External metadata processing
First Claim
1. A method for preparing data flow information regarding a data flow using at least one external data file, each of said external data files comprising columns of information, said method comprising:
- storing in a first computer readable medium, a data flow model, said data flow model comprising use data describing, for each of said at least one external data file, a use of at least one column from said external data file;
storing in a second computer readable medium, metadata comprising data describing at least one column of each of said at least one external data file;
performing a disconnected validation when the first computer readable medium is inaccessible, the disconnected validation comprising;
identifying a potential problem in said at least one external data file by comparing the stored metadata against said at least one external data file without reference to said data flow model; and
performing a connected validation when both the first computer readable medium and the second computer readable medium are accessible, the connected validation comprising;
using said stored metadata to determine whether said data flow model and said external data files are consistent.
2 Assignments
0 Petitions
Accused Products
Abstract
The operation of a data flow is improved by providing for validation of the consistency of the data flow with the external data files it works with, even in the face of changes in those external data files Metadata is stored regarding the external data files. Because external data files may change, this metadata is used when determining whether the external data files are still compatible with the data flow. In such performing such validation, the metadata tracks what changes in the external data files have occurred, and allows increased flexibility in presenting the user with options or in automatically fixing the data flow to correspond with changes in external data files. When the external data files are not available, the stored metadata can be used to validate the data flow to the last information regarding the external data files. The external metadata can be resynchronized to the data flow or to the external data files to provide updated external metadata for later validation.
16 Citations
19 Claims
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1. A method for preparing data flow information regarding a data flow using at least one external data file, each of said external data files comprising columns of information, said method comprising:
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storing in a first computer readable medium, a data flow model, said data flow model comprising use data describing, for each of said at least one external data file, a use of at least one column from said external data file; storing in a second computer readable medium, metadata comprising data describing at least one column of each of said at least one external data file; performing a disconnected validation when the first computer readable medium is inaccessible, the disconnected validation comprising; identifying a potential problem in said at least one external data file by comparing the stored metadata against said at least one external data file without reference to said data flow model; and performing a connected validation when both the first computer readable medium and the second computer readable medium are accessible, the connected validation comprising; using said stored metadata to determine whether said data flow model and said external data files are consistent. - View Dependent Claims (2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10, 11, 12, 13, 14, 15, 16, 17, 18, 19)
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Specification