Method and apparatus for propagating tables while preserving cyclic foreign key relationships

• US 8,285,677 B2
• Filed: 06/30/2006
• Issued: 10/09/2012
• Est. Priority Date: 06/30/2006
• Status: Expired due to Fees

• Current Assignee: International Business Machines Corporation
• Original Assignee: International Business Machines Corporation
• Inventors: Bostick, James E., Forlenza, Randolph M., Kaemmerer, John P., Kalyanaraman, Raghuraman
• Primary Examiner(s): Gortayo, Dangelino
• Application Number:
  US11/427,930
• Publication Number:
  US 20080005183A1
• Time in Patent Office: 2,293 Days
• Field of Search: 707/1, 707/3, 707/100, 707/104.1, 707/200, 707/201, 707/638, 707/673, 707/693, 707/803, 707/809, 709/203
• US Class Current: 707/638
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 16/217 Database tuning G06F16/2282 takes precedence; database performance monitoring G06F11/3409
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 16/284 Relational databases

Abstract

The invention meeting the need identified above is the “Enhanced Database Propagation Program” or (EDPP). EDPP uses a cyclic member table that identifies a first source table in a cyclic relationship with a second source table. The first source table, identified in the cyclic member table, propagates first. EDPP replaces all foreign keys with “NULL” in the first target table. After the second source table in the subscription set has propagated to a second target table, EDPP updates first target table with the foreign keys from the first source table.

Claims

1. A computer implemented process for propagating a plurality of database tables with cyclic foreign keys without permanently removing the cyclic foreign keys, the computer implemented process comprising:

identifying a first source database fable and a second source database table with a cyclic foreign key relationship by iterating through a plurality of records listed in a cyclic member table, that lists the plurality of database tables with cyclic foreign keys;

creating a first target database table for said first source database table to propagate;

copying said first source database table to said first target database table, wherein all cyclic foreign keys referencing said second source database table are replaced with “

NULL”

;

copying said second source database table to a second target database table;

iterating through the plurality of records of said cyclic member table in reverse order; and

updating said first target database table with the cyclic foreign keys referencing the second source database table from the first source database table, wherein the plurality of database tables with cyclic foreign keys are propagated without permanently removing the cyclic foreign keys and without a violation error being thrown.