Simplified application object data synchronization for optimized data storage

• US 7,853,722 B2
• Filed: 09/03/2008
• Issued: 12/14/2010
• Est. Priority Date: 04/25/2002
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Oracle International Corporation (Oracle Corporation)
• Original Assignee: Oracle International Corporation (Oracle Corporation)
• Inventors: Chasman, Doug, Shay, Bruce, Parrett, Jeff, Heinke, Joel
• Primary Examiner(s): NGUYEN, PHUOC H
• Application Number:
  US12/203,391
• Publication Number:
  US 20090055553A1
• Time in Patent Office: 832 Days
• Field of Search: 709/203, 709217-219, 709/248
• US Class Current: 709/248
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 16/273 Asynchronous replication or reconciliation
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 67/1095 Replication or mirroring of data, e.g. scheduling or transport for data synchronisation between network nodes

Abstract

A method for synchronizing a mobile device with a central computer system is provided. The method includes coupling the mobile device to an application server of the central computer system over a network, defining a sync list that includes a candidate object type for distribution, synchronizing a relevant object of the candidate object type to the mobile device, determining a referenced object type from the relevant object type, and synchronizing a referenced object of the referenced object type to the mobile device. The sync list can be defined from meta-data that associates a user of the mobile device with one or more candidate object types, where the candidate object types serve as a starting point for the distribution process. Referenced object types can be determined from the relevant object types through additional meta-data.

Claims

1. A method for synchronizing data between a central database and a mobile device, comprising:

determining a role for the mobile device;

using the role to generate a sync list including at least one component interface for a data component, each component interface being associated with an object type of the data component;

sending the sync list to the mobile device;

receiving a determination of at least one relevant object of an object type associated with the at least one component interface on the sync list, the relevant object determined to be relevant by the mobile device; and

sending each relevant object to the mobile device when that relevant object is not already stored in the mobile device.

2. The method according to claim 1, further comprising:

sending meta-data associated with each component interface on the sync list, whereby the mobile device determines relevant objects based on the at least one component interface and the associated meta-data.

3. The method according to claim 2, further comprising:

analyzing the meta-data to identify other object types referenced by the object types associated with the at least one component interface.

4. The method according to claim 1, wherein:

generating a sync list includes accessing at least one access control object; and

identifying component interfaces accessible to the mobile device as defined by the role for the mobile device.

5. The method according to claim 1, further comprising:

determining an object of an object type associated with the at least one component interface on the sync list to be relevant by applying at least one rule to the objects associated with each component interface on the sync list.

6. The method according to claim 1, further comprising:

removing from the mobile device objects of an object type that were not identified for synchronizing between the central database and the mobile device.

7. The method according to claim 1, wherein sending the relevant object to the mobile device comprises:

determining that the relevant object is already stored in the mobile device and that the relevant object already stored in the mobile device is different from the relevant object stored in the central database and further determining the relationship between the two.

8. The method according to claim 7 wherein determining the relationship between the relevant object stored in the central database and the relevant object already stored in the mobile device involves determining an out-of-date situation wherein the relevant object in the central database has been updated from a time of a last synchronization and the relevant object already stored in the mobile device has a lower version stamp than the relevant object stored in the central database.

9. The method according to claim 7 wherein determining the relationship between the relevant object stored in the central database and the relevant object already stored in the mobile device, involves determining a conflict situation when at least one attribute of each of the relevant object stored in the central database and the relevant object already stored in the mobile device have been updated independently from a time of a last synchronization.

10. The method according to claim 9, further comprising:

receiving an update queue from the mobile device, wherein the update queue maintained in the mobile device records at least a before attribute and an after attribute for the at least one attribute of the relevant object already stored in the mobile device, the before attribute and the after attribute respectively indicating the state of the at least one attribute of the relevant object already stored in the mobile device before and after the update.

11. The method according to claim 10, further comprising:

resolving the conflict situation by comparing the before attribute value in the update queue for the at least one attribute of the relevant object already stored in the mobile device with the corresponding attribute value of the relevant object stored in the central database and when the two attribute values are different determining the value to be retained based on the role of the mobile device.

