Object oriented database management system

• US 5,838,965 A
• Filed: 11/10/1994
• Issued: 11/17/1998
• Est. Priority Date: 11/10/1994
• Status: Expired due to Term

• Current Assignee: JDA Software Group Incorporated (Panasonic Holdings Corporation)
• Original Assignee: CADIS, Inc. (Panasonic Holdings Corporation)
• Inventors: Smallwood, Thomas D., Beall, Christopher W., Terpening, Brooke E., Motycka, John D., Pendleton, Samuel S., Heiny, William C., Traut, Kenneth A., Kavanagh, Thomas S.
• Primary Examiner(s): AMSBURY, WAYNE P
• Application Number:
  US08/339,481
• Time in Patent Office: 1,468 Days
• Field of Search: 395/614, 395/600
• US Class Current: 1/1
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 16/2308 Concurrency control transaction processing G06F9/466
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 16/289 Object oriented databases
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 9/454 Multi-language systems; Localisation; Internationalisation
• CPC Class Codes: Y10S 707/99944 Object-oriented database structure

Abstract

A database management system is disclosed having an object oriented representation of information describing characteristics of instances organized in a hierarchical structure that may be logically represented as a tree structure. The hierarchical structure includes a parent-child/class-subclass structure. The internal representation of an instance is dependent upon information that is locally available from a class to which that instance belongs plus inherited attributes from a parent class. A class is represented as a class object having a handle. The class object has a parent handle associated with it that identifies the parent class of the class object. The class object has a subclass list associated with it that identifies the handles of the classes that are subclasses of the class object. The class object has an attribute list associated with it that includes a list of handles which may be used to identify the attributes of the class object. A class object also includes a subtree instance count which represents the total number of instances that belong to that class object plus the total number of instances that are present in all of the descendants of the class object, i.e., the total number of instances that are present in that branch of the hierarchical tree structure. A graphical user interface is provided in which the hierarchical tree structure is displayed in a window showing classification structure, and a class or instance can be selected by clicking on the graphical representation of the class in the window showing classification structure. Attributes of the selected class or instance are simultaneously displayed in a window showing attribute information, which includes fields to the right of each attribute in which search criteria for that attribute may be entered. The subtree instance count is also displayed simultaneously to provide feedback to the user as to how many instances satisfy the current query, in order to facilitate guided iterative queries of the database.

Claims

1. A database system for management of information relating to component parts, comprising:

an object oriented representation of information describing the characteristics of existing instances of component parts that are logically organized in a parent-child/class-subclass structure, wherein attributes of an instance are dependent upon information concerning attributes of a component part that corresponds to that instance that is locally available from a class to which that instance belongs plus information concerning inherited attributes from a parent class;

programmed computer circuits for querying said information in a guided and iterative manner to locate component parts having attributes that are compatible with attributes that are desired by a searcher querying the information; and

,

a display coupled to said computer circuits for displaying search results, the display being operative to display a window showing a graphical representation of said structure, the display being operative to simultaneously display a window showing attributes of a selected class.

2. The database management system according to claim 1, wherein:

said instances are represented internally as an instance object the instance object including information identifying an owning class to which the instance object belongs, the instance object including a list of information identifying characteristics of the instance with no additional storage allocated for undefined characteristics.

3. The database management system according to claim 2, wherein:

said window showing attribute information includes fields located in proximate relation to individual attributes in which search criteria for an attribute may be entered.

4. The database management system according to claim 3, wherein:

said display is operative to display a numeric value corresponding to a subtree instance count providing a numeric indication of the total number of instances that are present in a class that a searcher selects while navigating said structure plus the total number of all descendants of said class, the subtree instance count providing the searcher with feedback as to how many component parts correspond to a currently selected set of query criteria, the display being operative to display the subtree instance count simultaneously with the window showing a graphical representation of said structure and the window showing attributes of the selected class.

