Application portability and extensibility through database schema and query abstraction
First Claim
Patent Images
1. A computer-implemented method of providing access to data having a particular physical data representation, comprising:
- providing a plurality of logical field definitions, each of the definitions comprising a logical field name, at least one location attribute identifying a location of physical data corresponding to the logical field name, and a reference to an access method selected from at least two different access method types;
wherein each of the different access method types defines a different manner of exposing the physical data corresponding to the logical field name of the respective logical field definition; and
providing, for a requesting entity, a query specification defining an interface to the plurality of logical field definitions thereby allowing abstract queries to be composed on the basis of the plurality of logical field definitions.
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Abstract
The present invention generally is directed to a system, method and article of manufacture for accessing data independent of the particular manner in which the data is physically represented. In one embodiment, a data repository abstraction layer provides a logical view of the underlying data repository that is independent of the particular manner of data representation. A query abstraction layer is also provided and is based on the data repository abstraction layer. A runtime component performs translation of an abstract query into a form that can be used against a particular physical data representation.
247 Citations
26 Claims
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1. A computer-implemented method of providing access to data having a particular physical data representation, comprising:
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providing a plurality of logical field definitions, each of the definitions comprising a logical field name, at least one location attribute identifying a location of physical data corresponding to the logical field name, and a reference to an access method selected from at least two different access method types;
wherein each of the different access method types defines a different manner of exposing the physical data corresponding to the logical field name of the respective logical field definition; andproviding, for a requesting entity, a query specification defining an interface to the plurality of logical field definitions thereby allowing abstract queries to be composed on the basis of the plurality of logical field definitions. - View Dependent Claims (2, 3, 4, 5, 6)
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7. A computer-implemented method of accessing physical data having a particular physical data representation, comprising:
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issuing an abstract query by a requesting entity according to a query specification of the requesting entity;
wherein the query specification defines an interface to a data abstraction model defining a plurality of logical field definitions mapping logical fields to the physical data and wherein the abstract query is composed on the basis of the plurality of logical field definitions; andtransforming the abstract query into a query consistent with the particular physical data representation according to the data abstraction model depending on which of the plurality of logical fields definitions are referenced by the abstract query, wherein each of the logical field definitions comprises a logical field name, at least one location attribute identifying a location of physical data corresponding to the logical field name, and a reference to an access method selected from at least two different access method types;
wherein each of the different access method types defines a different manner of exposing the physical data corresponding to the logical field name of the respective logical field definition. - View Dependent Claims (8, 9, 10, 11)
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12. A computer-readable medium containing a program which, when executed by a processor, performs an operation of providing access to data having a particular physical data representation, the program comprising:
a data abstraction model comprising a plurality of logical field definitions each mapping to different elements of the data, wherein each of the logical field definitions comprises a logical field name, at least one location attribute identifying a location of physical data corresponding to the logical field name, and a reference to an access method selected from at least two different access method types, and wherein each of the different access method types defines a different manner of exposing the physical data corresponding to the logical field name of the respective logical field definition, wherein the data abstraction model is configured to be referenced by a requesting entity to compose abstract queries on the basis of the plurality of logical field definitions. - View Dependent Claims (13, 14, 15, 16, 17)
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18. A computer-readable medium containing a program which, when executed by a processor, performs an operation of accessing data having a particular physical data representation, the operation comprising:
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receiving an abstract query by a requesting entity according to a query specification of the requesting entity;
wherein the query specification defines an interface to a data abstraction model defining a plurality of logical field definitions mapping logical fields to the physical data and wherein the abstract query is composed on the basis of the plurality of logical field definitions; andtransforming the abstract query into a query consistent with the particular physical data representation according to the data abstraction model depending on which of the plurality of logical fields definitions are referenced by the abstract query, wherein each of the logical field definitions comprises a logical field name, at least one location attribute identifying a location of physical data corresponding to the logical field name, and a reference to an access method selected from at least two different access method types;
wherein each of the different access method types defines a different manner of exposing the physical data corresponding to the logical field name of the respective logical field definition. - View Dependent Claims (19, 20, 21, 22)
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23. A computer, comprising:
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a memory containing at least; (i) a data abstraction model which maps logical fields to physical data organized according to a particular data representation, the data abstraction model comprising a plurality of logical field definitions each mapping to different elements of the data;
wherein each of the logical field definitions comprises a logical field name, at least one location attribute identifying a location of physical data corresponding to the logical field name, and a reference to an access method selected from at least two different access method types; and
wherein each of the different access method types defines a different manner of exposing the physical data corresponding to the logical field name of the respective logical field definition;
wherein the data abstraction model is configured to be referenced by a requesting entity to compose abstract queries on the basis of the plurality of logical field definitions; and(ii) a runtime component configured to transform an abstract query, received from the requesting entity, into a query consistent with the particular physical data representation and according to the data abstraction model depending on which of the plurality of logical fields definitions are referenced by the abstract query; and a processor adapted to execute contents of the memory. - View Dependent Claims (24, 25, 26)
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Specification