Process and apparatus for simplifying access to information stored in databases
First Claim
Patent Images
1. A data processing system for accessing a database comprising:
- a central processing unit;
a user interface coupled to the central processing unit; and
a dictionary builder, coupled to the central processing unit, that scans the database, creates a dictionary containing attributes that define relationships between tables in the database, and couples the dictionary to the database;
wherein the tables include columns having column names, and wherein the dictionary builder includes a catalog analysis module that selects a table within the database, creates an ID key for each set of one or more columns in the table identified as a unique set, and creates a join key, referencing the selected table, in any other tables in the database having a set of columns with column names that match the column names of a set of columns of an ID key.
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Abstract
Simplified access to relational databases is achieved. The inherent relationships that exist between tables in a relational database are detected and a dictionary is constructed that contains attributes that defines the relationships that exist within the database. The attributes of the database contained within the dictionary are mapped to objects of the database so that a user can navigate the database without using a database programming language using menus created from the dictionary.
126 Citations
33 Claims
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1. A data processing system for accessing a database comprising:
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a central processing unit; a user interface coupled to the central processing unit; and a dictionary builder, coupled to the central processing unit, that scans the database, creates a dictionary containing attributes that define relationships between tables in the database, and couples the dictionary to the database; wherein the tables include columns having column names, and wherein the dictionary builder includes a catalog analysis module that selects a table within the database, creates an ID key for each set of one or more columns in the table identified as a unique set, and creates a join key, referencing the selected table, in any other tables in the database having a set of columns with column names that match the column names of a set of columns of an ID key. - View Dependent Claims (2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7)
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8. A data processing system for accessing information contained within a database comprising:
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means for scanning the information contained within the database; means for creating a dictionary containing attributes that define relationships between tables in the database; and means for coupling the dictionary to the database. - View Dependent Claims (9, 10, 11, 12, 13, 14, 15, 16, 17)
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18. A method for accessing information contained within a database comprising the steps of:
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scanning the information contained within the database; creating a dictionary containing attributes that define relationships between tables in the database; and coupling the dictionary to the database. - View Dependent Claims (19, 20, 21, 22, 23, 24, 25, 26, 27)
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28. A dictionary builder for building a dictionary of, and connecting the dictionary to, a database having information arranged in tables, each of the tables having at least one column with a column name, the dictionary builder comprising:
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a catalog analysis module that analyzes the information contained within the database and generates analysis results; a dictionary construction module, coupled to the catalog analysis module, that generates the dictionary of the information contained in the database based on the analysis results created by the catalog analysis module; and a mapping module, coupled to the dictionary construction module, that maps information contained in the dictionary to the database. - View Dependent Claims (29, 30, 31, 32, 33)
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Specification