Computer systems and methods for performing a database access to generate database tables based on structural information corresonding to database objects

• US 8,706,767 B2
• Filed: 02/23/2005
• Issued: 04/22/2014
• Est. Priority Date: 02/23/2004
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: SAP SE
• Original Assignee: SAP AG (SAP SE)
• Inventors: Duevel, Olaf, Liebich, Gunther, Leinemann, Rainer, Nowotny, Dietmar
• Primary Examiner(s): Ly, Cheyne D
• Application Number:
  US11/062,553
• Publication Number:
  US 20050198003A1
• Time in Patent Office: 3,345 Days
• Field of Search: 707/738, 707/794
• US Class Current: 707/794
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 16/00 Information retrieval; Database structures therefor; File system structures therefor
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 16/289 Object oriented databases
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 16/36 Creation of semantic tools, e.g. ontology or thesauri

Abstract

Systems and methods are provided for performing a database access. In one embodiment, a computer system is provided that comprises means for receiving and storing structural information, the structural information being descriptive of a number of objects, each of the objects having sub-objects, the structural information comprising a first table and a second table for each sub-object, the first and second table including descriptive information for each sub-object, means for assigning a unique identifier to each sub-object name identified by the structural information, means for storing a mapping table of sub-object names and unique identifiers, and means for requesting generation of a database table for each sub-object identified by the structural information.

Claims

1. A computer system, comprising:

a memory device storing instructions; and

a processor executing the instructions for;

receiving and storing structural information, the structural information being descriptive of a number of objects, each of the objects having sub-objects, the structural information comprising a first table for each sub-object, each first table being identified by a sub-object name of its assigned sub-object and comprising technical field names of fields of its assigned sub-object, and a second table for each sub-object, each second table being identified by the sub-object name of its assigned sub-object and comprising the sub-object name and the technical field name of one of the sub-objects from which its assigned sub-object depends for each of the technical field names of its assigned sub-object;

assigning a unique identifier to each sub-object name identified by the structural information;

storing a mapping table of the sub-object names and the unique identifiers;

requesting generation of a database table for each sub-object identified by the structural information, the database table of one of the sub-objects being identified by the unique identifier of the one sub-object and the database table of the one sub-object having the technical field names of the one sub-object;

generating a semantic network based on database tables generated for the sub-objects, the database tables having table names and a structure;

receiving an access request including a request to process information included in the database tables having the table names and the structure; and

performing the access request by using the semantic network to retrieve information included in the database tables, wherein the information is retrieved without using the table names and the structure to process the information.

2. The computer system of claim 1, further comprising an application program for processing of objects described by the structural information.

3. The computer system of claim 1, each object having a root-object and a tree structure of dependent sub-objects, the tree structure being described by the second tables.

4. The computer system of claim 1, further comprising executing the instructions for receiving technical information, the technical information being descriptive of technical properties of fields identified by the technical field names.

5. The computer system of claim 4, wherein the technical information is descriptive of a field length and a data type of one of the fields.

6. The computer system of claim 4, the structural information comprising key field information.

7. The computer system of claim 4, the structural information comprising compulsory field information.

8. The computer system of claim 1, wherein the access request includes a root sub-object name and meta data, the meta data being descriptive of a data structure, the meta data assigning the technical field names to fields of the data structure;

retrieving all sub-object names of sub-objects dependent from the root sub-object associated with the root sub-object name identified in the access request from the second tables;

retrieving the unique identifiers assigned to the root sub-object name and the retrieved sub-object names; and

performing the access request on columns of the database tables identified by the retrieved unique identifiers and the technical field names identified by the meta data.

9. The computer system of claim 4, further comprising an archiving tool for archiving data stored in the database tables.

10. The computer system of claim 4, further comprising a transport tool component.

20. The computer system of claim 1, wherein the table name a respective one of the database tables is different than the technical field name of the respective one of the database tables.

11. A computer program product, tangibly embodied in a non-transitory machine-readable storage medium, which when executed on a processor causes the processor to perform a method, the method comprising:

receiving and storing structural information, the structural information being descriptive of a number of objects, each of the objects having sub-objects, the structural information comprising a first table for each sub-object, each first table being identified by a sub-object name of its assigned sub-object and comprising technical field names of fields of its assigned sub-object, and a second table for each sub-object, each second table being identified by the sub-object name of its assigned sub-object and comprising the sub-object name and the technical field name of one of the sub-objects from which its assigned sub-object depends for each of the technical field names of its assigned sub-object;

assigning a unique identifier to each sub-object name identified by their structural information;

storing a mapping table of the sub-object names and the assigned unique identifiers;

requesting generation of a database table for each sub-object identified by the structural information, the database table of one of the sub-objects being identified by the unique identifier of its sub-object and having the technical field names of its assigned sub-object;

generating a semantic network based on database tables generated for the sub-objects, the database tables having table names and a structure;

receiving an access request including a request to process information included in the database tables having the table names and the structure; and

performing the access request by using the semantic network to retrieve information included in the database tables, wherein the information is retrieved without using the table names and the structure to process the information.

12. The computer program product of claim 11, each object having a root-object and a tree structure of dependent sub-objects, the tree structure being described by the second tables.

13. The computer program product of claim 11, further comprising instructions for receiving an access request, the access request comprising a root sub-object name and meta data being descriptive of a data structure, the meta data assigning the technical field names to fields of the data structure, and further comprising instructions for:

retrieving all sub-object names of sub-objects dependent from the root sub-object associated with the root sub-object name identified in the access request from the second tables;

retrieving of the unique identifiers assigned to the root sub-object name and the retrieved sub-object names; and

performing the access request on fields of the database tables being identified by the retrieved unique identifiers and the technical field names identified by the meta data.

14. A computer-implemented method for processing an access request, comprising:

receiving and storing structural information, the structural information being descriptive of a number of objects, each of the objects having sub-objects, the structural information comprising a first table for each sub-object, each first table being identified by a sub-object name of its assigned sub-object and comprising technical field names of fields of its assigned sub-object, and a second table for each sub-object, each second table being identified by the sub-object name of its assigned sub-object and comprising the sub-object name and the technical field name of one of the sub-objects from which its assigned sub-object depends for each of the technical field names of its assigned sub-object;

assigning a unique identifier to each sub-object name identified by the structural information;

storing a mapping table of the sub-object names and the unique identifiers;

requesting generation of a database table for each sub-object identified by the structural information, the database table of one of the sub-objects being identified by the unique identifier of the one sub-object and the database table of the one sub-object having the technical field names of the one sub-object;

generating a semantic network based on database tables generated for the sub-objects, the database tables having table names and a structure;

receiving an access request including a request to process information included in the database tables having the table names and the structure; and

performing the access request by using the semantic network to retrieve information included in the database tables, wherein the information is retrieved without using the table names and the structure to process the information.

15. The method of claim 14, wherein each object includes a root-object and a tree structure of dependent sub-objects, the tree structure being described by the second tables.

16. The method of claim 14, further comprising receiving technical information, the technical information being descriptive of technical properties of fields identified by the technical field names.

17. The method of claim 16, wherein the technical information is descriptive of a field length and a data type of one of the fields.

18. The method of claim 16, wherein the structural information includes key field information.

19. The method of claim 16, wherein the structural information includes compulsory field information.