Re-categorization of aggregate data as detail data and automated re-categorization based on data usage context

• US 7,831,617 B2
• Filed: 07/25/2006
• Issued: 11/09/2010
• Est. Priority Date: 07/25/2006
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Microsoft Technology Licensing LLC (Microsoft Corporation)
• Original Assignee: Microsoft Corporation
• Inventors: Wang, Fang, Hays, Christopher A., Bruckner, Robert M.
• Primary Examiner(s): Robinson; Greta L
• Assistant Examiner(s): Wilcox; James J
• Application Number:
  US11/459,859
• Publication Number:
  US 20080027957A1
• Time in Patent Office: 1,568 Days
• Field of Search: None
• US Class Current: 707/783
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 16/244 Grouping and aggregation

Abstract

A data access system which includes the capability to categorize subsets of the data in the data store, query result or other source of data as aggregate data or as detail data and also the ability to explicitly re-categorize the aggregate data as detail data, e.g., as part of execution of one or more processes on the data, so that operations that apply to detail data also apply to the re-categorized aggregate data. Additionally, automatic processes are provided for re-categorizing aggregate data as detail data based on data usage context, i.e., based upon how data in the data store is to be manipulated, processed and/or presented according to queries, commands, etc. received by the data store. Calculation of aggregations on top of already pre-aggregated data is enabled, and merging of designated aggregate data with detail data provides increased flexibility in a final dataset.

Claims

1. A computer-implemented method for processing at least one subset of data in a dataset, comprising:

automatically determining whether a portion of aggregate data is to be re-categorized from detail data to aggregate data based on both a data usage context that indicates how the data is currently being used, processed or requested and the current scope of at lease one associated aggregation query;

based on the determination, re-categorizing at least one subset of data in the dataset from an aggregate data designation to a detail data designation stored on a computer readable storage medium by explicitly reclassifying the subset'"'"'s data designation from aggregate data to detail data, the detail data comprising base level database data, the aggregate data comprising a combination of one or more portions of detail data, the aggregate data designation being mutually exclusive to the detail data designation, the re-categorizing including automatically re-categorizing the at least one subset of data from the aggregate data designation to the detail data designation based on an analysis of the usage of the at least one subset of data in an operation performed on the dataset, the usage including a user'"'"'s usage of the at least one subset of data, wherein the analysis analyzes the user'"'"'s usage of the data subset to determine how the user used the data subset;

performing an aggregation query across the detail data, the query being configured to return only detail data, wherein the aggregate data that would have otherwise been excluded from the results of the aggregation query is included in the result of the aggregation query because the aggregate data'"'"'s classification was changed from aggregate to detail ; and

applying one or more aggregate calculation functions on top of at least a portion of pre-aggregated data, such that the pre-aggregated data is treated in the same way as detail data in the aggregate calculation functions.

2. The method of claim 1, further including:

processing the re-categorized at least one subset of data as detail data together with at least one other subset of the same dataset having the detail data designation.

3. The method of claim 2, the at least one subset of data having been re-categorized according to the re-categorizing step, thereby allows calculation of aggregations on top of the already pre-aggregated data.

4. The method of claim 2, the processing includes merging the re-categorized at least one subset of data with the at least one other subset of data having the detail data designation.

5. The method of claim 2, the at least one subset of data includes at least two subsets of data that are aggregated by different fields or dimensions.

6. The method of claim 2, the processing includes at least one of grouping, filtering, aggregating and sorting the at least one subset of data as detail data together with the at least one other subset of data having the detail data designation.

7. The method of claim 1, the analysis is based at least on a dataset definition associated with the dataset.

8. The method of claim 1, the analysis is based at least on a data usage definition defining data usage of dataset fields of the dataset.

9. The method of claim 1, the re-categorizing includes automatically re-categorizing the at least one subset of data from the aggregate data designation to the detail data designation based on an analysis of the usage of dataset fields of the dataset in an operation performed on the dataset.

