Rules based custom catalogs generated from a central catalog database for multiple entities

• US 6,978,273 B1
• Filed: 06/18/2001
• Issued: 12/20/2005
• Est. Priority Date: 06/18/2001
• Status: Expired due to Term

• Current Assignee: Versata Development Group, Inc. (ESW Capital, LLC)
• Original Assignee: Trilogy Development Group Incorporated (ESW Capital, LLC)
• Inventors: Nonemacher, Michael, Bonneau, Scott, Weinrib, Jeremy
• Primary Examiner(s): Pardo, Thuy N.
• Application Number:
  US09/884,216
• Time in Patent Office: 1,646 Days
• Field of Search: 707/3, 707/100, 707/6, 707/10, 707/102, 707/101, 707/103, 707/104, 705/3, 705/20, 705/26, 705/27, 709/202, 709/229
• US Class Current: 1/1
• CPC Class Codes: G06Q 30/02 Marketing; Price estimation or determination; Fundraising
• CPC Class Codes: Y10S 707/99933 Query processing, i.e. searching
• CPC Class Codes: Y10S 707/99936 Pattern matching access
• CPC Class Codes: Y10S 707/99942 Manipulating data structure, e.g. compression, compaction, compilation
• CPC Class Codes: Y10S 707/99943 Generating database or data structure, e.g. via user interface
• CPC Class Codes: Y10S 707/99945 Object-oriented database structure processing

Abstract

An arbitrary number of custom catalogs for an arbitrary number of customers can be published from a centrally maintained database of seller catalog data. The custom catalogs are subsets of the catalog database, and are generated in accordance with a set of rules that defines the scope of the content of the custom catalog. The rule sets define a series of sequential searches by which a subset of the item SKUs contained in the database are returned. For extranet buyers, the subsets for each rule set are maintained in a subset table. Whenever a user authorized by a particular buyer wishes to browse the unique catalog subset assigned to that buyer, any queries regarding the catalog will result first in a search of the full catalog database, and the results from the full search are pared down to only those items the SKUs for which have entries in the subset table associated with the buyer'"'"'s assigned subset. A buyer-authorized user browses the catalog using a standard PC and browser, and SKUs returned to the user based on the user'"'"'s query will include descriptive information such as descriptive text, pictures etc., which are displayed by the browser. Buyers who are not coupled to the seller via an extranet connection can have customized subsets of the total catalog database produced in accordance with their own rule sets, and formatted and delivered off-line for incorporation into their web sites and procurement networks.

Claims

1. A method of using one or more computer systems to generate a plurality of custom catalogs from a database comprising catalog data, said method comprising:

executing a search of the database for each of a plurality of rule sets, each of the rule sets specifying constraints that define a scope of the catalog data comprising one of the custom catalogs, and each of the rule sets uniquely identified by a rule set identifier, said executing a search performed in accordance with constraints specified by the rule set and returning a set of search results in the form of a subset of the catalog data having the scope defined by the constraints;

associating each set of search results with the identifier of the rule set used to generate them; and

responding to a database query, the query specifying constraints defining a scope of the catalog data and being associated with a rule set identifier, wherein said responding further comprises;

executing a search of the database in accordance with the query constraints, the search returning a set of query results in the form of a subset of the catalog data having the scope defined by the query constraints; and

generating a response to the query that comprises a pared subset of the catalog data that forms the intersection between the set of query results and the set of search results associated with the same rule set identifier as associated with the query.

2. The method of claim 1 further comprising receiving the query from a browser over the Internet.

3. The method of claim 2 wherein said generating a response to the query further comprises:

formatting the pared subset of catalog data as one or more web pages; and

transmitting the web pages over the Internet for display on the browser.

4. The method of claim 1 wherein the catalog data represents a plurality of items, the catalog data for each of the items comprising a unique item identifier, one or more attributes, a unique value for each of the attributes, and associated descriptive information.

5. The method of claim 4 wherein each set of search results comprises none, one or more item identifiers, and wherein said associating further comprises:

for each set of search results,

creating an entry in a subset table for each instance of the one or more item identifiers in the set; and

storing in each entry the item identifier and the identifier of the rule set used to constrain the search that generated the set.

6. The method of claim 5 further comprising responding to a database query, the query specifying constraints defining a scope of the catalog data and being associated with a rule set identifier, said responding further comprising:

executing a search of the database in accordance with the query constraints, the search returning a set of query results in the form of a subset of the catalog data having the scope defined by the query constraints, the query results comprising none, one or more item identifiers;

creating a query results table having an entry for each item identifier in the set of query results, each entry storing the item identifier with the rule set identifier associated with the query;

performing a table join between the query results table and the subset table and returning a pared subset comprising all item identifiers that have identical entries in both tables; and

generating a response to the query that includes descriptive information associated with each of the item identifiers included in the pared subset.