5. The database management system according to claim 2, wherein:

said display is operative to display a numeric value corresponding to a subtree instance count providing a numeric indication of the total number of instances that are present in a class that a searcher selects while navigating said structure plus the total number of all descendants of said class, the subtree instance count providing the searcher with feedback as to how many component parts correspond to a currently selected set of query criteria, the display being operative to display the subtree instance count simultaneously with the window showing a graphical representation of said structure and the window showing attributes of the selected class.

6. The database management system according to claim 1, wherein:

said window showing attribute information includes fields located in proximate relation to individual attributes in which search criteria for an attribute may be entered.

7. The database management system according to claim 6, wherein:

said display is operative to display a numeric value corresponding to a subtree instance count providing a numeric indication of the total number of instances that are present in a class that a searcher selects while navigating said structure plus the total number of all descendants of said class, the subtree instance count providing the searcher with feedback as to how many component parts correspond to a currently selected set of query criteria, the display being operative to display the subtree instance count simultaneously with the window showing a graphical representation of said structure and the window showing attributes of the selected class.

8. The database management system according to claim 1, wherein:

said display is operative to display a numeric value corresponding to a subtree instance count providing a numeric indication of the total number of instances that are present in a class that a searcher selects while navigating said structure plus the total number of all descendants of said class, the subtree instance count providing the searcher with feedback as to how many component parts correspond to a currently selected set of query criteria, the display being operative to display the subtree instance count simultaneously with the window showing a graphical representation of said structure and the window showing attributes of the selected class.

9. The database management system according to claim 1, wherein:

said window showing attributes of a selected class has a format comprising rows and columns, a first column is displayed having descriptive information describing individual attributes displayed in individual rows, a second column is displayed which provides a field for individual rows in which an attribute is displayed that permits a searcher to enter search criteria for the attribute displayed in the same row as the field in which the entry is made, such that a plurality of rows are displayed where each such row has descriptive information describing that attribute and a field for the entry of search criteria for that attribute.

10. The database management system according to claim 9, wherein:

said window showing attributes of a selected class includes a third column in which attribute type icons are displayed, whereby a selected attribute type icon is displayed in a row corresponding to an attribute and the appearance of the attribute type icon indicates the type of values that the attribute described in that row may have.

11. The database management system according to claim 10, wherein:

said display is operative to display a search results window displaying in a rows and columns format information for instances that correspond to a currently selected set of query criteria, whereby a row contains information for an individual instance and columns are provided for the attributes that are displayed for the instances.

12. The database management system according to claim 11, further comprising:

a pointing device coupled to said display operable to allow the searcher to point and click on items displayed on said display; and

,

wherein said window showing attributes of a selected class includes a fourth column which determines the order in which instances having such attributes are sorted when the instances are displayed in the search results window, whereby the searcher may selectively click on the row in the fourth column corresponding to a first attribute to select the first attribute to be used as a basis for sorting instances corresponding to current search criteria, and a symbol will be displayed in that row of the fourth column indicating the sort order thereby selected.

13. The database management system, comprising:

an object oriented representation of information describing the characteristics of existing instances organized in a parent-child/class-subclass structure, wherein the internal representation of an instance is dependent upon the information that is locally available from a class to which that instance belongs plus inherited attributes from a parent class;

means for querying said object oriented representation in a guided and iterative manner;

means for displaying search results,

means for selecting particular information pertaining to the characteristics which are to be displayed by the means for displaying; and

,

wherein at least one class in said object oriented representation of information is represented as a class object having a handle, said class object having a parent handle identifying the parent class of said class object, said class object having a subclass list, said subclass list comprising an array of class handles identifying the subclasses of said class object, said class object including an attribute list comprising a list of handles which may be used to identify attributes of said class object, said class object including a subtree instance count, said subtree instance count comprising a numeric indication of the total number of instances that belong to said class object and that are present in all descendants of said class object.

