Temporal binding for semantic queries
First Claim
1. A method performed by one or more computers, the method comprising:
- executing a graph-store, the graph-store providing graph querying semantics to access facts stored in the graph-store, the graph-store including a first set of facts each of a first fact type;
in response to a first user update submitted to the graph-store that comprises values of a new given fact of the first time, adding the given fact and its values to the graph-store, automatically adding time information to the stored given fact that indicates a time of adding the given fact to the graph-store; and
in response to a second user update submitted to the graph-store that requests deletion of the given fact, automatically modifying the given fact in the graph-store to indicate that the given fact is no longer valid and to indicate a time of deleting the given fact.
1 Assignment
0 Petitions
Accused Products
Abstract
Described are techniques to facilitate temporal features in a semantic data store. Information about lifetimes of facts in a semantic store is maintained. Even when a fact is logically deleted, a physical record is kept available. The record of a logically deleted or invalid fact has associated lifetime information. For example, valid-from and valid-to time values. The record of a fact not yet deleted may have a valid-from time value indicating when it was created, became valid, etc. Queries against the semantic store may specify a timeslice (a point in time or a time range). The lifetime information can be used to satisfy such time-specific queries. Because records are maintained after they are logically deleted, it is also possible to accurately query a past state of the semantic store. Even if such a query is run at different times, same results may be obtained.
-
Citations
20 Claims
-
1. A method performed by one or more computers, the method comprising:
-
executing a graph-store, the graph-store providing graph querying semantics to access facts stored in the graph-store, the graph-store including a first set of facts each of a first fact type; in response to a first user update submitted to the graph-store that comprises values of a new given fact of the first time, adding the given fact and its values to the graph-store, automatically adding time information to the stored given fact that indicates a time of adding the given fact to the graph-store; and in response to a second user update submitted to the graph-store that requests deletion of the given fact, automatically modifying the given fact in the graph-store to indicate that the given fact is no longer valid and to indicate a time of deleting the given fact. - View Dependent Claims (2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7)
-
-
8. One or more computer-readable storage media storing information that when processed by a computer causes the computer to perform a process, the process comprising:
-
maintaining a semantic data store that stores graphs comprised of interrelated facts of different fact types, each fact type comprising a subject data type, predicate data type, and object data type, each fact comprising a statement comprised of values of the data types of its fact type, respectively, wherein the semantic data store is configured to execute semantic queries; and the maintaining including adding new facts and logically deleting existing facts, wherein each adding of a new fact comprises automatically adding to the new fact a valid-from time value indicating a time before which the new fact was invalid and after which the new fact was valid, and wherein each logically deleting an existing fact comprises adding a valid-to time value indicating a time before which the existing fact was valid and after which the existing fact became invalid. - View Dependent Claims (9, 10, 11, 12, 13, 14, 15)
-
-
16. A computer comprising storage and a processor, the storage storing:
a graph store storing a graph of facts, the facts conforming to a schema describing the graph, wherein each fact comprises a triplet comprising a subject value, a predicate value, and an object value, wherein the facts are instances of varying different fact types that have different subject data types and/or different predicate data types and/or different object data types, and wherein the semantic graph store is configured to receive semantic queries for facts in the graph store, wherein when facts are stored by automatically maintaining information indicating lifespans of each fact in the graph store. - View Dependent Claims (17, 18, 19, 20)
Specification