7. The method of claim 1 further comprising storing each of one or more sets of search results in a different catalog subset table, each catalog subset table associated with the identifier of the rule set constraining the search used to generate the set of results stored therein.

8. The method of claim 7 wherein the catalog data represents a plurality of items, the catalog data for each of the items comprising a unique item identifier, one or more attributes, a unique value for each of the attributes, and associated descriptive information.

9. The method of claim 8 wherein each of the catalog subset tables comprises one or more item identifiers for each of the items included in the set of search results stored in each table, said method further comprising for each catalog subset table, extracting the catalog data for each of the item identifiers stored therein to create a custom catalog file.

10. The method of claim 9 further comprising:

formatting one or more copies of the custom catalog files; and

exporting each formatted copy to an entity associated with the same identifier as the identifier associated with the rule set constraining the search used to generate the search results used to extract the catalog data comprising the formatted copy to be exported.

11. The method of claim 1 further comprising:

locking the database so that no modifications can be made to the database during said executing searches;

creating a read-only copy of the database; and

wherein said executing a search is performed on the read-only copy of the database.

12. The method of claim 11 wherein said creating a read only copy of the database further comprises converting the database from format that facilitates database maintenance to a read-only version of the database having a format that facilitates searches.

13. The method of claim 1 wherein said executing a search further comprises:

translating the rule sets to database queries;

issuing the database queries to a database server coupled to the database; and

wherein the database server executes the searches of the database in accordance with the database queries.

14. The method of claim 13 wherein said converting the rule sets to database queries is performed by an application program being executed on an application server.

15. The method of claim 1 wherein the rule sets comprise one or more rules, each of the rules specifying an include or an exclude function in conjunction with one or more item attribute pairs.

16. The method of claim 1 further comprising establishing the plurality of rule sets using a browser interface to an application program being executed on an application server.

17. An apparatus comprising one or more computers for generating a plurality of custom catalogs from a database comprising catalog data, said apparatus comprising:

means for executing a search of the database for each of a plurality of rule sets, each of the rule sets specifying constraints that define a scope of the catalog data comprising one of the custom catalogs, and each of the rule sets uniquely identified by a rule set identifier, said executing a search performed in accordance with constraints specified by the rule set and returning a set of search results in the form of a subset of the catalog data having the scope defined by the constraints;

means for associating each set of search results with the identifier of the rule set used to generate them; and

means for responding to a database query, the query specifying constraints defining a scope of the catalog data and being associated with a rule set identifier, said means for responding further comprising;

means for executing a search of the database in accordance with the query constraints the search returning a set of query results in the form of a subset of the catalog data having the scope defined by the query constraints; and

means for generating a response to the query that comprises a pared subset of the catalog data that forms the intersection between the set of query results and the set of search results associated with the same rule set identifier as associated with the query.

18. The apparatus of claim 17 further comprising receiving the query from a browser over the Internet.

19. The apparatus of claim 18 wherein said means for generating a response to the query further comprises:

means for formatting the pared subset of catalog data as one or more web pages; and

means for transmitting the web pages over the Internet for display on the browser.

20. The apparatus of claim 17 wherein the catalog data represents a plurality of items, the catalog data for each of the items comprising a unique item identifier, one or more attributes, a unique value for each of the attributes, and associated descriptive information.

21. The apparatus of claim 20 wherein each set of search results comprises none, one or more identifiers, and wherein said means for associating further comprises:

means for creating for each set of search results an entry in a subset table for each instance of the one or more item identifiers in the set; and

means for storing in each entry the item identifier and the identifier of the rule set used to constrain the search that generated the set, for each set of search results.

22. The apparatus of claim 21 further comprising means for responding to a database query, the query specifying constraints defining a scope of the catalog data and being associated with a rule set identifier, said means for responding further comprising:

means for executing a search of the database in accordance with the query constraints, the search returning a set of query results in the form of a subset of the catalog data having the scope defined by the query constraints, the query results comprising none, one or more item identifiers;

means for creating a query results table having an entry for each item identifier in the set of query results, each entry storing the item identifier with the same rule set identifier as associated with the query;

means for performing a table join between the query results table and the subset table and returning a pared subset comprising all item identifiers that have identical entries in both tables; and

means for generating a response to the query that includes descriptive information associated with each of the item identifiers included in the pared subset.

23. The apparatus of claim 17 further comprising means for storing each of one or more sets of search results in a different catalog subset table, each catalog subset table associated with the identifier of the rule set constraining the search used to generate the set of results stored therein.

24. The apparatus of claim 23 wherein the catalog data represents a plurality of items, the catalog data for each of the items comprising a unique item identifier, one or more attributes, a unique value for each of the attributes, and associated descriptive information.