14. The database management system according to claim 13, wherein:

at least one class in said object oriented representation of information is represented as a second class object having a handle, said second class object having a parent handle identifying the parent class of said second class object, said second class object having a local instance list, said local instance list comprising an array of handles which can be used to identify the instances that belong to said second class object, said second class object including an attribute list comprising a list of handles which may be used to identify attributes of said second class object, said second class object including a subtree instance count, said subtree instance count comprising a numeric indication of the total number of instances that belong to said second class object and that are present in all descendants of said class object.

15. The database management system according to claim 14, further comprising:

means for performing parametric attribute searches on a hierarchical, object-oriented schema.

16. The database management system according to claim 14, further comprising:

means for searching said object oriented representation of information to retrieve all instances that exactly correspond to a predetermined set of search criteria, as well as instances that closely match said predetermined set of search criteria.

17. The database management system according to claim 14, further comprising:

means for searching said object oriented representation of information to retrieve all instances that exactly correspond to a predetermined set of search criteria, as well as instances that correspond to a subset of said predetermined set of search criteria.

18. The database management system according to claim 13, further comprising:

means for searching said object oriented representation of information to retrieve all instances that exactly correspond to a predetermined set of search criteria, as well as instances that correspond to a subset of said predetermined set of search criteria.

19. A database management system, comprising:

an object oriented representation of information describing the characteristics of existing instances organized in a parent-child/class-subclass structure wherein the internal representation of an instance is dependent upon the information that is locally available from a class to which that instance belongs plus inherited attributes from a parent class,

means for querying said object oriented representation in a guided and iterative manner;

means for displaying search results, said means for displaying search results includes means for displaying a numeric value corresponding to a subtree instance count providing a numeric indication of the total number of instances that are present in a class that a user is navigating in a search and all descendants of said class; and

means for selecting particular information pertaining to the characteristics which are to be displayed by the means for displaying.

20. The database management system according to claim 19, further comprising:

legacy means to facilitate organization of existing data into a hierarchical, object-oriented schema having an object oriented representation of information describing the characteristics of existing instances organized in a parent-child/class-subclass structure.

21. The database management system according to claim 20, wherein:

said legacy means is operative to standardize descriptions of instances in content and format as a function of the type of instance and having variable field length descriptions that are not subject to arbitrary predetermined field length limitations.

22. The database management system according to claim 20, wherein:

said legacy means includes a rule system for unit measure conversion, providing that units of first user specified families of parts are automatically converted to a predetermined unit of measure, and providing that units of second user specified families of parts are not automatically converted to another unit of measure.

23. The database management system according to claim 20, wherein:

said legacy means includes means for transforming existing textual information about an instance into parametric values for said instance within a schema, and means for automatically estimating the class to which said instance should be placed in a schema.

24. A network having a client/server architecture, comprising:

a knowledge base server, the knowledge base server including a dynamic class manager, a connection manager, a query manager, a handle manager, a units manager, a database manager, and a file manager;

an object oriented hierarchical schema representing classes of instances as objects arranged in a hierarchy, said schema being fully connected with each class object including information as to any class object that is a parent in the hierarchy, and class objects that are descendants in the hierarchy, said class objects being managed by said dynamic class manager; and

,

an application programming interface to permit a client application to access the object oriented hierarchical schema.

25. The network according to claim 24, wherein:

at least one class in said object oriented hierarchical schema is represented as a class object having a handle, said class object having a parent handle identifying the parent class of said class object, said class object having a subclass list, said subclass list comprising an array of class handles identifying the subclasses of said class object, said class object including an attribute list comprising a list of handles which may be used to identify attributes of said class object, said class object including a subtree instance count, said subtree instance count comprising a numeric indication of the total number of instances that belong to said class object and that are present in all descendants of said class object.

26. The network according to claim 25, wherein:

at least one class in said object oriented representation of information is represented as a second class object having a handle, said second class object having a parent handle identifying the parent class of said second class object, said second class object having a local instance list, said local instance list comprising an array of handles which can be used to identify the instances that belong to said second class object, said second class object including an attribute list comprising a list of handles which may be used to identify attributes of said second class object, said second class object including a subtree instance count, said subtree instance count comprising a numeric indication of the total number of instances that belong to said second class object and that are present in all descendants of said class object.

