Establishing a data management fee structure based on fine grained data entities

• US 8,775,330 B2
• Filed: 06/23/2003
• Issued: 07/08/2014
• Est. Priority Date: 06/23/2003
• Status: Expired due to Fees

• Current Assignee: International Business Machines Corporation
• Original Assignee: International Business Machines Corporation
• Inventors: Dettinger, Richard D., Stevens, Richard J.
• Primary Examiner(s): Jung, Allen J
• Application Number:
  US10/601,995
• Publication Number:
  US 20040260658A1
• Time in Patent Office: 4,033 Days
• Field of Search: 705/400, 705/7.35
• US Class Current: 705/400
• CPC Class Codes: G06Q 30/0206 Price or cost determination based on market factors
• CPC Class Codes: G06Q 30/0283 Price estimation or determination
• CPC Class Codes: G06Q 30/04 Billing or invoicing

Abstract

Systems, methods and articles of manufacture for accessing data for a fee are provided. Fee schedules are defined for any arbitrary granularity of data, including for fields and data structures (e.g., tables in a database). Fees may be calculated based on the type of operation to be performed. Fees may also be calculated per operation and/or per data item involved in the operation.

Claims

1. A computer implemented method of providing fee-based access to data at different levels of granularity of an abstract model of the data, the abstract model logically defining one or more abstract operations to access the data, the computer implemented method comprising:

responsive to a request, performing, by a computer processor, an operation to access one or more physical fields containing at least a subset of the data, wherein the operation includes accessing the abstract model, the abstract model comprising metadata defining;

(i) a plurality of logical fields in a form of a plurality of logical field definitions, wherein each logical field definition specifies a respective logical field name and a respective mapping rule comprising an access method that is executed to retrieve a corresponding physical field of physical entities of the data, each logical field definitions including a field-specific fee attribute; and

(ii) a logical field category in a form of a logical field category definition specifying a category name and one or more of the plurality of logical fields to include in the logical field category, wherein the logical field category belongs to a parent category that in turn belongs to a grandparent category, of which at least one category has a category-specific fee attribute separate from any field-specific fee attribute of the one or more logical fields;

wherein the operation further includes accessing the one or more physical fields via a first logical field of the plurality of logical fields and according to the mapping rules defined by the metadata, wherein the first logical field belongs to the logical field category;

determining, by the computer processor, a first fee pertaining to the first logical field, by retrieving the field-specific fee attribute of each of the plurality of logical fields that are mapped to the one or more physical fields accessed by the operation, wherein a second fee pertaining to the logical field category is determined based on the category-specific fee attribute; and

calculating, by the computer processor, a total fee to charge for accessing the data, wherein the total fee is a combination of the first fee and the second fee.

2. The computer implemented method of claim 1, further comprising:

accessing the data according to an abstract operation comprising at least two of the plurality of logical fields and according to the mapping rule for each logical field and defined by the metadata;

wherein the total fee to charge is calculated based on separate fee attributes corresponding to each of the at least two of the plurality of logical fields.

3. The computer implemented method of claim 1, further comprising:

providing a run-time component configured with transformation instructions to transform each abstract operation, comprising logical fields selected from the plurality of logical fields, into a physical operation consistent with the physical data.

4. The computer implemented method of claim 1, wherein the operation is an abstract query comprising at least two logical fields, wherein calculating the total fee to charge for accessing the data comprises:

accessing a corresponding fee attribute for each of the at least two logical fields;

determining a per request fee for a first one of the at least two logical fields, wherein the per request fee is charged for each abstract operation involving the first one of the at least two logical fields; and

determining a per item fee for a second one of the at least two logical fields, wherein the per item fee is charged for each instance of the second one of the at least two logical fields involved in a given abstract operation.

5. The computer implemented method of claim 4, the operation further comprising multiplying the per item fee by a number of instances of the second one of the at least two logical fields to determine a product, and summing the product and the per request fee to determine the total fee to charge.

6. The computer implemented method of claim 1, wherein at least one fee attribute defined by the abstract model specifies a first fee for a first type of operation and a second fee for a second type of operation, wherein the total fee to charge is based on a type of operation performed, wherein the type is selected from the first and second types.

7. The computer implemented method of claim 6, wherein the first type of operation is a query and the second type of operation is one of an insert and an update.

