Data management system using a plurality of data operating modules

• US 6,714,946 B1
• Filed: 09/20/2000
• Issued: 03/30/2004
• Est. Priority Date: 09/30/1999
• Status: Expired due to Fees

• Current Assignee: Kabushiki Kaisha Toshiba (Toshiba Corporation)
• Original Assignee: Kabushiki Kaisha Toshiba (Toshiba Corporation)
• Inventors: Kanai, Tatsunori, Torii, Osamu, Maeda, Seiji, Yano, Hirokuni, Yao, Hiroshi, Kizu, Toshiki
• Primary Examiner(s): Mizrahi, Diane D.
• Application Number:
  US09/666,128
• Time in Patent Office: 1,287 Days
• Field of Search: 707/10, 707/103.Y, 707/104.1, 707/200, 707/217, 707/238, 707/311, 709/206, 709/238, 345/708, 711/5
• US Class Current: 1/1
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 2209/5018 Thread allocation
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 9/5027 the resource being a machine, e.g. CPUs, Servers, Terminals
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 9/5055 considering software capabilities, i.e. software resources associated or available to the machine
• CPC Class Codes: Y10S 707/99944 Object-oriented database structure
• CPC Class Codes: Y10S 707/99945 Object-oriented database structure processing
• CPC Class Codes: Y10S 707/99948 Application of database or data structure, e.g. distributed, multimedia, or image

Abstract

A data management system capable of realizing improved flexibility, independency and expandability together is disclosed. The data management system is formed by a memory unit configured to store a plurality of data operation modules for operating data which have different operation functions, and an operation unit configured to read out data requested by the application program from the data storage system, select those data operation modules that should carry out the operations with respect to the data such that the data will be in compliance with a data model suitable for the processing that the application program wishes to carry out, from the plurality of data operation modules, such that the data to which the operations are applied by selected data operation modules are given to the application program.

Claims

1. A data management system for applying operations on data outputted from a data storage system and providing data to a processing of an application program, the data management system comprising:

a memory unit configured to store a plurality of data operation modules for operating data which have different operation functions; and

an operation unit configured to read out requested data requested by the application program from the data storage system, select those data operation modules that should carry out the operations with respect to the requested data such that the requested data will be in compliance with a data model indicating a type of data which is suitable for the processing to be carried out by the application program, from the plurality of data operation modules, such that the requested data to which the operations are applied by selected data operation modules are given to the application program.

2. The data management system of claim 1, wherein when the operation unit selects two or more data operation modules, one data operation module corresponding to a lowermost hierarchical level among the selected data operation modules operates the requested data outputted from the data storage system and gives the requested data to a data operation module corresponding to an upper hierarchical level of said one data operation module, and another data operation module corresponding to an uppermost hierarchical level among the selected data operation modules operates the requested data given from a data operation module corresponding to a lower hierarchical level of said another data operation module and gives the requested data to the application program.

3. The data management system of claim 1, wherein when the memory unit stores two or more data operation modules corresponding to an identical hierarchical level, the operation unit takes one of said two or more data operation modules as a candidate at a time of selecting the data operation modules that should carry out the operations with respect to the requested data.

4. The data management system of claim 1, wherein the operation unit also records an information for specifying the data operation modules that should be selected and an order in which the operations should be applied to the requested data at a time of giving the requested data to the application program, in relation to the requested data stored in the data storage system, such that the operation unit is operated according to said information recorded in relation to the requested data read out from the data storage system.

5. The data management system of claim 1, wherein the operation unit also determines the selected data operation modules that are necessary for the operations of the requested data in a specified category and a manner of combination of the selected data operation modules according to rules for determining a manner of combination of necessary data operation modules from a category of data that are provided in advance, when a category of the requested data is specified.

6. The data management system of claim 1, wherein the operation unit selects those data operation modules that should carry out the operations with respect to a new data created by the application program in order to store the new data into the data storage system in accordance with the data model, from the plurality of data operation modules, and writes the new data to which the operations are applied by selected data operation modules into the data storage system.

7. The data management system of claim 1, wherein when the application program creates a new data, the operation unit selects at least one of data operation modules that should be used by the operation unit according to a category of the new data specified from the application program, and said at least one of data operation modules selects other data operation modules or a category that can specify the other data operation modules.

8. The data management system of claim 1, further comprising:

a management unit configured to manage a plurality of data in the data storage system hierarchically;

wherein the operation unit uses a selection method determined according to a priority level defined in accordance with a hierarchical level of the requested data from selection methods stored in relation to the hierarchical level of the data, at a time of selecting those data operation modules that should carry out the operations with respect to the data.

9. A data management method in a data management system for applying operations on data outputted from a data storage system and providing data to a processing of an application program, the data management method comprising the steps of:

reading out requested data requested by the application program from the data storage system upon receiving a request for processing with respect to a desired data stored in the data storage system from the application program;

selecting those data operation modules that should carry out the operations with respect to the data such that the requested data will be in compliance with a data model indicating a type of data which is suitable for the processing to be carried out by the application program wishes to carry out, from a plurality of data operation modules for operating data which have different operation functions, that are provided in advance; and

applying the operations to the requested data by selected data operation modules and giving the selected data to which the operations are applied by the selected data operation modules to the application program.

10. The data management method of claim 9, further comprising the steps of:

applying the operations by the selected data operation modules with respect to a new data created by the application program, in order to store the new data into the data storage system in accordance with the data model; and

writing the new data to which the operations are applied by the selected data operation modules into the data storage system.

11. A computer usable medium having computer readable program codes embodied therein for causing a computer to function as a data management system for applying operations on data outputted from a data storage system and providing data to a processing of an application program, the computer readable program codes include:

a first computer readable program code for causing said computer to read out requested data requested by the application program from the data storage system upon receiving a request for processing with respect to a desired data stored in the data storage system from the application program;

a second computer readable program code for causing said computer to select those data operation modules that should carry out the operations with respect to the requested data such that the requested data will be in compliance with a data model indicating a type of data which is suitable for the processing to be carried out by the application program from a plurality of data operation modules for operating data which have different operation functions, that are provided in advance; and

a third computer readable program code for causing said computer to apply the operations to the requested data by selected data operation modules and giving the requested data to which the operations are applied by the selected data operation modules to the application program.