Database part creation, merge and reuse

• US 7,870,164 B2
• Filed: 11/20/2007
• Issued: 01/11/2011
• Est. Priority Date: 11/20/2007
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Microsoft Technology Licensing LLC (Microsoft Corporation)
• Original Assignee: Microsoft Corporation
• Inventors: Poozhiyil, Suraj, Coggins, Robert E., Bould, Jason A., Mital, Vijay, Conger, David Jon, Gardner, Scott T., McCormack, Michael J., Miller, Andrew R., Chauhan, Sumit
• Primary Examiner(s): NGUYEN, CAM LINH T
• Application Number:
  US11/942,963
• Publication Number:
  US 20090132576A1
• Time in Patent Office: 1,148 Days
• Field of Search: 707/1, 707/10, 707100-102, 707/104.1, 707/661, 707/792, 707/802, 707/803, 707/808, 715/200, 715/209
• US Class Current: 707/802
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 16/21 Design, administration or maintenance of databases
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 16/2456 Join operations

Abstract

Embodiments are provided to merge, manage, create, and reuse database parts in a computer system. Database parts may include database tables, datatypes, field combinations or entire databases. A selection of a database part is received by a database software application executing on a computer system. The application may be configured to check for metadata associated with the database part to identify an action property. If, after checking for the metadata, a merge action property is identified, then the application may check for a metadata property associated with a database table. If a merge action associated with the database table is identified, then the application may merge the database part with the database table in the database. The application may also be configured to generate a user interface for creating database parts using database tables and for creating a database part by saving a database.

Claims

1. A method in a computer system for merging database parts into a database, comprising:

receiving, by a computer, a selection of a database part, the database part comprising a table;

checking, by the computer, for metadata associated with the database part to identify an action property, wherein the action property comprises metadata comprises an ID property for identifying a table type associated with at least one of the database part and at least one database table in the database;

if, after checking for the metadata, a merge action property is identified, then determining from the metadata, by the computer, if a table type is set for the database part;

if it is determined that a table type is set for the database part then determining, by the computer, whether the table type matches a target table type for the at least one database table in the database; and

if the table type matches the target table type, merging, by the computer, the database part with the at least one database table in the database, wherein merging the database part with the at least one database table in the database comprises automatically merging table information from the database part with table information from the at least one database table to create a new table containing the table information from the database part and the table information from the at least one database table, the new table having a relationship with the database part and the at least one database table, wherein the relationship is created by the metadata and defined by a foreign key in one of the database part and the at least one database table that correlates to data stored in an other one of the database part and the at least one database table.

2. The method of claim 1 further comprising if, after checking for the metadata, an action property is not identified, then receiving a selection to perform at least one of importing the database part into the database and junctioning the database part with the at least one database table in the database.

3. The method of claim 1 further comprising if it is determined that the table type is not set for the database part, then junctioning the database part with the at least one database table in the database.

4. The method of claim 1 further comprising if the table type does not match a target table type for the at least one database table in the database, then receiving a selection to perform at least one of importing the database part into the database and junctioning the at database part with the at least one database table in the database.

5. The method of claim 1 further comprising if, after checking for the metadata, a junction action property is identified, then junctioning the database part with the at least one database table in the database.

6. The method of claim 5, wherein junctioning the database part with the at least one database table in the database comprises establishing a relationship between the database part and the at least one database table in the database.

7. The method of claim 1 further comprising if, after checking for the metadata, an import action property is identified, then importing the database part with the at least one database table in the database.

8. The method of claim 1, wherein receiving a selection of a database part comprises receiving a selection of a database template file.

9. The method of claim 1, wherein checking for metadata associated with the database part to identify an action property comprises checking XML data associated with the database part.

10. The method of claim 1, wherein determining whether the table type matches a target table type for the at least one database table in the database comprises determining whether the table type matches a target table type for a plurality of database tables in the database.

11. The method of claim 10, wherein if the table type matches a target table type for a plurality of database tables in the database, then receiving a selection of one of the plurality of database tables to merge with the database part.

12. A system of creating and managing database parts, comprising:

a memory for storing executable program code; and

a processor, functionally coupled to the memory, the processor being responsive to computer-executable instructions contained in the program code and operative;

to display a user interface comprising fields for receiving instructions associated with creating a database part, the user interface further comprising an important table combo box;

to receive instructions in the user interface to create a database part having a relationship with at least one database table, the instructions including at least a name of the database part, an icon for the database part, and a category for the database part;

to display a file location of a selected icon image representing the database part in the user interface in response to receiving the instructions;

to save a file comprising the received instructions to create the database part; and

to receive a selection of the at least one database table from the important table combo box, wherein the selection of the at least one database table from the important table combo box designates the at least one database table for junctioning and merging, wherein merging comprises automatically merging table information from the database part with table information from the at least one database table to create a new table containing the table information from the database part and the table information from the at least one database table, the new table having a relationship with the database part and the at least one database table, wherein the relationship is created by metadata and defined by a foreign key in one of the database part and the at least one database table that correlates to data stored in an other one of the database part and the at least one database table.

13. The system of claim 12, wherein the processor is further operative to receive an instruction in the user interface to create an instantiation form associated with the database part, wherein the instantiation form is utilized to insert and remove database fields and data in the database part.

14. The system of claim 12, wherein the processor is further operative to receive, in the user interface, a selection of a priority table utilized in creating relationships with data when the database part is imported into the database.

15. The system of claim 12, wherein the processor in saving a file comprising the received instructions to create the database part is operative to save the file in a trusted directory, the trusted directory comprising a directory of safe templates which are imported into trusted databases.

16. The system of claim 12, wherein the processor in saving a file comprising the received instructions to create the database part is operative to create a database template.

17. A computer-readable storage medium containing computer executable instructions which, when executed on a computer, will cause the computer to perform a method for displaying on a display device a user interface for creating a database part from a database, comprising:

displaying a database data type gallery and a database table gallery representative of a database in the user interface, the database data type gallery comprising a first plurality of icons which identify data types associated with database tables, the data types comprising assets, contracts, events, issues and tasks, the database table gallery comprising a second plurality of icons which identify available tables in the database;

displaying a selectable functionality control proximate to the gallery; and

receiving a selection of the selectable functionality control to save both of the database types and the database tables as a new database part, wherein the new database part is saved as a template file to a trusted directory of safe templates, the safe templates comprising a plurality of digitally signed files having a trusted signature which is incorporated into a certificate file, wherein the safe templates are imported into at least one trusted database.