Heuristic co-identification of objects across heterogeneous information sources
First Claim
1. A computer-implemented method for generating a database query request, comprising the steps of:
- receiving a query requesting information;
providing a list of fields to be queried, the list of fields including a first field from a first table and a second field from a second table;
generating a database query request using the list of fields, said database query request including a join between the first and second fields; and
wherein said query includes a conjunction of literals;
wherein each literal includes a predefined term that defines a relationship between fields in a table and a concept.
6 Assignments
0 Petitions
Accused Products
Abstract
A method and system for generating a database query language request for performing a join between a plurality of database tables including a first database table and a second database table. The first table includes a first plurality of fields and the second database table includes a second plurality of fields, where each one of the plurality of fields has a particular meaning. The method and system includes providing a plurality of expressions that communicate the meaning of the each of the fields in the first and second plurality of fields. A user then submits a query requesting information from the tables in the form of a conjunction of literals. Each of the literals are then mapped to all matching expressions to provide a list of fields to be queried. The list of fields includes a first field from the first table and a second field from the second table, such that the mapping indicates that the first and second fields have the same meaning. After mapping the literals to the expressions, the database query language request is generated using the list of fields, such that the database query language request includes a join between the first and second fields. The first and second tables are then queried using the database query language request to provide the requested information.
-
Citations
14 Claims
-
1. A computer-implemented method for generating a database query request, comprising the steps of:
-
receiving a query requesting information; providing a list of fields to be queried, the list of fields including a first field from a first table and a second field from a second table; generating a database query request using the list of fields, said database query request including a join between the first and second fields; and wherein said query includes a conjunction of literals; wherein each literal includes a predefined term that defines a relationship between fields in a table and a concept. - View Dependent Claims (2, 3, 4, 5, 6)
-
-
7. A heuristic engine for determining which of a plurality tables to join to retrieve information requested, said heuristic engine comprising:
-
means for mapping a formatted expression to a matching expression in a knowledge base; means for determining from matching expression which tables have shared column fields; means for generating a standard database query statement to join the shared column fields; and a translator for receiving requests for information, and for translating each of the requests into a formatted expression that matches at least one of the expressions in the knowledge base; wherein said knowledge base comprises background domain knowledge that contains information regarding concepts that are applicable to all of the plurality of tables, and expressions that are specific to the columns of each one of the plurality of tables; and wherein said knowledge base is a network-based heterogeneous database in which requests for information originate from a user that accesses the heuristic system through a network browser and a network server.
-
-
8. A computer-implemented method for automatically generating a database query request for performing a join across tables in a heterogeneous database, each of the tables including a plurality column fields, the method comprising the steps of:
-
providing a knowledge base that defines relationships between column fields in the database; receiving a database query; mapping each query to the knowledge base; generating the database query request, the database query request requiring at least one join between two of the fields; executing the database query request and receiving results from the heterogeneous database; providing a list of potential fields that comprise implicit fields and a first set of explicit fields that correspond to column fields from which to retrieve values for each variable in the query; expanding any implicit fields present in the list of potential fields into a second set of explicit fields; providing a list of literals that define relationships between column fields in the databases wherein a plurality of the literals contain implicit fields representing concepts that are implicitly referenced in the tables; and providing each one of said literals with a predicate, an implicit field and an explicit field, such that the predicate represents a particular concept that is attributable to the concept represented by the corresponding implicit field, and the explicit field indicates where values for the concept represented by the predicate are stored. - View Dependent Claims (9, 10, 11)
-
-
12. A computer-implemented method for generating a database query request, comprising the steps of:
-
receiving a query requesting information; providing a list of fields to be queried, the list of fields including a first field from a first table and a second field from a second table; generating a database query request using the list of fields, said database query request including a join between the first and second fields; and providing a plurality of expressions that communicate the concepts of each of the fields in the first and second plurality of fields. - View Dependent Claims (13, 14)
-
Specification