than a second version identifier corresponding to the second database schema;

generate, using a processor, a response including a reserved element that corresponds to a custom slot provided in the first database schema, the reserved element being an indication that at least one new schema definition element is included in the second database schema and the at least one new schema is not recognizable by the first application program; and

communicate the response to the first application program.

11. The system of claim 10, wherein the request and the response are communicated using Web Services Description Language (WSDL) messages.

12. The system of claim 10, wherein the custom slot is included in the first database schema upon creating the first database schema.

13. The system of claim 10, wherein the first database schema is a client-side database schema and the first application program is a client application, and the second database schema is a server-side database schema and the second application program is a server application.

14. The system of claim 10, wherein the second database schema is a later version of the first database schema.

15. The system of claim 14, wherein the processing module is to determine whether the first database schema has been altered.

16. The system of claim 10, wherein the response is generated in response to the request from the first application program.

17. The system of claim 10, wherein the at least one new schema definition element is unrecognizable to the first application program using the first database schema because the at least one new schema definition element is not included in the first database schema.

18. The system of claim 10, wherein the first application program is a client application, and the first database schema is a client-side database, the second application program is an

Application Program Interface (API), the second database schema is a server-side database schema.

19. A non-transitory machine-readable storage device storing instructions which, when executed by a machine, cause the machine perform a method, the method comprising:

receiving a request generated by a first application program using a first database schema, the request including a first version identifier identifying the first database schema, the request being received at a second application program using a second database schema;

determining the first version identifier is different than a second version identifier corresponding to the second database schema;

generating, using a processor, a response including a reserved element that corresponds to a custom slot provided in the first database schema, the reserved element being an indication that at least one new schema definition element is included in the second database schema and the at least one new schema is not recognizable by the first application program; and

communicating the response to the first application program.

20. The machine-readable storage device of claim 19, wherein the second database schema is a later version of the first database schema.