Application conversion of source data

• US 7,958,133 B2
• Filed: 12/20/2005
• Issued: 06/07/2011
• Est. Priority Date: 04/27/2005
• Status: Expired due to Fees

• Current Assignee: Bampton Technologies, LLC (Intellectual Ventures LLC)
• Original Assignee: AT&T Intellectual Property II LP (AT&T, Inc.)
• Inventors: Korn, David
• Primary Examiner(s): FILIPCZYK, MARCIN R
• Application Number:
  US11/311,423
• Publication Number:
  US 20060248521A1
• Time in Patent Office: 1,995 Days
• Field of Search: 707/1, 707/3, 707/6, 707/10, 707/100, 707/101, 707/200, 707/201, 707/203, 707/205, 707/104.1, 707/755, 707/803, 707/999.001, 707/999.006, 707/999.101, 707/999.2, 717/100, 717/137, 717/162
• US Class Current: 707/755
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 16/258 Data format conversion from or to a database
• CPC Class Codes: Y10S 707/99936 Pattern matching access
• CPC Class Codes: Y10S 707/99942 Manipulating data structure, e.g. compression, compaction, compilation

Abstract

A method leverages the file format information used by a target application to convert a source dataset into an encoding usable by the target application without converting the source dataset before migration and without modifying the target application. The source data when on the source system has random portions of various data types that are encoded in a source encoding based on data type. The target application, which typically processes data encoded in a target encoding that is based on data type, is able to process the source data despite the source encoding using file format information and a modified compiler library.

Claims

1. A method, comprising:

modifying an existing compiler library into a modified compiler library, wherein the existing compiler library is used by a source application;

receiving source data;

parsing the source data to specify a data type using file format information, wherein the file format information is used by both the source application and a target application, wherein the file format information comprises information that specifies first portions of the source data comprising character data and second portions of the source data comprising numeric data, wherein the file format information is external to the source data and to the modified compiler library, wherein the data type comprises a character data type and a numeric data type; and

processing the source data using the modified compiler library at a target system, the source data being migrated from a source system to the target system, the source data having a plurality of portions encoded in a source encoding based on the data type, the modified compiler library is used by a processor to convert a portion of the source data into a target encoding to be manipulated by the target application.

2. The method of claim 1, wherein the file format information is called by the target application.

3. The method of claim 1, wherein the target application calls the modified compiler library.

4. The method of claim 1, wherein locations of the portions encoded in the source encoding based on the data type are not fixed.

5. The method of claim 1, wherein a length of each of the portions encoded in the source encoding based on the data type is not fixed.

6. The method of claim 1, wherein the modified compiler library is a modified target compiler library.

7. The method of claim 1, wherein the target application is configured to manipulate data encoded in the target encoding.

8. The method of claim 1, wherein the target application manipulates a portion of the source data without converting the portion of the source data into source data encoded in the target encoding based on data type.

9. The method of claim 1, further comprising manipulating the source data using the target application.

10. The method of claim 1, wherein the modified compiler library is modified such that the target application uses the modified compiler library to manipulate the source data encoded in the source encoding.

11. A method, comprising:

receiving source data encoded in an intermediate encoding, the source data having a plurality of different data types including a character data type and a numeric data type, the intermediate encoding being an encoding converted from a source encoding based on data type into a single data type target encoding;

retrieving a portion of the source data with the single data type encoded in the intermediate encoding using file format information, wherein the file format information is used by both a source application and a target application, wherein the file format information comprises information that specifies first portions of the source data comprising character data and second portions of the source data comprising numeric data, wherein the file format information is external to the source data, wherein the file format information is called by the target application; and

processing the portion of the source data with the single data type encoded in the intermediate encoding by a processor using a compiler library called by the target application.

12. The method of claim 11, wherein the target application is configured to process source data encoded in a target encoding based on data type.

13. The method of claim 11, further comprising manipulating using the target application the portion of the source data with the single data type using the compiler library called by the target application.

14. The method of claim 11, wherein the target application manipulates the portion of the source data with the single data type encoded in the intermediate encoding without converting the portion of the source data with the single data type into a target encoding based on data type.

15. The method of claim 11, wherein the compiler library is a modified compiler library used to convert the source data encoded in the intermediate encoding into source data encoded in a target encoding based on data type.

16. The method of claim 11, wherein the compiler library is a modified compiler library used to convert source data encoded in a target encoding based on data type into the source data encoded in the intermediate encoding.

17. The method of claim 11, wherein the compiler library is a modified compiler library used to manipulate the source data encoded in the intermediate encoding.

18. The method of claim 11, further comprising:

receiving source data encoded in the source encoding based on data type; and

converting the source data encoded in the source encoding based on data type into the intermediate encoding.

19. The method of claim 11, further comprising converting the source data encoded in the intermediate encoding into source data encoded in the source encoding based on data type.