25. The apparatus of claim 24 wherein each of the catalog subset tables comprises one or more item identifiers for each of the items included in the set of search results stored in each table, said apparatus further comprising, means for extracting for each catalog subset table the catalog data for each of the item identifiers stored therein to create a custom catalog file.

26. The apparatus of claim 25 further comprising:

means for formatting one or more copies of the custom catalog files; and

means for exporting each formatted copy to an entity associated with the same identifier as the identifier associated with the rule set constraining the search used to generate the search results used to extract the catalog data comprising the formatted copy to be exported.

27. The apparatus of claim 17 further comprising:

means for locking the database so that no modifications can be made to the database during said executing searches;

means for creating a read-only copy of the database; and

wherein said means for executing searches operates on the read-only copy of the database.

28. The apparatus of claim 17 wherein said means for creating a read only copy of the database further comprises means for converting the database from format that facilitates database maintenance to a read-only version of the database having a format that facilitates searches.

29. The apparatus of claim 17 wherein said means for executing a search further comprises:

means for translating the rule sets to database queries;

means for issuing the database queries to a database server coupled to the database; and

wherein the database server executes the searches of the database in accordance with the database queries.

30. The apparatus of claim 29 wherein said means for converting the rule sets to database queries is performed by an application program being executed on an application server.

31. The apparatus of claim 17 wherein the rule sets comprise one or more rules, each of the rules specifying an include or an exclude function in conjunction with one or more item attribute pairs.

32. The apparatus of claim 17 further comprising means for establishing the plurality of rule sets using a browser interface to an application program being executed on an application server.

33. A computer program product for generating a plurality of custom catalogs from a database comprising catalog data, said computer program product comprising:

a computer-readable storage medium; and

program instructions stored on said storage medium for;

executing a search of the database for each of a plurality of rule sets, each of the rule sets specifying constraints that define a scope of the catalog data comprising one of the custom catalogs, and each of the rule sets uniquely identified by a rule set identifier, said executing a search performed in accordance with constraints specified by the rule set and returning a set of search results in the form of a subset of the catalog data having the scope defined by the constraints;

associating each set of search results with the identifier of the rule set used to generate them;

responding to a database query, the query specifying constraints defining a scope of the catalog data and being associated with rule set identifier;

executing a search of the database in accordance with the query constraints, the search returning a set of query results in the form of a subset of the catalog data having the scope defined by the query constraints; and

generating a response to the query that comprises a pared subset of the catalog data that forms the intersection between the set of query results and the set of search results associated with the same rule set identifier as associated with the query.

34. The computer program product of claim 33 wherein said program instructions are further for receiving the query from a browser over the Internet.

35. The computer program product of claim 34 wherein said program instructions are further for:

formatting the pared subset of catalog data as one or more web pages; and

transmitting the web pages over the Internet for display on the browser.

36. The computer program product of claim 33 wherein the catalog data represents a plurality of items, the catalog data for each of the items comprising a unique item identifier, one or more attributes, a unique value for each of the attributes, and associated descriptive information.

37. The computer program product of claim 36 wherein each set of search results comprises none, one or more item identifiers, wherein said program instructions are further for:

for each set of search results,

creating an entry in a subset table for each instance of the one or more item identifiers in the set; and

storing in each entry the item identifier and the identifier of the rule set used to constrain the search that generated the set.

38. The computer program product of claim 37 wherein said program instructions are further for responding to a database query, the query specifying constraints defining a scope of the catalog data and being associated with a rule set identifier, said program instructions further for:

executing a search of the database in accordance with the query constraints, the search returning a set of query results in the form of a subset of the catalog data having the scope defined by the query constraints, the query results comprising none, one or more item identifiers;

creating a query results table having an entry for each item identifier in the set of query results, each entry storing the item identifier with the same rule set identifier as associated with the query;

performing a table join between the query results table and the subset table and returning a pared subset comprising all item identifiers that have identical entries in both tables; and

generating a response to the query that includes descriptive information associated with each of the item identifiers included in the pared subset.

39. The computer program product of claim 33 wherein said program instructions are further for storing each of one or more sets of search results in a different catalog subset table, each catalog subset table associated with the identifier of the rule set constraining the search used to generate the set of results stored therein.

40. The computer program product of claim 39 wherein the catalog data represents a plurality of items, the catalog data for each of the items comprising a unique item identifier, one or more attributes, a unique value for each of the attributes, and associated descriptive information.

41. The computer program product of claim 40 wherein each of the catalog subset tables comprises one or more item identifiers for each of the items included in the set of search results stored in each table, and wherein said program instructions are further for:

extracting, for each catalog subset table, the catalog data for each of the item identifiers stored therein to create a custom catalog file.

42. The computer program product of claim 41 wherein said program instructions are further for:

formatting one or more copies of the custom catalog files; and

exporting each formatted copy to an entity associated with the same identifier as the identifier associated with the rule set constraining the search used to generate the search results used to extract the catalog data comprising the formatted copy to be exported.

