Real-time aggregation of unstructured data into structured data for SQL processing by a relational database engine

• US 7,146,356 B2
• Filed: 03/21/2003
• Issued: 12/05/2006
• Est. Priority Date: 03/21/2003
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: International Business Machines Corporation
• Original Assignee: International Business Machines Corporation
• Inventors: Porst, Beate, Choi, Arthur, Leyba, Todd L., Somani, Amit Radheshyam
• Primary Examiner(s): Gaffin, Jeffrey
• Assistant Examiner(s): Wu, Yicun
• Application Number:
  US10/394,842
• Publication Number:
  US 20040186826A1
• Time in Patent Office: 1,355 Days
• Field of Search: 707 1- 10, 707100-1041, 707200-206, 705/14
• US Class Current: 707/706
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 16/24522 Translation of natural language queries to structured queries
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 16/24553 of query operations
• CPC Class Codes: Y10S 707/954 Relational
• CPC Class Codes: Y10S 707/99933 Query processing, i.e. searching
• CPC Class Codes: Y10S 707/99943 Generating database or data structure, e.g. via user interface

Abstract

Method, system, and program product for searching unstructured data. The unstructured data, as text data or image data, is searched by first searching the unstructured data through an extended search broker. The extended search broker has intermediary components between a search requestor and a search agent for unstructured data searching. The search agent returns the search results to the broker for aggregation. The broker aggregates the search results and returns the search results to a wrapper. The wrapper then takes result attributes from the aggregated search results and makes the attributes available, e.g., as one or more columns in a nickname table. This nickname table is searchable by a relational database using a structured query language.

Claims

1. A method of searching unstructured data in a computer system comprising an unstructured data system and a structured data system, comprising:

a. searching the unstructured data through an extended search broker and a search agent for unstructured data searching;

b. returning search results having attributes for aggregation from the search agent to the extended search broker;

c. aggregating the search results;

d. returning the aggregated search results to a wrapper configured to enter attributes of the search results into a nickname table; and

e. entering the search results attributes in a nickname table using the wrapper, said nickname table being searchable by a structured data search engine.

2. The method of claim 1 comprising searching the unstructured data with an unstructured data search system comprising an extended search broker and a search agent, said method comprising searching the unstructured data with the search agent, aggregating search results obtained thereby with the extended search broker.

3. The method of claim 2 comprising returning search results from the search agent to the extended search broker for aggregation and transferring the aggregated search results and search result attributes to the wrapper.

4. The method of claim 3 comprising making the search result attributes available as at least one column in the nickname table.

5. The method of claim 1 wherein the nickname table is a relational database nickname table.

6. The method of claim 5 wherein the nickname table is a relational database management system table, the structured data search engine is a relational database management system, and the nickname table is searchable by the relational database management system using a structured query language.

7. The method of claim 6 wherein the structured query language is SQL.

8. A method of searching unstructured data in a computer system comprising an unstructured data system and a structured data system, comprising:

a. searching the unstructured data with a structured data search engine, an unstructured data search agent, and an extended search broker there between;

b. returning search results having search results attributes from the search agent to the extended search broker for aggregation; and

c. entering the search result attributes in a nickname table using a wrapper configured to enter attributes of the search results into the nickname table, said nickname table being searchable by a relational database management system using a structured query language.

9. The method of claim 8 wherein said extended search broker enters the search result attributes into the nickname table.

10. The method of claim 9 comprising entering the search result attributes as a column in the nickname table.

11. The method of claim 9 wherein the structured data search engine queries the search result attributes in the nickname table.

12. The method of claim 9 wherein the structured query language is SQL.

13. A computer system comprising an unstructured data search agent, a structured data search engine, and a nickname table, wherein:

a. said computer system adapted to initiate a search of unstructured data from the structured data search engine through the unstructured data search agent;

b. said unstructured data search agent is adapted to receive search results having search result attributes from the unstructured data and aggregate the search results;

c. said computer system is adapted to enter the search result attributes using a wrapper in the nickname table, wherein the wrapper is configured to enter attributes of the search results into the nickname table; and

d. said structured data search engine is adapted to search attributes in the nickname table.

14. The computer system of claim 13 wherein the structured data search engine is a relational data base management system search engine.

15. The computer system of claim 14 wherein the relational data base management system search engine is a federated search engine.

16. The computer system of claim 15 wherein the unstructured data search agent includes an extended search broker.

17. The computer system of claim 13 wherein the search result attributes are entered into the nickname table as columns in the nickname table.

18. A computer system comprising an unstructured data search system, a structured data search engine, and a nickname table, wherein a. said computer system is adapted to initiate a search of unstructured data from the structured data search engine through the unstructured data search system;

b. said unstructured data search system comprises an extended search broker and an unstructured data search agent;

said unstructured data search system is adapted to receive search results with search result attributes from the search agent and return the search results with search result attributes to the extended search broker for aggregation and to aggregate the search results and search result attributes;

c. said computer system is adapted to enter the search result attributes in the nickname table using a wrapper, wherein the wrapper is configured to enter attributes of the search results into the nickname table, and d. said structured data search engine is adapted to search the search result attributes in the nickname table.

19. The computer system of claim 18 wherein the structured data search engine is a relational data base management system search engine.

20. The computer system of claim 19 wherein the relational data base management system search engine is a federated search engine.

21. The computer system of claim 18 wherein the unstructured data search system includes an extended search broker.

22. The computer system of claim 18 wherein the search result attributes are entered into the nickname table as a column therein.

23. A computer program product comprising computer readable code to program and configure a computer system to:

a. search unstructured data through an extended search broker and a search agent for unstructured data searching;

b. return search results and search result attributes from the search agent to the extended search broker for aggregation;

c. aggregate the search results and search result attributes by the extended search broker; and

d. enter the search result attributes in a nickname table using a wrapper, wherein the wrapper is configured to enter attributes of the search results into the nickname table, said nickname table being searchable by a relational database management system using a structured query language, whereby to search unstructured data.

24. The computer program product of claim 23 wherein the search results in the nickname table are structured data.

25. The program product of claim 24 wherein the search result attributes are columns in the nickname table.

26. The computer program product of claim 23 wherein the structured query language is SQL.