Multiple database entity model generation using entity models

• US 8,150,886 B2
• Filed: 08/29/2007
• Issued: 04/03/2012
• Est. Priority Date: 08/29/2007
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Microsoft Technology Licensing LLC (Microsoft Corporation)
• Original Assignee: Microsoft Corporation
• Inventors: Rhodes, James Bradley, Reed, Jeffery Eric, Robinson, Christopher
• Primary Examiner(s): HASAN, SYED HAROON
• Application Number:
  US11/846,716
• Publication Number:
  US 20090063559A1
• Time in Patent Office: 1,679 Days
• Field of Search: None
• US Class Current: 707/802
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 16/258 Data format conversion from or to a database
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 16/288 Entity relationship models

Abstract

The claimed subject matter provides a system and/or method that generates or creates database entity models using entity models. The system can include devices and components that receive database vendor specific store schema descriptions. The vendor specific store schema descriptions can be employed in conjunction with mapping files that characterize a instance of a database to generate a common object model that can be used to provide a common interface comprehensible across multiple vendor or database types.

Claims

1. A system, comprising at least one processor coupled to at least one computer-readable storage medium storing instructions, the instructions executable by the at least one processor to implement:

an interface component configured to receive database mapping information and a database agnostic metadata model providing a conceptual-level description of a specific database, the database mapping information and the database agnostic metadata model expressed in a mark-up language;

an abstraction component configured to, based on the mapping information and database agnostic metadata model, generate a common object model comprehensible across multiple database types; and

a common object model component configured to, based on the common object model, generate a schema description of a database instance in a Store Schema Description Language (SSDL);

wherein the interface component is further configured to be in either of continuous or intermittent communication with a network topology including a plurality of disparate database instances, implementations, and vendor types, and to receive or, at the instigation of other components, solicit or elicit information from the network topology, the information including the mapping information and previously and contemporaneously rendered or developed database agnostic metadata models.

2. The system of claim 1, wherein the mark-up language expresses a store schema description in a store schema description language (SSDL).

3. The system of claim 1, further comprising a data fusion component configured to analyze inputs received through a plurality of different sensing modalities, at least in part by employing algorithmic processing of sensor data to compensate for inherent fragmentation of information in phenomena not directly observable using a single sensing modality.

4. The system of claim 2, wherein the store schema description is vendor agnostic.

5. The system of claim 1, wherein the common object model is vendor agnostic.

6. The system of claim 2, wherein the store schema description is configured to provide an entity-relationship diagram of vendor specific implementations of a database instance, and wherein the entity-relationship diagram is configured to provide a conceptual abstraction of the database instance and at least one specific database implementation in terms of a list of objects describing the database instance and the specific implementation.

7. The system of claim 1, wherein the common object model is configured to describe information schema data within a database instance.

8. The system of claim 7, wherein the information schema includes descriptions of tables, columns, stored procedures, names of the stored procedures, or methods to call the stored procedures.

9. The system of claim 1, wherein the common object model is characterized utilizing a common specification and description language (CSDL).

10. The system of claim 1, wherein the common object model is configured to provide representation of an entity-relationship diagram.

11. The system of claim 10, wherein the entity relationship diagram includes tables, views, columns, view columns, view table columns, or functions.

12. The system of claim 2, wherein the store schema description is configured to be utilized on a database instance to divulge a structure of the database instance.

13. The system of claim 1, wherein the conceptual-level description of the database agnostic metadata describes, in terms of entity data model entity types and entity sets, at least one of tables, views, stored procedures, keys or relationships, for reasoning about at least one of tables, views, stored procedures, keys or relationships that exist in database instances.

14. The system of claim 1, wherein the common object model includes a plurality of objects, each object defining a database object included in a database instance.

15. A machine-implemented method, comprising:

communicating either continuously or intermittently with a network topology that includes multiple databases of disparate vendor types;

soliciting, from the network topology, database mapping information and a plurality of contemporaneously developed database agnostic metadata models;

based on the soliciting, receiving the database mapping information and a database agnostic metadata model, the database mapping information and the database agnostic metadata model expressed in a mark-up language;

utilizing the database mapping information and the database agnostic metadata model to generate a common object model comprehensible across multiple database types;

generating, based on the common object model, a schema description of a database instance in a Store Schema Description Language (SSDL); and

employing the schema description to access, modify, or manipulate a table entry in the database instance.

16. The method of claim 15, the utilizing further including employing a vendor specific store schema description to cause the database instance to divulge an internal structure of the database instance.

17. The method of claim 16, further comprising including all tables associated with the database instance in an internal structure of the database instance.

18. The method of claim 15, further comprising rendering the database agnostic metadata model substantially contemporaneously with receiving the database mapping information.

19. The method of claim 15, further comprising rendering the common object model comprehensible across multiple vendor or database types.

20. A computer-readable storage medium storing instructions, the instructions to, if executed by a computing device, cause the computing device to perform operations comprising:

based on at least one of continuous or intermittent communication with a network topology that includes multiple databases of disparate vendor types, soliciting database mapping information and a plurality of contemporaneously developed database agnostic metadata models from the network topology;

based on the soliciting, acquiring the database mapping information and a database agnostic metadata model, the database mapping information and the database agnostic metadata model expressed in a mark-up language;

generating a common object model comprehensible across multiple database types based on the database mapping information and the database agnostic metadata model;

based on the common object model, generating a schema description of a database instance; and

manipulating, accessing, or modifying the database instance based at least in part on the schema description.