In an object oriented repository, a method for treating a group of objects as a single object during execution of an operation

• US 5,557,793 A
• Filed: 01/31/1995
• Issued: 09/17/1996
• Est. Priority Date: 01/31/1995
• Status: Expired due to Term

• Current Assignee: Unisys Corporation
• Original Assignee: Unisys Corporation
• Inventors: Koerber, Paul D.
• Primary Examiner(s): Black, Thomas G.
• Assistant Examiner(s): PHAM, CUAN
• Application Number:
  US08/381,574
• Time in Patent Office: 595 Days
• Field of Search: 395/600, 395/575, 395/650, 395/425
• US Class Current: 1/1
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 16/289 Object oriented databases
• CPC Class Codes: Y10S 707/99944 Object-oriented database structure
• CPC Class Codes: Y10S 707/99953 Recoverability

Abstract

In a computer system having a user interface, a memory and a database, a repository program operating in the computer system for accessing the database, the repository program executing a method for treating a group of objects as a single object. This method comprises the steps of retrieving a collection of references for a type from the repository; sorting out each reference in the collection of references that are composite references and have a versioned object type; for each sorted reference, retrieving objects from the reference; and calling up current operations for each retrieved object.

Claims

1. In a computer system having a user interface, a memory and a database, a repository program operating in said computer system for accessing said database, said repository program executing a method for updating each object in a reference to latest version of said object, said method comprising the steps of:

a. starting a database transaction;

b. setting a boolean flag, updatedFlag to false;

c. reserving said object and saving a new object as ghostObject;

d. retrieving a collection of references for type of said object;

e. retrieving objects in each reference found in step d hereof;

f. finding latest version of each object retrieved in step e hereof on same variant and storing said retrieved object as latestVersion;

g. finding previous version of latestVersion if updateType is lastChecked in and latestVersion is a ghostObject and assigning object found to latestVersion;

h. performing the steps of this method for said latestVersion if depth update was specified;

i. setting value of latestVersion to object returned in step h hereof if an object was returned;

j. comparing latestVersion to object and updating ghotstObject with latestVersion and setting updatedFlag to true if they are not the same object;

k. committing said database transaction if updatedFlag is true and returning ghostObject; and

,

l. aborting said database transaction if updatedFlag is false and return a null object.

2. The method as in claim 1 for each object found in steps f and g, performing all steps in claim 5 so as to define a new composite object hierarchy containing the latest version of those objects.

3. In a computer system having a user interface, a memory and a database, a repository program operation in said computer system for accessing said database, said repository program executing a method for creating a changeable hierarchy of objects comprising the steps of:

a. reserving a versioned object;

b. retrieving a collection of objects that form a path between said version object and a top object in said hierarchy comprising the steps of;

1) comparing said versioned object against said top object and returning true if both objects are the same;

2) setting a boolean flag, returnValue, to false;

3) retrieving a collection of references for type of said object;

4) examining each reference in said collection of references retrieved in the preceding step hereof and selecting those references whose inverse is a composite reference;

5) retrieving objects found in each of said references selected in the preceding step hereof;

6) performing steps of this method for each object retrieved in step

     5) hereof;

7) adding said object to a collection of objects in true was returned in step

     6) hereof;

8) setting returnFlag to true if true was returned in step

     6) hereof;

9) returning returnFlag and collection of objects.

4. The method as in claim 3 further including the step of setting a top object as a limit on said method.