27. The network according to claim 26, further comprising:

an object oriented lock manager, said object oriented lock manager being operable to allow modification of a first portion of said object oriented hierarchical schema by one client application while a plurality of other client applications are navigating or searching a second portion of said object oriented hierarchical schema.

28. A parts management system, comprising:

a processor;

a display having a screen, the display being coupled to the processor;

a mouse coupled to the processor;

a knowledge base accessible by the processor, the knowledge base having descriptive information for a plurality of parts corresponding to products of an organization, the knowledge base comprising a hierarchical schema of parts information representing classes of instances, the hierarchical schema of parts information having a root class, the hierarchical schema of parts information having a plurality of levels of descendant classes, the root class being a parent of a plurality of first level descendent classes, at least some of the first level descendant classes being first level parent classes of respective second level descendent classes, at least some of the second level descendant classes being second level parent classes of respective third level descendent classes, the classes and instances having a plurality of attributes, wherein a class at a level "n" in the hierarchical schema of parts information inherits attributes from its parent class at a level "n-1" in the hierarchical schema;

means for displaying a graphical tree hierarchy in a tree display area of the screen, the graphical tree hierarchy representing classes in a currently selected portion of the hierarchical schema of parts information, said classes having individually associated icons for individual classes displayed in the tree display area of the screen;

means for navigating the graphical tree hierarchy by clicking with the mouse on selected locations in the tree display area representing a portion of the hierarchical schema of parts information; and

,

means for displaying attributes in an attribute display area of the screen, the attribute display area being distinct from the tree display area, the means for displaying attributes being coordinated with the means for displaying classes such that the attributes displayed in the attribute display area are the corresponding attributes for a currently selected location in the hierarchical schema of parts information.

29. The parts management system according to claim 28, wherein:

at least one class in said object oriented hierarchical schema is represented as a class object having a handle, said class object having a parent handle identifying the parent class of said class object, said class object having a subclass list, said subclass list comprising an array of class handles identifying the subclasses of said class object, said class object including an attribute list comprising a list of handles which may be used to identify attributes of said class object, said class object including a subtree instance count, said subtree instance count comprising a numeric indication of the total number of instances that belong to said class object and that are present in all descendants of said class object.

30. The parts management system according to claim 29, wherein:

at least one class in said object oriented representation of information is represented as a second class object having a handle, said second class object having a parent handle identifying the parent class of said second class object, said second class object having a local instance list, said local instance list comprising an array of handles which can be used to identify the instances that belong to said second class object, said second class object including an attribute list comprising a list of handles which may be used to identify attributes of said second class object, said second class object including a subtree instance count, said subtree instance count comprising a numeric indication of the total number of instances that belong to said second class object and that are present in all descendants of said class object.

31. A database system for management of information relating to component parts, comprising:

a knowledge base of information describing characteristics of instances of component parts, where an instance belongs to a class and classes are logically associated in a class-subclass structure, wherein attributes of an instance include attributes that are associated with the class to which that instance belongs, and when the class to which that instance belongs is a subclass of another class, the attributes of the instance include inherited attributes associated with said another class;

programmed computer circuits for querying the information in a guided and iterative manner to locate component parts having attributes that are compatible with attributes that are desired by a searcher querying the information;

a display coupled to said computer circuits for displaying query results, the display being operative to display a window showing a graphical representation of the class-subclass structure, the display being operative to simultaneously display a window showing attributes of a class that has been selected by a searcher, the window showing attributes of a class including fields which are displayed in proximate relation to individual attributes that are displayed, the fields providing an area in which search criteria for an attribute may be entered by the searcher; and

,

said display is operative to display a numeric value corresponding to a subtree instance count providing a numeric indication of the total number of instances that satisfy any search criteria for attributes entered by the searcher which belong to a class that the searcher has selected plus the total number of instances that belong to all direct and indirect subclasses of the class that the searcher selected which satisfy any search criteria for attributes entered by the searcher, the subtree instance count providing the searcher with feedback as to how many component parts correspond to a currently selected set of query criteria, the display being operative to display the subtree instance count simultaneously with the window showing a graphical representation of the class-subclass structure and the window showing attributes of the class that the searcher has selected.

