Method and apparatus for preserving non-current information that can be overwritten in a computer file

• US 6,055,546 A
• Filed: 06/30/1999
• Issued: 04/25/2000
• Est. Priority Date: 10/31/1997
• Status: Expired due to Term

• Current Assignee: Oracle International Corporation (Oracle Corporation)
• Original Assignee: Oracle Corporation
• Inventors: Pystynen, Tuomas, Pongracz, Gregory
• Primary Examiner(s): Black, Thomas G.
• Assistant Examiner(s): Mizrahi, Diane D.
• Application Number:
  US09/343,932
• Time in Patent Office: 300 Days
• Field of Search: 707/200, 707/201, 707/202, 707/203, 707/204, 707/205, 707/1, 709/248, 709/247, 709/246, 709/245, 714/6
• US Class Current: 1/1
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 11/1451 by selection of backup contents
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 11/1471 involving logging of persistent data for recovery
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 16/2308 Concurrency control transaction processing G06F9/466
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 16/2358 Change logging, detection, and notification replication G06F16/27
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 2201/80 Database-specific techniques
• CPC Class Codes: Y10S 707/99931 Database or file accessing
• CPC Class Codes: Y10S 707/99932 Access augmentation or optimizing
• CPC Class Codes: Y10S 707/99938 Concurrency, e.g. lock management in shared database
• CPC Class Codes: Y10S 707/99952 Coherency, e.g. same view to multiple users
• CPC Class Codes: Y10S 707/99953 Recoverability
• CPC Class Codes: Y10S 707/99954 Version management

Abstract

A method and system periodically copies information from a computer file to a database to preserve non-current information from the file. As information from the file is overwritten by new information, the old information is preserved in the database, allowing non-current information to be used without reprogramming the computer programs or portions of the computer program that read or write the file. If the file is arranged into one or more sections, and new information stored in a section of the file is assigned an identifier higher than the other information in the section, the amount of time required to locate new information in the file can be reduced. Comparing the highest identifier in the section with the highest identifier in the database for that section can identify sections of the file that have received no new information since the last update made to the database.

Claims

1. An apparatus for updating a database comprising information from a file comprising at least one section, each section comprising at least one block of information, each block having a first identifier, the file additionally comprising a set of a plurality of second identifiers, each second identifier corresponding to at least one of the first identifiers, the database comprising a set of a plurality of third identifiers, each third identifier corresponding to at least one of the second identifiers from a version of the file, the apparatus comprising:

a high record ID compare having a first input operatively coupled to receive at least one of the second identifiers and a second input operatively coupled to receive at least one of the third identifiers, the modifiable block update module for comparing the at least one second identifier received at the modifiable block update first input with the at least one third identifier received at the modifiable block update second input and for signaling at an output responsive to at least one of the at least one second identifiers greater than the at least one third identifiers; and

a new record creator and copier module having an input coupled to the high record ID compare output for generating and providing at an output at least one row in the database responsive to the signal received at the new record creator input.

2. The apparatus of claim 1, wherein the new record creator additionally has a block input operatively coupled to receive at least one of the blocks of information, and at least one of the at least one row generated by the new record creator corresponds to at least one of the blocks of information received at the new record creator block input.

3. The apparatus of claim 1 additionally comprising a modifiable block update module having a section input operatively coupled for receiving at least a first portion of one of the at least one block and a database input/output operatively coupled for receiving at least a second portion of a row of the database, the modifiable block update module for comparing at least some of the second portion received at the database input/output and at least some of the second portion of the at least one block, and, responsive to the at least the some of the first portion different from the some of the second portion, providing at the database input/output at least one third portion of a row for substitution in place of at least a part of the at least one row having the second portion received at the database input/output.

4. The apparatus of claim 3 wherein the modifiable block update module provides the third portion responsive to the first portion.

5. The apparatus of claim 3:

additionally comprising a section selector module having an input operatively coupled to receive a request, the request corresponding to at least one of the at least one section, the section selector module for signaling at an output responsive to the section corresponding to the request being able to be modified; and

wherein the modifiable block update module additionally has a signal input coupled to the section selector output, and the modifiable block update module compares responsive to the signal input;

responsive to a request comprising at least one selected from an access request and an update request.

6. The apparatus of claim 5, wherein the request comprises at least one selected from an access request and an update request.

7. The apparatus of claim 6, wherein the request comprises an access request and the access request references a referenced section, the apparatus additionally comprising a file copy module for copying at least one of the blocks from an original file into the file.

8. The apparatus of claim 5 additionally comprising a database access module having an input operatively coupled for receiving the request and an input/output coupled to the database, the database access module for retrieving and providing at an output a portion of the database responsive to the request received at the database access module input.

9. The apparatus of claim 3 additionally comprising a database access module having an input operatively coupled for receiving a request to access the database and an input/output coupled to the database, the database access module for retrieving and providing at an output a portion of the database responsive to the request received at the database access module input.

10. The apparatus of claim 2 additionally comprising a database access module having an input operatively coupled for receiving a request to access the database and an input/output coupled to the database, the database access module for retrieving and providing at an output a portion of the database responsive to the request received at the database access module input.

11. An apparatus for updating a database comprising a plurality of rows of information from a file comprising a plurality of sections, each section comprising at least one block of information, each block having a first identifier, the file additionally comprising a set of a plurality of second identifiers, each second identifier corresponding to at least one of the first identifiers, the database comprising a set of a plurality of third identifiers, each third identifier corresponding to at least one of the second identifiers from a version of the file, the apparatus comprising modifiable block update module having a section input operatively coupled for receiving at least a first portion of one of the at least one block and a database input/output operatively coupled for receiving at least a second portion of a row of the database, the modifiable block update module for comparing at least some of the second portion received at the database input/output and at least some of the second portion of the at least one block, and, responsive to the at least the some of the first portion different from the some of the second portion, providing at the database input/output at least one third portion of a row for substitution in place of at least a part of the at least one row having the second portion received at the database input/output.

12. The apparatus of claim 11 wherein the modifiable block update module provides the third portion responsive to the first portion.

13. The apparatus of claim 11:

additionally comprising a section selector module having an input operatively coupled to receive a request, the request corresponding to at least one of the at least one section, the section selector module for signaling at an output responsive to the section corresponding to the request being able to be modified; and

wherein the modifiable block update module additionally has a signal input coupled to the section selector output, and the modifiable block update module compares responsive to the signal input;

responsive to a request comprising at least one selected from an access request and an update request.

14. The apparatus of claim 13, wherein the request comprises at least one selected from an access request and an update request.

15. The apparatus of claim 14, wherein the request comprises an access request and the access request references a referenced section, the apparatus additionally comprising a file copy module for copying at least one of the blocks from an original file into the file.

16. The apparatus of claim 11 additionally comprising a database access module having an input operatively coupled for receiving a request to access the database and an input/output coupled to the database, the database access module for retrieving and providing at an output a portion of the database responsive to the request received at the database access module input.

17. The apparatus of claim 13 additionally comprising a database access module having an input operatively coupled for receiving the request and an input/output coupled to the database, the database access module for retrieving and providing at an output a portion of the database responsive to the request received at the database access module input.