10. The method of claim 9, the re-categorizing includes automatically re-categorizing the at least one subset of data from the aggregate data designation to the detail data designation based on whether at least one field of the dataset is used in a server aggregate function.

11. The method of claim 1, the re-categorizing includes automatically re-categorizing the at least one subset of data from the aggregate data designation to the detail data designation based on an analysis of the usage of the at least one subset of data in an operation performed on the dataset only if a flag is set to automatically perform the automatic re-categorizing.

12. A computing device comprising means for performing the re-categorizing method of claim 1.

13. An interface to a data store comprising a computer readable storage medium including computer executable interface modules having computer executable instructions for performing the method of claim 1.

14. A computerized method for analyzing a request for at least one operation to be performed on at least one subset of data of a dataset, comprising:

receiving a request for at least one operation to be performed on at least one field of the dataset stored on a computer readable storage medium;

automatically determining whether a portion of aggregate data of the dataset is to be re-categorized from detail data to aggregate data based on both a data usage context that indicates how the data is currently being used, processed or requested and the current scope of at least one associated aggregation query;

based on the determination, automatically re-classifying the at least one subset of data from aggregate type data to detail type data based on the analyzing and automatic detection based on usage of the at least one field, the detail data comprising base level database data, the aggregate data comprising a combination of one or more portions of detail data, the usage including a user'"'"'s usage of the at least one subset of data, wherein the analysis analyzes the user'"'"'s usage of the data subset to determine how the user used the data subset;

performing an aggregation query across the detail data, the query being configured to return only detail data, wherein the aggregate data that would have otherwise been excluded from the results of the aggregation query is included in the result of the aggregation query because the aggregate data'"'"'s classification was changed from aggregate to detail ; and

applying one or more aggregate calculation functions on top of at least a portion of pre-aggregated data, such that the pre-aggregated data is treated in the same way as detail data in the aggregate calculation functions.

15. The method of claim 14, the analyzing includes analyzing a dataset definition associated with the dataset.

16. The method of claim 14, the analyzing includes analyzing a data usage definition defining data usage of dataset fields of the dataset.

17. The method of claim 14, the analyzing includes analyzing at least one dataset field of the dataset fields to detect if at least one dataset field is used in a server aggregate function.

18. A programming interface to a data store comprising a computer readable storage medium having computer executable interface modules stored thereon for executing the method of claim 14.

19. A computer readable storage medium comprising computer executable instructions for interfacing with a data store, comprising:

means for receiving a request for at least one operation to be performed on at least one field of at least one dataset of the data store;

means for automatically determining whether a portion of aggregate data is to be re-categorized from detail data to aggregate data based on both a data usage context that indicates how the data is currently being used, processed or requested and the current scope of at lease one associated aggregation query;

means for automatically re-categorizing the aggregate data in the at least one dataset from aggregate data to non-aggregate data based on the determination by explicitly reclassifying the subset'"'"'s data designation from aggregate data to detail data based on an output from the means for analyzing, the detail data comprising base level database data, the aggregate data comprising a combination of one or more portions of detail data, the usage including a user'"'"'s usage of the at least one subset of data, wherein the analysis analyzes the user'"'"'s usage of the data subset to determine how the user used the data subset; and

means for performing an aggregation query across the detail data, the query being configured to return only detail data, wherein the aggregate data that would have otherwise been excluded from the results of the aggregation query is included in the result of the aggregation query because the aggregate data'"'"'s classification was changed from aggregate to detail ; and

means for applying one or more aggregate calculation functions on top of at least a portion of pre-aggregated data, such that the pre-aggregated data is treated in the same way as detail data in the aggregate calculation functions.

20. The computer readable storage medium of claim 19, the means for automatically re-categorizing the aggregate data to non-aggregate data re-categorizes when the modified dataset definition output from the means for analyzing includes a determination that no field of the at least one dataset is used in an aggregate function.