Using point-in-time views to provide varying levels of data freshness
First Claim
1. A method for use in allowing the user of a database to view data representing events in the life of a business enterprise, where the data is stored in one or more database tables that include a first set of records indicating when the events occurred and a second set of records indicating when the data was made available for retrieval from the database, the method comprising:
- receiving a request for data representing one or more events that occurred at or before a selected point-in-time, where the request occurs at some point after the selected point-in-time has passed;
accessing the information stored in the first and second sets of records to identify when the events occurred and when data corresponding to the events was made available for retrieval;
selecting from the table data for which;
(a) the first set of records indicates that a corresponding one of the events occurred at or before the selected point-in-time; and
(b) the second set of records indicates that the data was made available for retrieval at or before the selected point-in-time; and
delivering the selected data to for presentation to the user.
2 Assignments
0 Petitions
Accused Products
Abstract
A data-warehousing system allows various areas of an enterprise to view data at varying levels of data freshness. The system acquires data that represents an event in the life of a business enterprise, such as a transaction between the enterprise and one of its customers, and loads this data into a database table. The system then makes the data available for retrieval from the table and stores information indicating when the data was made available for retrieval. In some embodiments, the system also acquires data that is related to and more current than the data representing the event and stores the more current data in the database. The system then stores information indicating when the more current data was stored in the database. Such a data warehouse allows decision-makers in the business to see some information (e.g., customer transaction or account data) up-to-the-moment and other information as it stood at some specific point-in-time, such as at the end of the previous month. The data-warehousing system does this without requiring duplication of data, i.e., without requiring the replication of data in multiple databases or tables. The system allows the enterprise to maintain all of its data in a single database with refresh periods as short as the enterprise wishes. Departments that demand data that changes less frequently can view the data as it stood at some point prior to the last refresh.
-
Citations
12 Claims
-
1. A method for use in allowing the user of a database to view data representing events in the life of a business enterprise, where the data is stored in one or more database tables that include a first set of records indicating when the events occurred and a second set of records indicating when the data was made available for retrieval from the database, the method comprising:
-
receiving a request for data representing one or more events that occurred at or before a selected point-in-time, where the request occurs at some point after the selected point-in-time has passed; accessing the information stored in the first and second sets of records to identify when the events occurred and when data corresponding to the events was made available for retrieval; selecting from the table data for which; (a) the first set of records indicates that a corresponding one of the events occurred at or before the selected point-in-time; and (b) the second set of records indicates that the data was made available for retrieval at or before the selected point-in-time; and delivering the selected data to for presentation to the user. - View Dependent Claims (4, 5, 6, 12)
-
-
2. A database system comprising:
-
a database that includes one or more tables of data stored on one or more storage facilities and managed by one or more processing units, where the one or more tables include; entries that store data representing one or more events in the life of a business enterprise; a first set of records that stores information indicating when the events occurred; and a second set of records that stores information indicating when the data was loaded into the database; and a data-management component configured to; receive a request for data representing one or more of the events that occurred at or before a selected point-in-time, where the request occurs at some point after the selected point-in-time has passed; access the information stored in the first and second sets of records to identify when the events occurred and when data corresponding to the events was loaded into the table; select from the table data for which; (a) the first set of records indicates that a corresponding one of the events occurred at or before the selected point-in-time; and (b) the second set of records indicates that the data was loaded into the database at or before the selected point-in-time; and deliver the selected data for presentation to the user. - View Dependent Claims (7)
-
-
3. A computer program, stored on a tangible storage medium, for use in allowing the user of a database to view data representing events in the life of a business enterprise, where the data is stored in one or more database tables that include a first set of records indicating when the events occurred and a second set of records indicating when the data was made available for retrieval from the database, the program comprising executable instructions that cause a computer to:
-
receive a request for data representing one or more events that occurred at or before a selected point-in-time, where the request occurs at some point after the selected point- in-time has passed; access the information stored in the first and second sets of records to identify when the events occurred and when data corresponding to the events was made available for retrieval; select from the table data for which; (a) the first set of records indicates that a corresponding one of the events occurred at or before the selected point-in-time; and (b) the second set of records indicates that the data was made available for retrieval at or before the selected point-in-time; and deliver the selected data for presentation to the user. - View Dependent Claims (8, 9, 10, 11)
-
Specification