Data retrieval system
First Claim
1. A data retrieval system in which a plurality of objects related to each other in a multi-level hierarchy are stored, each object having a respective parent and a plurality of children, comprising:
- an index table comprising a name and associated identifier for each object; and
a data table comprising a set of attributes and a position key for each object in the system, each position key comprising a plurality of components, each component corresponding to a level of said hierarchy, said position key comprising a first component comprising the identifier of an associated object and at least one successive component, each successive component storing the identifier of the parent of the object stored in the preceding component.
1 Assignment
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Accused Products
Abstract
A data retrieval system in which a plurality of objects having a multi-level hierarchical relationship are stored is disclosed. Thus, each object has a respective parent and a set of children. The system includes an index table comprising a respective name and associated identifier for each object, and a data table comprising a respective set of attributes and a position key associated with each object in the system. Each position key comprises a series of components, each component corresponding to a level of the hierarchy. A first component of said key stores the identifier of an associated object, and each successive component stores the identifier of the parent of the object stored in the previous component.
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Citations
12 Claims
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1. A data retrieval system in which a plurality of objects related to each other in a multi-level hierarchy are stored, each object having a respective parent and a plurality of children, comprising:
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an index table comprising a name and associated identifier for each object; and
a data table comprising a set of attributes and a position key for each object in the system, each position key comprising a plurality of components, each component corresponding to a level of said hierarchy, said position key comprising a first component comprising the identifier of an associated object and at least one successive component, each successive component storing the identifier of the parent of the object stored in the preceding component. - View Dependent Claims (2, 3)
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4. A method for retrieving an object name for an object stored in a data retrieval system in which a plurality of objects related to each other in a multi-level hierarchy are stored, each object having a respective parent and a plurality of children, said system comprising an index table comprising a name and associated identifier for each object;
- and a data table comprising a set of attributes and a position key for each object in the system, each position key comprising a plurality of components, each component corresponding to a level of said hierarchy, said position key comprising a first component comprising the identifier of an associated object and at least one successive component, each successive component storing the identifier of the parent of the object stored in the preceding component, said method comprising the steps of;
specifying an object identifier for the object; and
retrieving from said index table the name for the object whose stored identifier matches said specified object identifier.
- and a data table comprising a set of attributes and a position key for each object in the system, each position key comprising a plurality of components, each component corresponding to a level of said hierarchy, said position key comprising a first component comprising the identifier of an associated object and at least one successive component, each successive component storing the identifier of the parent of the object stored in the preceding component, said method comprising the steps of;
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5. A method for retrieving the descendants of an object stored in a data retrieval system in which a plurality of objects related to each other in a multi-level hierarchy are stored, each object having a respective parent and a plurality of children, said system comprising an index table comprising a name and associated identifier for each object;
- and a data table comprising a set of attributes and a position key for each object in the system, each position key comprising a plurality of components, each component corresponding to a level of said hierarchy, said position key comprising a first component comprising the identifier of an associated object and at least one successive component, each successive component storing the identifier of the parent of the object stored in the preceding component and wherein said index table further comprises an attribute storing the level of each object in the system, comprising the steps of;
specifying an object identifier for the object;
searching the index table to ascertain the hierarchical level of said object;
selecting from the data table objects for which the position key component for said level matches the object identifier;
identifying objects wherein the position key component for the first hierarchical level below said level are not null; and
retrieving the object identifiers for said identified objects. - View Dependent Claims (6, 7, 8)
- and a data table comprising a set of attributes and a position key for each object in the system, each position key comprising a plurality of components, each component corresponding to a level of said hierarchy, said position key comprising a first component comprising the identifier of an associated object and at least one successive component, each successive component storing the identifier of the parent of the object stored in the preceding component and wherein said index table further comprises an attribute storing the level of each object in the system, comprising the steps of;
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9. A method for retrieving an object name for an object stored in a data retrieval system in which a plurality of objects related to each other in a multi-level hierarchy are stored, each object having a respective parent and a plurality of children, said system comprising an index table comprising a name and associated identifier for each object and a data table comprising a set of attributes and a position key for each object in the system, each position key comprising a plurality of components, each component corresponding to a level of said hierarchy, said position key comprising a first component comprising the identifier of an associated object and at least one successive component, each successive component storing the identifier of the parent of the object stored in the preceding component, and wherein said index table comprises a position key associated with each object in the system, and said data table includes an identifier associated with each object and a respective identifier of the parent of each object in the system, said method comprising the steps of:
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specifying an object identifier for the object; and
retrieving from said index table the name for the object whose stored identifier matches said specified object identifier.