8. The computer implemented method of claim 1, thereby providing fee-based access to the data at different levels of granularity of the abstract model of the data, including a logical-field-level of granularity and a category-level of granularity, respectively.

9. The computer implemented method of claim 8, wherein the abstract model further comprises:

(iii) a model entity definition for a model entity, wherein the model entity definition specifies a model entity name, one or more of the plurality of logical fields to include in the model entity, and an entity-specific fee attribute defining a third fee to charge when any of the one or more logical fields is involved in an abstract operation to access the data.

10. The computer implemented method of claim 9, wherein at least a second of the plurality of logical field definitions includes a field-specific fee attribute defining a fourth fee to charge when the second logical field is involved in an abstract operation to access the data, wherein the first, second, third, and fourth fees are distinct.

11. The computer implemented method of claim 10, wherein the abstract model includes a plurality of logical field categories including the logical field category, wherein each logical field category has a respective category-specific fee attribute, wherein each category-specific fee attribute specifies a distinct fee to charge;

wherein the abstract model includes a plurality of model entities including the model entity, wherein each model entity has a respective entity-specific fee attribute, wherein each entity-specific fee attribute specifies a distinct fee to charge;

wherein the computer implemented method further comprises generating the abstract data model, including defining each of the plurality of logical field definitions and defining the logical field category definition, wherein the category-specific fee attribute of the at least one category is defined in a logical field category definition for the at least one category.

12. The computer implemented method of claim 11, wherein each of at least two of the logical field category, the parent category, and the grandparent category has a respective category-specific fee attribute specifying a distinct fee to charge, from which the second fee is selected, wherein each field-specific fee attribute, category-specific fee attribute, and entity-specific fee attribute specifies:

(i) a base fee portion and (ii) an additional fee portion;

wherein the base fee portion comprises a per-request portion that is charged for each abstract operation type selected from an abstract query, an abstract insert, and an abstract update;

wherein the additional fee portion comprises a per-item portion that is a function of a total count of records returned from the abstract operation.

13. The computer implemented method of claim 12, wherein each of the logical field category, the parent category, and the grandparent category has a distinct category name and a respective category-specific fee attribute specifying a distinct fee to charge, from which the second fee is selected, wherein each field-specific fee attribute is not specific to any physical field, is not specific to any category, and is not specific to any model entity, wherein each category-specific fee attribute is not specific to any physical field, is not specific to any logical field, and is not specific to any model entity, wherein each entity-specific fee attribute is not specific to any physical field, is not specific to any logical field, and is not specific to any logical field category.

14. The computer implemented method of claim 13, further comprising:

accessing the data according to an abstract operation comprising at least two of the plurality of logical fields and according to the mapping rules defined by the metadata; and

providing a run-time component configured with transformation instructions to transform each abstract operation, comprising logical fields selected from the plurality of logical fields, into a physical operation consistent with the physical data;

wherein the total fee to charge is calculated based on separate fee attributes corresponding to each of the at least two of the plurality of logical fields, wherein the abstract operation is an abstract query comprising the at least two logical fields, wherein calculating the total fee to charge for accessing the data comprises;

accessing a corresponding fee attribute for each of the at least two logical fields;

determining a per request fee for a first one of the at least two logical fields, wherein the per request fee is charged for each abstract operation involving the first one of the at least two logical fields;

determining a per item fee for a second one of the at least two logical fields, wherein the per item fee is charged for each instance of the second one of the at least two logical fields involved in a given abstract operation;

multiplying the per item fee by a number of instances of the second one of the at least two logical fields to determine a product; and

summing the product and the per request fee to determine the total fee to charge.

15. A computer implemented method of providing fee-based access to data at different levels of granularity of an abstract model of the physical data, the data comprising a plurality of physical entities, each physical entity including one or more physical fields, the abstract model defining abstract operation specifications logically describing one or more operations to access the data, the computer implemented method comprising:

responsive to a request, performing, by a computer processor, an operation to access one or more physical fields containing at least a subset of the data, wherein the operation includes accessing the abstract model, the abstract model comprising metadata defining;

(a) a plurality of logical fields in a form of a plurality of logical field definitions, wherein each of the plurality of logical field definitions includes a field-specific fee attribute;

(b) a mapping rule for each of the plurality of logical fields, the mapping rule comprising an access method that is executed to retrieve a respective physical field of physical entities of the data;