12. A system for synchronizing data between a central database and a mobile device, comprising:

a central computer system operable to communicate with said mobile device, the central computer system comprising;

a central database operable to store a plurality of data objects, each object having an object type associated with a component interface of a data component; and

a web server interoperable with said mobile device and with a plurality of servers on the central computer system and operable to direct synchronization requests to one of the plurality of server, each of the plurality of servers comprising;

a synchronization server operable to;

generate a sync list for the mobile device including at least one of said component interfaces,

send the sync list to the mobile device,

receive from the mobile device a request for relevant objects based on the at least one component interface,

determine whether the relevant objects already exist in an object store in the mobile device,

resolve a conflict situation when the relevant objects already in the object store in the mobile device and the relevant objects in the central database have been independently updated from a time of a last synchronization, and

send the relevant objects to the mobile device.

13. The system of claim 12 wherein, each of the plurality of servers is operable to execute software to represent and manipulate data in the central database in the form of components.

14. The system of claim 12 wherein, the synchronization server is further operable to execute relevance rules specified by application processing logic included in the component interface to identify the component that satisfies the relevance rules.

15. A non-transitory computer-readable medium storing a computer program product for controlling a processor to synchronize data between a central database and a mobile device, the computer program product comprising:

computer program code for determining a role for the mobile device;

computer program code for using the role to generate a sync list including at least one component interface for a data component, each component interface being associated with an object type of the data component;

computer program code for sending the sync list to the mobile device;

computer program code for receiving a determination of at least one relevant object of an object type associated with the at least one component interface on the sync list, the relevant object determined to be relevant by the mobile device; and

computer program code for sending each relevant object to the mobile device when that relevant object is not already stored in the mobile device.

16. The non-transitory computer-readable medium according to claim 15, further comprising:

computer program code for sending meta-data associated with each component interface on the sync list, whereby the mobile device determines relevant objects based on the at least one component interface and the associated meta-data; and

computer program code for analyzing the meta-data to identify other object types referenced by the object types associated with the at least one component interface.

17. The non-transitory computer-readable medium according to claim 15, wherein:

the computer program code for generating a sync list includes computer program code for accessing at least one access control object; and

identifying component interfaces accessible to the mobile device as defined by the role for the mobile device.

18. The non-transitory computer-readable medium according to claim 15, further comprising:

computer program code for determining an object of an object type associated with the at least one component interface on the sync list to be relevant by applying at least one rule to the objects associated with each component interface on the sync list.

19. The non-transitory computer-readable medium according to claim 15, wherein the computer program code for sending each relevant object to the mobile device comprises:

computer program code for determining whether each relevant object is already stored in the mobile device and that the relevant object already stored in the mobile device is different from the relevant object stored in the central database; and

computer program code for determining a relationship between the relevant object already stored in the mobile device and the relevant object stored in the central database;

wherein the compute program code for determining the relationship between the relevant object stored in the central database and the relevant object already stored in the mobile device involves at least one of;

computer program code for determining an out-of-date situation wherein the relevant object in the central database has been updated from a time of a last synchronization and the relevant object already stored in the mobile device has a lower version stamp than the relevant object stored in the central database; and

computer program code for determining a conflict situation when at least one attribute of each of the relevant object stored in the central database and the relevant object already stored in the mobile device have been updated independently from a time of a last synchronization.

20. The non-transitory computer-readable medium according to claim 19, further comprising:

computer program code for receiving an update queue from the mobile device, wherein the update queue maintained in the mobile device records at least a before attribute and an after attribute for the at least one attribute of the relevant object already stored in the mobile device, the before attribute and the after attribute respectively indicating the state of the at least one attribute of the relevant object already stored in the mobile device before and after the update; and

computer program code for resolving the conflict situation by comparing the before attribute value in the update queue for the at least one attribute of the relevant object already stored in the mobile device with the corresponding attribute value of the relevant object stored in the central database and when the two attribute values are different determining the value to be retained based on the role of the mobile device.