Method for converting directory data, and program and device therefor

• US 6,715,128 B1
• Filed: 11/24/1999
• Issued: 03/30/2004
• Est. Priority Date: 11/27/1998
• Status: Expired due to Fees

• Current Assignee: Hitachi, Ltd., Hitachi Software Engineering Co., Ltd. (Hitachi, Ltd.)
• Original Assignee: Hitachi, Ltd., Hitachi Software Engineering Co., Ltd. (Hitachi, Ltd.)
• Inventors: Hirashima, Yoko, Mitsuhashi, Masakazu, Kikuchi, Satoshi, Shiga, Kenta, Yui, Hitoshi
• Primary Examiner(s): Shah, Sanjiv
• Application Number:
  US09/448,474
• Time in Patent Office: 1,588 Days
• Field of Search: 715/511, 707/201, 707/203, 707/204, 709/246
• US Class Current: 715/209
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 16/212 with details for data modelling support
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 61/4517 using open systems interconnection [OSI] directories, e.g. X.500
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 61/4523 using lightweight directory access protocol [LDAP]
• CPC Class Codes: Y10S 707/99953 Recoverability
• CPC Class Codes: Y10S 707/99954 Version management

Abstract

A method for converting directory data is executed to selectively reflect any entry of the directory data onto application data. The directory data converting method includes the steps of searching from the directory data the data of the directory entry specified by a filtering rule corresponding to the application data; converting the searched directory entry data according to the schema conversion rule compatible with the filtering rule used for searching the data; and reflecting the schema-converted entry data onto said application data.

Claims

1. A method for converting directory data, for reflecting a content of said directory data onto application data, comprising the steps of:

changing said directory data in response to a request from a client of a directory;

storing a directory entry for a content of a change operation of said changing step to be done on said directory data;

searching data of said directory entry specified by a filtering rule corresponding to said application data;

schema-converting said searched data of said directory entry on the basis of a schema conversion rule compatible with said filtering rule for converting the data based on the schema of said directory data into the data based on the schema of said application data; and

reflecting said schema-converted searched data of said directory entry onto said application data.

2. A method for converting directory data as claimed in claim 1, wherein the operation at said reflecting step is executed to reflect said schema-converted searched data of said directory entry onto application data according to the type of the change operation for change history.

3. A method for converting directory data as claimed in claim 2, wherein said searching step includes a detecting step for detecting a filtering rule for specifying data of a target directory entry for a change operation indicated in said change history from a filtering rule table for storing plural filtering rules, and a step of relating ID information of said schema conversion rule compatible with said detected filtering rule to said change history;

and

said schema-converting step includes a step of taking the schema conversion rule specified by ID information of said schema conversion rule corresponding to said change history from a schema conversion rule table for storing plural schema conversion rules and a step of schema-converting data of a target directory entry to be changed indicated in said change history according to said taken schema conversion rule.

4. A method for converting directory data as claimed in claim 3, wherein if the content of the change operation indicated in said change history is addition of a directory entry, the data of the target directory entry to be changed is data of the directory entry to be added, and if the content of the change operation indicated in said change history is deletion of the directory entry, the data of the target directory entry to be changed is the deleted data of said directory entry.

5. A method for converting directory data as claimed in claim 3, further comprising the step of, if the content of the change operation indicated in said change history is change of an entry name of said directory entry, creating a first change history for indicating the content of the change operation is deletion of said directory entry before changing an entry name and a second change history for indicating the content of the change operation is addition of said directory entry after changing an entry name from said change history, and

said searching step includes a step of detecting a first filtering rule for specifying data of said target directory entry to be deleted indicated in said first change history and a second filtering rule for specifying data of said target directory entry to be added indicated in said second change history and a step of relating the ID information of the schema conversion rule compatible with said detected first filtering rule to said first change history and the ID information of the schema conversion rule compatible with said detected first filtering rule to said first change history and the ID information of the schema conversion rule compatible with said second filtering rule to said second change history, and

said schema-converting step includes a step of taking from said schema conversion rule table a first schema conversion rule specified by the ID information of the relating schema conversion rule to said first change history and a second schema conversion rule specified by the ID information of the relating schema conversion rule to said second change history and a step of schema-converting data of a target directory entry to be deleted indicated in said first change history according to said taken first schema conversion rule and schema-converting data of a target directory entry to be added indicated in said second change history according to said taken second schema conversion rule.

6. A method for converting directory data as claimed in claim 3, further comprising a history-changing step of, if the content of the change operation indicated in said change history is change of data of the directory entry, creating from said change history a first change history for indicating the content of the change operation is deletion of the directory entry before changing the data and a second change history for indicating the content of the change operation is addition of the directory entry after changing the data, and

said searching step includes a step of detecting from said filtering rule table a first filtering rule for specifying the data of the target directory entry to be deleted indicated in said first change history and a second filtering rule for specifying the data of the target directory entry to be added indicated in said second change history and a step of relating ID information of the schema conversion rule compatible with said detected first filtering rule to said first change history and ID information of the schema conversion rule compatible with said detected second filtering rule to said second change history, and

said schema-converting step includes a step of taking from said schema conversion rule table a first schema conversion rule specified by the ID information of the schema conversion rule corresponding to said first change history and a second schema conversion rule specified by the ID information of the schema conversion rule corresponding to said second change history and a step of schema-converting the data of the target directory entry to be deleted indicated in said first change history according to said taken first schema conversion rule and the data of the target directory entry to be added indicated in said second change history according to said taken second schema conversion rule.

7. A method for converting directory data as claimed in claim 1, wherein said directory entry includes history records of operations so as to be reflected by said application data.

