Derived data base processing system enabling one program to access a plurality of data basis

• US 5,873,088 A
• Filed: 11/17/1994
• Issued: 02/16/1999
• Est. Priority Date: 08/31/1990
• Status: Expired due to Fees

• Current Assignee: Fujitsu Limited
• Original Assignee: Fujitsu Limited
• Inventors: Hayashi, Tomohiro, Hayashi, Katsumi, Ishii, Takuji, Sekine, Yutaka, Mitani, Masaaki, Obata, Takashi, Saitou, Kazuhiko, Ohsato, Hiroshi, Ura, Mitsuhiro
• Primary Examiner(s): Black, Thomas G.
• Assistant Examiner(s): Alam, Hosain T.
• Application Number:
  US08/343,879
• Time in Patent Office: 1,552 Days
• Field of Search: 395/600, 395/500, 395/700, 395/200.02, 395/200.03, 395/601-612, 345/339, 345/329, 707/100, 707/102
• US Class Current: 1/1
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 16/256 in federated or virtual databases
• CPC Class Codes: Y10S 707/99943 Generating database or data structure, e.g. via user interface

Abstract

A derived database processing system in a database processing device comprises a plurality of independent databases which can provide a plurality of users with a group of data to be shared for a common purpose. The derived database processing system comprises a dictionary for managing database logical definition information and database storage information in a secondary memory, a derived database registering unit for determining a definition frame of a new name without violating a definition frame of a name used in a schema definition which defines data in a database, a dictionary information manipulating means for referring to said dictionary when the manipulation target is a derived database, then selecting necessary components of said database, and a database processing procedure generating unit, in a binding process to optimize access routing in a database.

Claims

1. A derived database processing system in a database processing device comprising a plurality of databases independent of each other and storing groups of data in accordance with respective schema definitions defining data in corresponding ones of said plurality of databases, said schema definitions comprising definition frames of names of the data in each of the respective plurality of databases, and a plurality of users sharing the groups of data for a common purpose, said derived database processing system comprising:

a dictionary storing database logical definition information and database storage information stored in a secondary memory of said plurality of databases independent of each other;

derived database registering means for determining a new name for one of the groups of data in accordance with one of the definition frames, the one of the definition frames defining names acceptable in one of the schema definitions defining said groups of data in said plurality of databases independent of each other, and for registering to said dictionary, database selection information of a derived database corresponding to selected data of the groups of data stored in said plurality of databases independent of each other, having semantic consistency among tables stored in said plurality of databases, said tables relating to components of the data stored in said plurality of databases independent of each other, and alias specification information for specifying an alias for one of the names being used in said plurality of databases independent of each other;

dictionary information manipulating means for referring to said dictionary if a manipulation target is said derived database, then for selecting necessary components of the data stored in said plurality of databases independent of each other to define the selected data, and replacing an existing said alias with an original name; and

database processing procedure generating means, in a binding process optimizing access routing in one of the plurality of databases independent of each other, for generating a database processing procedure using a partial collection of the components of the data in the groups of data stored in at least one of the plurality of databases independent of each other provided by said derived database registering means as registered in said dictionary,

wherein the derived database processing system accesses the at least one of the plurality of databases independent of each other when accessing the selected data by associating the selected data with each other, thereby enabling an application program to access the at least one of the plurality cf databases independent of each other simultaneously.

2. A derived database processing system in a database processing device comprising a plurality of databases independent of each other and storing groups of data in accordance with definition frames and, a plurality of users sharing the groups of data for a common purpose, said derived database processing system comprising:

a plurality of element databases each having a dictionary storing information relating to a logical structure and a storage structure of the groups of data;

database deriving means for referring to said information stored in said dictionary in said plurality of element databases using an identifier of each of said element databases and a composite structure identifier corresponding to an area for storing said information, and for newly and virtually deriving a database including new logical structure associated with said storage structure; and

dictionary information manipulating means for storing a corresponding relation between the composite structure identifier of said derived database and said respective element databases, wherein the derived database processing system accesses at least one of the plurality of databases independent of each other when accessing the groups of data by associating the groups of data with each other.

3. The derived database processing system according to claim 2, wherein

said dictionary information manipulating means comprises:

derived database interpretation means for selecting, by retrieving, said corresponding relation stored in said dictionary information manipulating means,

logical information manipulating means for selecting, by retrieving, said logical structure from said information stored in said dictionary, and

storage information manipulating means for selecting, by retrieving, said storage structure from said information stored in said dictionary.

4. A derived database processing system accessing a plurality of databases independent of each other, said derived database processing system comprising:

a plurality of element databases each storing information relating to a logical structure and a storage structure of data in a dictionary;

database deriving means for referring to said information stored in said dictionary in said plurality of element databases using an identifier of each of said element databases and an identifier of a composite structure corresponding to an area for storing said information as a key, and for newly and virtually deriving a database including new logical structure associated with said storage structure; and

dictionary information manipulating means for storing a corresponding relation between an identifier of the derived database and the identifier of each of said element databases in said dictionary, wherein the derived database processing system accesses at least one of the plurality of databases independent of each other when accessing the data by associating the data with each other.

5. The derived database processing system according to claim 4 wherein said dictionary information manipulating means comprises:

derived database interpreting means for selecting, by retrieving, said corresponding relation stored in said dictionary information manipulating means,

logical information manipulating means for selecting, by retrieving, said logical structure from said information stored in said dictionary, and

storage information manipulating means for selecting, by retrieving said storage structure from said information stored in said dictionary.

6. A database management system, managing a plurality of databases independent of each other and stored in database storage units, each database independent of each other comprising a plurality of data components, said database management system comprising:

a dictionary storing database logical definition information of said plurality of databases, said database logical definition information comprising logical definition information of the data components and associated with corresponding database storage information stored in each of the database storage units; and

derived database registering means for registering derived database definition information with said dictionary, said derived database definition information comprising a plurality of logical definition information of selected data components selected from said plurality of data components of said plurality of databases independent of each other, wherein the derived database processing system accesses at least one of the plurality of databases independent of each other when accessing the data components by associating the data components with each other, thereby enabling an application program to access the at least one of the plurality of databases independent of each other simultaneously.

7. A database management system according to claim 6, wherein

said derived database definition information further comprises data relating an identifier of each data component of the data components with a corresponding alias.