(c) a plurality of model entity definitions, each comprising at least one logical field corresponding to a physical field of a physical entity, and of which a first model entity definition for a model entity specifies an entity-specific fee attribute separate from any field-specific fee attribute of the at least one logical field; and

(d) in a form of a logical field category definition, a logical field category belonging to a parent category that in turn belongs to a grandparent category, of which at least one category has a category-specific fee attribute;

wherein the operation further includes accessing the one or more physical fields via a first logical field of the plurality of logical fields and according to the mapping rules defined by the metadata, wherein the first logical field belongs to the model entity and the logical field category;

determining, by the computer processor, a first fee pertaining to the first logical field, by retrieving the field-specific fee attribute of each of the plurality of logical fields that are mapped to the one or more physical fields accessed by the operation, wherein a second fee pertaining to the logical field category is determined based on the category-specific fee attribute, wherein a third fee pertaining to the model entity is determined based on the entity-specific fee attribute; and

calculating, by the computer processor, a total fee to charge for accessing the data, wherein the total fee is a combination of at least two of the first fee, the second fee, and the third fee.

16. The computer implemented method of claim 15, further comprising:

transforming, according to the abstract model, abstract operation specifications into physical operation specifications consistent with the physical data, wherein each abstract operation specification includes at least one of the plurality of model entity definitions.

17. The computer implemented method of claim 15, wherein at least one logical field fee attribute defined by the abstract model specifies a first fee for a first type of operation and a second fee for a second type of operation.

18. The computer implemented method of claim 17, wherein the first type of operation is a query and the second type of operation is one of an insert and an update.

19. A computer implemented method of providing fee-based access to data at different levels of granularity of an abstract model of the data, the data comprising a plurality of physical entities, each physical entity including one or more physical fields, the computer implemented method comprising:

receiving instructions to perform an operation for accessing one or more physical fields containing at least a subset of the data;

performing the operation by a computer processor, wherein the operation includes accessing metadata defining;

(i) a plurality of logical fields;

(ii) a mapping rule for each of the plurality of logical fields, the mapping rule of each logical field mapping the respective logical field to a corresponding physical entity of the plurality of physical entities; and

(iii) a fee schedule for each of the plurality of logical fields, the fee schedule specifying a fee to charge for each logical field when the respective logical field is used to access the data;

wherein the operation further includes accessing the one or more physical fields according to the mapping rules defined by the metadata;

determining, by the computer processor, a field-specific fee for each of the one or more physical fields accessed by the operation, by retrieving the specified fee to charge for each of the plurality of logical fields that are mapped to the one or more physical fields accessed by the operation;

determining, by the computer processor, a category-specific fee pertaining to at least one of;

(i) a physical field category to which a first of the one or more accessed physical fields belongs, wherein the physical field category belongs to a parent category that in turn belongs to a grandparent category;

(ii) the parent category; and

(iii) the grandparent category; and

calculating, by the computer processor, a total fee to charge a user for the operation, wherein the total fee is a combination of the field-specific fees and the category-specific fee.

20. The computer implemented method of claim 19, wherein the physical entities are database tables.

21. The computer implemented method of claim 19, wherein the operation is one of a query, an insert and an update.

22. The computer implemented method of claim 19, wherein determining field-specific fees comprises determining whether a field-specific fee is a per request fee or a per item fee, wherein the per request fee is a singular fee charged for the operation regardless of a number of instances a corresponding physical field is included in the operation, wherein the per item fee is charged for each instance of a corresponding physical field included in the operation.

23. The computer implemented method of claim 19, wherein each of the fee schedules defines a separate fee for each separate operation type.

24. The computer implemented method of claim 23, wherein the separate operation types comprise queries, inserts and updates.

25. The computer implemented method of claim 19, wherein determining field-specific fees comprises accessing an abstract model for logically defining an abstract operation accessing the data, the abstract model comprising the metadata.

26. The computer implemented method of claim 25, wherein each mapping rule comprises an access method for each logical field of an abstract operation specification logically defining the operation accessing the data, and wherein each logical field describes a physical location of the corresponding physical entity.

27. The computer implemented method of claim 25, wherein each fee schedule defines at least one of a per request fee and a per item fee, wherein the per request fee is a singular fee charged for the operation regardless of a number of instances a corresponding logical field is included in the operation, wherein the per item fee is charged for each instance of a corresponding logical field included in the operation.

