Platform for data services across disparate application frameworks

• US 7,853,961 B2
• Filed: 06/30/2005
• Issued: 12/14/2010
• Est. Priority Date: 02/28/2005
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Microsoft Technology Licensing LLC (Microsoft Corporation)
• Original Assignee: Microsoft Corporation
• Inventors: Woodford, Dale, Whitten, Arthur T., Terek, Soner, Celis, Pedro, Seshadri, Praveen, Agarwal, Sameet H., Nori, Anil Kumar, Blakeley, Jose A.
• Primary Examiner(s): Nguyen; Van H
• Application Number:
  US11/171,905
• Publication Number:
  US 20060195476A1
• Time in Patent Office: 1,993 Days
• Field of Search: 719/310, 719/313, 719/315, 719/316, 719/328, 719/330, 707/1, 707/2, 707/3, 707/4, 707/5, 707/10, 707/100, 707/103.R, 707/104.1, 707/609, 707/610, 717/100, 717/146
• US Class Current: 719/328
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 16/258 Data format conversion from or to a database
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 16/289 Object oriented databases

Abstract

Data management between a common data store and multiple applications of multiple disparate application frameworks. A data storage component is provided that facilitates the storage of data, which data includes structured, semi-structured, and unstructured data. A common data platform interfaces to the data storage component to provide data services accessible by a plurality of disparate application frameworks, which data services allow a corresponding application of the different frameworks to access the data.

Claims

1. A computer system including at least one processor for facilitating data management by providing data services accessible by a plurality of disparate application frameworks allowing uniform access to data, comprising:

an application program interface (API) that facilitates communicating to applications associated with the disparate application frameworks in the form of at least one of a public class, an interface, and a static helper function;

a runtime component that interfaces to the API and provides at least one of object-relational mapping, query mapping, and enforcing of constraints;

a common data model that is used across the plurality of disparate application frameworks, wherein the plurality of disparate application frameworks includes two or more of a line of business framework, an end user framework, a system management framework, a user application framework, a collaboration framework, a business framework, and a personal information framework;

a data store that models and stores structured, semi-structured and unstructured data types to provide a data service and that includes shared data and private data, the shared data being accessible to disparate applications associated with corresponding application frameworks in the plurality of disparate application frameworks via the common data model and the private data being accessible solely by a particular application associated with a particular application framework in the plurality of disparate application frameworks via the common data model; and

a persistence engine that invokes object-relational mapping that maps a language class to an underlying tabular representation by invoking at least one of a prescriptive object-relational mapping and a non-prescriptive object-relational mapping.

2. The computer system of claim 1, the common data model facilitates creation of at least one of a domain specific type, a constraint, and a relationship.

3. The computer system of claim 2, the domain specific type is an entity type that is a specification for a grouping of at least one of property and a method, which domain specific type employs at least one of an entity, a table, a table set, and a relationship.

4. The computer system of claim 3, a schema defines at least one of the entity, the relationship, and the table set such that a namespace is associated therewith.

5. The computer system of claim 2, the common data model includes a query language over a type system defined by the common data model,

wherein the query language allows rich queries against an object structure that provides a strongly typed, object-based abstraction against stored data.

6. The computer system of claim 5, the query language is at least one of Opath and OSQL (object-oriented structured query language).

7. The computer system of claim 1, further comprising a constraint/security engine that facilitates declarative authoring of constraints, and controls access to at least one entity of the data platform.

8. The computer system of claim 1, the mapping is from an application space to the common data model, and independent from the common data model to the data store.

9. The computer system of claim 1, the application is at least one of an end-user application, a knowledge worker application, a line-of-business application, a web application, a contact management application, document management application, a collaboration application, an email application, a customer relationship management application, an enterprise resource planning application, and a system management application.

10. The computer system of claim 1, the runtime component provides management of an entity state which includes at least one of an identification mapping, an object change tracking, and an original value.

11. The computer system of claim 1, the data platform and respective components are tier-agnostic and can exist in at least one of a client tier, a middle tier, a server tier, and a web service tier.

12. The computer system of claim 1, further comprising at least one of a rule service, a change tracking service, a conflict detection service, an eventing service and a notification service.

13. A computer-implemented method of managing data between a data store and multiple applications of multiple disparate application frameworks, comprising:

overlaying a data platform on the data store that models and stores structured, semi-structured, and unstructured data types to provide a data service;

overlaying the plurality of disparate application frameworks onto the data platform to allow at least one application within each application framework to access the data store, wherein the plurality of disparate application frameworks includes two or more of a line of business framework, an end user framework, a system management framework, a user application framework, a collaboration framework, a business framework, and a personal information framework;

providing an application programming interface (API) that enables communication to the applications in the form of at least one of a public class, an interface, and a static helper function;

providing in the data platform at least one of an object-relational mapping, a query mapping, and an enforcing of constraints;

providing in the data platform a common data model that is used by the plurality of the disparate application frameworks to access the data store, wherein shared data stored in the data store is made accessible to disparate applications associated with corresponding application frameworks in the plurality of disparate application frameworks and private data stored in the data store is made accessible solely to a particular application associated with a particular application framework in the plurality of disparate application frameworks; and

providing a persistence engine that invokes object-relational mapping that maps a language class to an underlying tabular representation by invoking at least one of a prescriptive object-relational mapping and a non-prescriptive object-relational mapping;

wherein at least one of the foregoing steps is performed by a computer.

14. The method of claim 13, further comprising:

creating an object;

opening a connection to the data store with a session and establishing a security context;

returning an instance of a storage context to an application;

exposing an interface to retrieve objects;

mapping a query into SQL while applying security;

returning a result to a data platform runtime and the application; and

saving the changes on the encapsulated storage context object.

15. A computer system including at least one processor that facilitates managing data by providing data services accessible by a plurality of disparate application frameworks allowing uniform access to data, comprising:

application programming interface (API) means for communicating to applications associated with the disparate application frameworks in the form of at least one of a public class, an interface, and a static helper function;

means for providing at least one of object-relational mapping, query mapping, and enforcing of constraints that interfaces to the API means;

means for providing a common data model that is used by a plurality of disparate application frameworks, wherein the plurality of disparate application frameworks includes a user application framework and a line of business (LOB) application framework; and

means for providing a data store that models and stores structured, semi-structured, and unstructured data types to provide a data service and that includes shared data and private data, the shared data being accessible to disparate applications associated with corresponding application frameworks in the plurality of disparate application frameworks via the common data model and the private data being accessible solely by a particular application associated with a particular application framework in the plurality of disparate application frameworks via the common data model;

wherein the means for providing at least one of object-relational mapping, query mapping, and enforcing of constraints comprises a persistence engine that invokes an object-relational mapping that maps a language class to an underlying tabular representation by invoking at least one of a prescriptive object-relational mapping and a non-prescriptive object-relational mapping.

16. The computer system of claim 15, further comprising a constraint/security engine that facilitates declarative authoring of constraints, and controls access to at least one entity of the computer system.