43. The computer program product of claim 33 wherein said program instructions are further for:

locking the database so that no modifications can be made to the database during said executing searches;

creating a read-only copy of the database; and

wherein said executing searches is performed on the read-only copy of the database.

44. The computer program product of claim 43 wherein said program instructions are further for converting the database from a format that facilitates database maintenance to a read-only version of the database having a format that facilitates searches.

45. The computer program product of claim 33 wherein said program instructions are further for:

translating the rule sets to database queries;

issuing the database queries to a database server coupled to the database; and

wherein the database server executes the searches of the database in accordance with the database queries.

46. The computer program product of claim 45 wherein said program instructions comprise an application program being executed on an application server.

47. The computer program product of claim 33 wherein the rule sets comprise one or more rules, each of the rules specifying an include or an exclude function in conjunction with one or more item attribute pairs.

48. A custom catalog generated from a database comprising catalog data, said custom catalog generated by using one or more computers to perform steps comprising:

executing a search of the database for each of a plurality of rule sets, each of the rule sets specifying constraints that define a scope of the catalog data comprising one of the custom catalogs, and each of the rule sets uniquely identified by a rule set identifier, said executing a search performed in accordance with constraints specified by the rule set and returning a set of search results in the form of a subset of the catalog data having the scope defined by the constraints;

associating the set of search results with the identifier of the rule set;

responding to a database query, the query specifying constraints defining a scope of the catalog data and being associated with a rule set identifier;

executing a search of the database in accordance with the query constraints, the search returning a set of query results in the form of a subset of the catalog data having the scope defined by the query constraints; and

generating a response to the query that comprises a pared subset of the catalog data forming the intersection between the set of query results and the set of search results.

49. The custom catalog of claim 48 further generated by receiving the query from a browser over the Internet.

50. The custom catalog of claim 49 further generated by:

formatting the pared subset of catalog data as one or more web pages; and

transmitting the web pages over the Internet for display on the browser.

51. The custom catalog of claim 48 wherein the catalog data represents a plurality of items, the catalog data for each of the items comprising a unique identifier, one or more attributes, a unique value for each of the attributes, and associated descriptive information.

52. The custom catalog of claim 51 wherein the set of search results comprises none, one or more item identifiers, and wherein said custom catalog is further generated by:

creating an entry in a subset table for each instance of the one or more item identifiers in the set; and

storing in each entry the item identifier and the identifier of the rule set.

53. The custom catalog of claim 52 further generated by responding to a database query, the query specifying constraints defining a scope of the catalog data and being associated with a rule set identifier, said custom catalog further generated by:

executing a search of the database in accordance with the query constraints, the search returning a set of query results in the form of a subset of the catalog data having the scope defined by the query constraints, the query results comprising none, one or more item identifiers;

creating a query results table having an entry for each item identifier in the set of query results, each entry storing the item identifier with the rule set identifier associated with the query;

performing a table join between the query results table and the subset table and returning a pared subset comprising all item identifiers that have identical entries in both tables; and

generating a response to the query that includes descriptive information associated with each of the item identifiers included in the pared subset.

54. The custom catalog of claim 48 further generated by storing the set of search results in a catalog subset table, each catalog subset table associated with the identifier.

55. The custom catalog of claim 54 wherein the catalog data represents a plurality of items, the catalog data for each of the items comprising a unique item identifier, one or more attributes, a unique value for each of the attributes, and associated descriptive information.

56. The custom catalog of claim 55 wherein the catalog subset table comprises one or more item identifiers for each of the items included in the set of search results stored in the table, said custom catalog further generated by extracting the catalog data for each of the item identifiers stored therein to create a custom catalog file.

57. The custom catalog of claim 56 further generated by:

formatting one or more copies of the custom catalog file; and

exporting each formatted copy to an entity associated with the identifier of the rule set.

58. The custom catalog of claim 48 further generated by:

locking the database so that no modifications can be made to the database during said executing searches;

creating a read-only copy of the database; and

wherein said executing searches is performed on the read-only copy of the database.

59. The custom catalog of claim 58 further generated by converting the database from a format that facilitates database maintenance to a read-only version of the database having a format that facilitates searches.

60. The custom catalog of claim 48 further generated by:

translating the rule set to one or more database queries;

issuing the database queries to a database server coupled to the database; and

wherein the database server executes the search of the database in accordance with the database queries.

61. The custom catalog of claim 60 wherein said custom catalog is generated by an application program being executed on an application server.

62. The custom catalog of claim 48 wherein the rule sets comprise one or more rules, each of the rules specifying an include or an exclude function in conjunction with one or more item attribute pairs.

63. The custom catalog of claim 48 further generated by using a browser interface to an application program being executed on an application server to establish a plurality of rule sets.