32. In a parts management system having a knowledge base server, and having a client connectable to the knowledge base server, wherein the client has a display and a pointing device operatively associated with the display so that a user can use the pointing device to point and click on items displayed on the display, a method of providing user interaction with the knowledge base server comprising the steps of:

providing a knowledge base on the knowledge base server, the knowledge base having descriptive information for a plurality of parts, at least a portion of the knowledge base being logically organized as classes of parts information, and a plurality of classes are logically organized as subclasses of another class, the knowledge base having instances wherein a instance represents information about a part, and instances in the knowledge base being logically associated with classes such that an instance is a member of a class;

connecting the client to the knowledge base server via a network;

displaying a graphical representation of the logical organization of classes in a tree display area of the display; and

,

displaying in an attribute display area of the display information relating to attributes corresponding to a currently selected location in the graphical representation of the logical organization of classes, the attribute display area being distinct from the tree display area, the attribute display area and the tree display area being viewable simultaneously.

33. The method according to claim 32, further comprising the step of:

navigating the graphical representation of the logical organization of the classes in the knowledge base by clicking with the pointing device on selected locations in the tree display area representing a class of parts information.

34. The method according to claim 33, further comprising the step of:

displaying a numeric value representing the total number of instances that correspond to user selected query criteria at a selected region of the graphical representation of the logical organization of the classes in the knowledge base, said numeric value being viewable simultaneously with the tree display area of the display and the attribute display area of the display.

35. The method according to claim 34, further comprising the step of:

selectively displaying a search results window showing information for instances that correspond to user selected query criteria at a selected region of the graphical representation of the logical organization of the classes in the knowledge base.

36. The method according to claim 35, further comprising the step of:

internally representing a class in the knowledge base as a class object, said class object having a handle, said class object having a parent handle identifying a parent class of said class object, said class object having a subclass list, said subclass list comprising a list of class handles identifying classes which are subclasses of said class object.

37. The method according to claim 36, further comprising the step of:

internally representing said class object to include an attribute list comprising a list of handles which may be used to identify attributes of said class object.

38. The method according to claim 37, further comprising the step of:

internally representing said class object to include a subtree instance count, said subtree instance count comprising a numeric indication of the total number of instances that belong to said class object and that are present in all descendants of said class object, wherein said step of displaying a numeric value comprises displaying said subtree instance count to provide rapid feedback to the user as to how many parts belong to a selected class and its descendants at a selected region of the graphical representation of the logical organization of the classes in the knowledge base.

39. The method according to claim 38, further comprising the step of:

providing a units manager for the knowledge base.

40. The method according to claim 39, wherein:

in the step of connecting the client to the knowledge base server, the client is connected to the knowledge base server via the Internet.

41. The method according to claim 38, wherein:

in the step of connecting the client to the knowledge base server, the client is connected to the knowledge base server via the Internet.

42. The method according to claim 37, wherein:

in the step of connecting the client to the knowledge base server, the client is connected to the knowledge base server via the Internet.

43. The method according to claim 36, wherein:

in the step of connecting the client to the knowledge base server the client is connected to the knowledge base server via the Internet.

44. The method according to claim 35, wherein:

in the step of connecting the client to the knowledge base server, the client is connected to the knowledge base server via the Internet.

45. The method according to claim 34, wherein:

in the step of connecting the client to the knowledge base server, the client is connected to the knowledge base server via the Internet.

46. The method according to claim 33, wherein:

in the step of connecting the client to the knowledge base server, the client is connected to the knowledge base server via the Internet.

47. The method according to claim 32, wherein:

in the step of connecting the client to the knowledge base server, the client is connected to the knowledge base server via the Internet.