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10. A method for retrieving the immediate children of an object stored in a data retrieval system in which a plurality of objects related to each other in a multi-level hierarchy are stored, each object having a respective parent and a plurality of children, said system comprising an index table comprising a name and associated identifier for each object and a data table comprising a set of attributes and a position key for each object in the system, each position key comprising a plurality of components, each component corresponding to a level of said hierarchy, said position key comprising a first component comprising the identifier of an associated object and at least one successive component, each successive component storing the identifier of the parent of the object stored in the preceding component, and wherein said index table comprises a position key associated with each object in the system, and said data table includes an identifier associated with each object and a respective identifier of the parent of each object in the system, said method comprising the steps of:
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specifying an object identifier for the object; and
for objects where the contents of the parent identifier match the identifier of the object, retrieving the respective object identifiers.
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11. A method for retrieving the descendants of an object stored in a data retrieval system in which a plurality of objects related to each other in a multi-level hierarchy are stored, each object having a respective parent and a plurality of children, said system comprising an index table comprising a name and associated identifier for each object;
- and a data table comprising a set of attributes and a position key for each object in the system, each position key comprising a plurality of components, each component corresponding to a level of said hierarchy, said position key comprising a first component comprising the identifier of an associated object and at least one successive component, each successive component storing the identifier of the parent of the object stored in the preceding component and wherein said index table further comprises an attribute storing the level of each object in the system, comprising the steps of;
specifying an object identifier for the object;
ascertaining the hierarchical level of said object by determining if the first component of said position key matches said object identifier;
selecting from the data table objects for which the position key component for said level matches the object identifier;
identifying objects wherein the position key component for the first hierarchical level below said level are not null; and
retrieving the object identifiers for said identified objects.
- and a data table comprising a set of attributes and a position key for each object in the system, each position key comprising a plurality of components, each component corresponding to a level of said hierarchy, said position key comprising a first component comprising the identifier of an associated object and at least one successive component, each successive component storing the identifier of the parent of the object stored in the preceding component and wherein said index table further comprises an attribute storing the level of each object in the system, comprising the steps of;
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12. A computer program product comprising computer readable program code stored on a computer readable recording medium, the program code including a relational database package including program code adapted to execute the method for retrieving the descendants of an object stored in a data retrieval system in which a plurality of objects related to each other in a multi-level hierarchy are stored, each object having a respective parent and a plurality of children, said system comprising an index table comprising a name and associated identifier for each object;
- and a data table comprising a set of attributes and a position key for each object in the system, each position key comprising a plurality of components, each component corresponding to a level of said hierarchy, said position key comprising a first component comprising the identifier of an associated object and at least one successive component, each successive component storing the identifier of the parent of the object stored in the preceding component and wherein said index table further comprises an attribute storing the level of each object in the system, comprising the steps of;
specifying an object identifier for the object;
searching the index table to ascertain the hierarchical level of said object;
selecting from the data table objects for which the position key component for said level matches the object identifier;
identifying objects wherein the position key component for the first hierarchical level below said level are not null; and
retrieving the object identifiers for said identified objects.
- and a data table comprising a set of attributes and a position key for each object in the system, each position key comprising a plurality of components, each component corresponding to a level of said hierarchy, said position key comprising a first component comprising the identifier of an associated object and at least one successive component, each successive component storing the identifier of the parent of the object stored in the preceding component and wherein said index table further comprises an attribute storing the level of each object in the system, comprising the steps of;
Specification