System and method for sharing, mapping, transforming data between relational and hierarchical databases
First Claim
1. A method for sharing data between a relational database and a hierarchical database, comprising:
- defining a hierarchical data entity including a plurality of simple and compound elements, comprising;
identifying an entity path and mapped fields in each simple element; and
identifying an entity path, a database name, a database command, and database fields in each compound element;
mapping each of the plurality of elements in the hierarchical data entity to information in a relational dataset contained in a relational database, comprising;
for each compound element, specifying a data source, specifying a database command, executing the database command, receiving database field names from the relational database, and adding the database field names to the compound element;
for each simple element, selecting a database field name in a parent element corresponding to the simple element, and specifying a data transformation algorithm associated with the simple element;
transforming the relational dataset information into corresponding mapped elements in the hierarchical data entity to form a hierarchical data structure; and
accessing data from the hierarchical data structure corresponding to the relational dataset information in the relational database.
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Abstract
The present invention provides a computer-implemented system and method for transforming relational database information into a hierarchical data representation. It provides for data sharing between a relational and hierarchical data structures without requiring the data to be remodeled to fit a common format or convention. While maintaining the relational data in its original format, user may transform and associate the data with a structure compatible with another format definition. The present invention may use XML, HTML and SGML to structure a hierarchical data representation. Object-oriented formats may also be used to structure the data in an intermediary format for transformation into a hierarchical data structure.
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Citations
27 Claims
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1. A method for sharing data between a relational database and a hierarchical database, comprising:
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defining a hierarchical data entity including a plurality of simple and compound elements, comprising;
identifying an entity path and mapped fields in each simple element; and
identifying an entity path, a database name, a database command, and database fields in each compound element;
mapping each of the plurality of elements in the hierarchical data entity to information in a relational dataset contained in a relational database, comprising;
for each compound element, specifying a data source, specifying a database command, executing the database command, receiving database field names from the relational database, and adding the database field names to the compound element;
for each simple element, selecting a database field name in a parent element corresponding to the simple element, and specifying a data transformation algorithm associated with the simple element;
transforming the relational dataset information into corresponding mapped elements in the hierarchical data entity to form a hierarchical data structure; and
accessing data from the hierarchical data structure corresponding to the relational dataset information in the relational database. - View Dependent Claims (2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10, 11, 12, 13, 14)
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15. A system for sharing data between a relational and a hierarchical database, comprising:
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means for defining a hierarchical data entity including a plurality of simple and compound elements, comprising;
means for identifying an entity path and mapped fields in each simple element;
means for identifying an entity path, a database name, a database command, and database fields in each compound element;
means for mapping each of the plurality of elements in the hierarchical data entity to information in a relational dataset contained in a relational database, comprising;
for each compound element, means for specifying a data source, specifying a database command, executing the database command, receiving database field names from the relational database, and adding the database field names to the compound element;
for each simple element, means for selecting a database field name in a parent element corresponding to the simple element, and specifying a data transformation algorithm associated with the simple element;
means for transforming the relational dataset information into corresponding mapped elements in the hierarchical data entity to form a hierarchical data structure; and
means for accessing data from the hierarchical data structure corresponding to the relational dataset information in the relational database. - View Dependent Claims (16, 17, 18, 19)
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20. A system for sharing data between a relational and hierarchical database, comprising:
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a hierarchical data entity having a plurality of simple and compound elements, comprising;
each simple element identifying an entity path and mapped field each compound element identifying an entity path, a database name, a database command, and database fields;
a mapping of each of the plurality of elements in the hierarchical data entity to information in a relational dataset contained in a relational database comprising;
for each compound element, a specified data source, specified database command, executed database command, received database field names from the relational database, and added database field names to the compound element;
for each simple element, a selected database field name in a parent element corresponding to the simple element, and a specified data transformation algorithm associated with the simple element;
a transformation of the relational dataset information into corresponding mapped elements in the hierarchical data entity for forming a hierarchical data structure; and
a memory containing data from the hierarchical data structure corresponding to the relational dataset information in the relational database. - View Dependent Claims (21, 22, 23, 24)
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25. A computer-readable medium containing a data structure for sharing data between relational and hierarchical databases, comprising:
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a hierarchical data structure having a plurality of simple and compound elements stored in the memory;
database commands embedded in the compound elements for accessing information in a relational database;
tabular datasets created in the memory for storing the accessed information from the relational database;
mappings of the plurality of simple and compound elements in the hierarchical data entity to information in relational datasets contained in the relational dataset if a root element is present, comprising;
for each compound element, means for specifying a data source, specifying a database command, executing the database command, receiving database field names from the relational database, and adding the database field names to the compound element;
for each simple element, means for selecting a database field name in a parent element corresponding to the simple element, and specifying a data transformation algorithm associated with the simple element;
transformations of the relational dataset information into corresponding mapped elements in the hierarchical data entity to form a hierarchical data structure; and
a relationship between the elements of the hierarchical data structure the tabular datasets. - View Dependent Claims (26, 27)
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Specification