8. A system for converting directory data, for reflecting a content of directory data onto application data, comprising:

a searching unit for searching data of a directory entry specified by a filtering rule corresponding to application data;

a schema-converting unit for schema-converting said searched directory entry data on the basis of a schema conversion rule compatible with said filtering rule for converting data based on the schema of said directory data into data based on the schema of said application data; and

a reflecting unit for reflecting said schema-converted searched directory entry data onto said application data.

9. A system for converting directory data as claimed in claim 8, wherein said searching unit operates to search data of the directory entry specified by said filtering rule from said change history;

and

said reflecting unit operates to reflect said schema-converted directory entry data onto said application data according to a type of a change operation indicated in said change history.

10. A method for converting directory data as claimed in claim 9, wherein said searching unit includes the step of detecting from a filtering rule table for storing plural filtering rules a filtering rule for specifying data of a target directory entry to be changed indicated in said change history and a step of relating to said change history the ID information of the schema conversion rule compatible with said detected filtering rule, and

said schema-converting unit includes the step of taking from a schema conversion rule table for storing plural schema conversion rules the schema conversion rule specified by the ID information of the schema conversion rule corresponding to said change history and a step of schema-converting data of the target directory entry to be changed indicated in said change history according to said taken schema conversion rule.

11. A system for converting directory data as claimed in claim 10, wherein if the content of the change operation indicated in said change history is addition of the directory entry, the data of the target directory entry to be changed is the data of the directory entry to be added, and if the content of the change operation indicated in said change history is deletion of the directory entry, the data of the target directory entry to be changed is the deleted data of the directory entry.

12. A method for converting directory data, for reflecting a content of directory data onto application data, comprising the steps of:

searching data of a directory entry specified by a filtering rule corresponding to said application data;

schema-converting said searched directory entry data according to a schema conversion rule for converting the data based on the schema of the directory data into the data based on the schema of said application data, said schema conversion rule compatible with the filtering rule used for searching said data; and

reflecting said schema-converted searched data of said directory entry onto said application data.

13. A method for converting directory data as claimed in claim 12, wherein the operation at said searching step is executed to search the data of the directory entry specified by said filtering rule,

the operation at said schema-converting step is executed to schema-convert said searched directory entry data according to the schema conversion rule corresponding to the filtering rule used for searching said data, and

the operation at said reflecting step is executed to reflect said schema-converted searched data of said directory entry onto said application data according to the type of the change operation indicated in said change history.

14. A method for converting directory data as claimed in claim 13, wherein said searching step includes a step of detecting a filtering rule for specifying data of the target directory entry to be changed indicated in said change history from a filtering rule table for storing plural filtering rules and a step of relating to said change history the ID information of a schema conversion rule compatible with said detected filtering rule, and

said schema-converting step includes a step of taking a schema conversion rule specified by the ID information of the schema conversion rule corresponding to said change history from a schema conversion rule table for storing plural schema conversion rules and a step of schema-converting the data of the target directory entry to be changed indicated in said change history according to said taken schema conversion rule.

15. A method for converting directory data as claimed in claim 14, wherein if the content of the change operation indicated in said change history is addition of a directory entry, the data of the target directory entry to be changed is the data of the added directory entry, and

if the content of the change operation indicated in said change history is deletion of a directory entry, the data of the target directory entry to be changed is the data of the deleted directory entry.

16. A server for converting directory data, for reflecting a content of said directory data onto at least one piece of application data, comprising:

means for storing at least one of filtering rules for searching data of a given directory entry from said directory data, said filtering rules corresponding to said application data on which the content of said directory data is to be reflected;

means for storing a schema conversion rule for converting data based on the schema of said directory data into data based on the schema of said application data, said schema conversion rule compatible with said filtering rule stored in said filtering rule storing means;

filtering means for searching data of said directory entry from said directory data according to said filtering rule stored in said filtering rule storing means;

means for schema-converting said searched directory entry data according to the schema conversion rule compatible with said filtering rule used for searching said directory entry data, said schema conversion rule being stored in said schema conversion storing means; and

means for updating said application data, for reflecting said schema-converted directory entry data onto the content of said directory data.

17. A program having codes to be read in a server system for converting directory data, for reflecting a content of the directory data onto application data, said codes comprising code sections for program steps of:

searching data of the directory entry specified by a filtering rule corresponding to the application data;

schema-converting said searched directory entry data according to a schema conversion rule compatible with said filtering rule for converting the data based on the schema of the directory data into the data based on the schema of said application data; and

reflecting said schema-converted searched data of said directory entry onto said application data.

18. A program having codes to be read in a server system for converting directory data as claimed in claim 17, wherein the operation at said searching step is executed to search the data of the directory entry specified by said filtering rule from said change history, and

the operation at said reflecting step is executed to reflect said schema-converted searched data of said directory entry onto said application data according to a type of a change operation indicated in said change history.

19. A program having codes to be read in a server system for converting directory data as claimed in claim 18, wherein said searching step includes a step of detecting the filtering rule for specifying the data of the target directory entry to be changed indicated in said change history from a filtering rule table for storing plural filtering rules and a step of relating to said change history the ID information of the schema conversion rule compatible with said detected filtering rule, and

said schema-converting step includes a step of taking the schema conversion rule specified by the ID information of the schema conversion rule corresponding to said change history from a schema conversion rule table for storing plural schema conversion rules and a step of schema-converting the data of the target directory entry to be changed indicated in said change history according to said taken schema conversion rule.

20. A program having codes to be read in a server system for converting directory data as claimed in claim 19, wherein if the content of the change operation indicated in said change history is addition of the directory entry, the data of the target directory entry to be changed is the data of the added directory entry, and if the content of the change operation indicated in said change history is deletion of the directory entry, the data of the target directory entry to be changed is the data of the deleted directory entry.