28. The computer implemented method of claim 25, further comprising:

transforming, according to the abstract model, abstract operations into physical operation consistent with the physical data, wherein each abstract operation includes at least one of the plurality of model entity definitions; and

calculating the fee for executing physical operations based on the fee schedules.

29. The computer implemented method of claim 25, further comprising:

accessing the data according to the abstract operation and according to the mapping rules defined by the metadata, the abstract operation comprising at least two of the plurality of logical fields; and

calculating the total fee to charge based on separate fee schedules corresponding to each of the at least two plurality of logical fields.

30. The computer implemented method of claim 25, further comprising:

providing a run-time component configured with transformation instructions to transform each abstract operation, comprising logical fields selected from the plurality of logical fields, into a physical operation consistent with the physical data; and

providing a fee calculator configured to perform the calculating of the fee for executing physical operations based on the fee schedules and without requiring user input.

31. The computer implemented method of claim 25, wherein the abstract operation is an abstract query comprising at least two logical fields, the computer implemented method further comprising:

accessing the fee schedule for each of the at least two logical fields;

determining a per request fee for a first one of the at least two logical fields, wherein the per request fee is charged for each abstract operation involving the first one of the at least two logical fields; and

determining a per item fee for a second one of the at least two logical fields, wherein the per item fee is charged for each instance of the second one of the at least two logical fields involved in a given abstract operation.

32. The computer implemented method of claim 31, further comprising multiplying the per item fee by a number of instances of the second one of the at least two logical fields to determine a product, and summing the product and the per request fee to determine the fee to be charged.

33. The computer implemented method of claim 25, wherein at least one fee schedule defined by the abstract model specifies a first fee for a first type of operation and a second fee for a second type of operation, wherein the total fee to charge is based on a type of operation performed, wherein the type is selected from the first and second types.

34. The computer implemented method of claim 33, wherein the first type of operation is a query and the second type of operation is one of an insert and an update.

35. A non-transitory computer-readable medium containing a program which, when executed by a processor, performs operations for accessing physical data at different levels of granularity of an abstract model of the physical data, the physical data comprising a plurality of physical entities, each physical entity including one or more physical fields, the operation comprising:

receiving instructions to perform a desired operation accessing one or more physical fields containing at least a subset of the data;

causing performance of the desired operation by the processor, wherein the desired operation includes accessing metadata defining;

(i) a plurality of logical fields;

(ii) a mapping rule for each of the plurality of logical fields, the mapping rule of each logical field mapping the respective logical field to a corresponding physical entity of the plurality of physical entities; and

(iii) a fee schedule for each of the plurality of logical fields, the fee schedule specifying a fee to charge for each logical field when the respective logical field is used to access the data;

wherein the desired operation further includes accessing the one or more physical fields according to the mapping rules defined by the metadata;

determining, by the processor, a field-specific fee for each of the one or more physical fields accessed by the desired operation, by retrieving the specified fee to charge for each of the plurality of logical fields that are mapped to the one or more physical fields accessed by the desired operation;

determining, by the processor, a category-specific fee pertaining to at least one of;

(i) a physical field category to which a first of the one or more physical fields belongs, wherein the physical field category belongs to a parent category that in turn belongs to a grandparent category;

(ii) the parent category; and

(iii) the grandparent category; and

calculating, by the processor, a total fee to charge a user for the desired operation, wherein the total fee is a combination of the field-specific fees and the category-specific fee.

36. The non-transitory computer-readable medium of claim 35, wherein the physical entities are database tables.

37. The non-transitory computer-readable medium of claim 35, wherein the desired operation is one of a query, an insert and an update.

38. The non-transitory computer-readable medium of claim 35, wherein determining field-specific fees comprises determining whether a field-specific fee is a per request fee or a per item fee, wherein the per request fee is a singular fee charged for the desired operation regardless of a number of instances of a corresponding physical field are included in the desired operation, wherein the per item fee is charged for each instance of a corresponding physical fee included in the desired operation.

39. The non-transitory computer-readable medium of claim 35, wherein each of the fee schedules defines a separate fee for each separate operation type.

40. The non-transitory computer-readable medium of claim 39, wherein the separate operation types comprise queries, inserts and updates.

41. The non-transitory computer-readable medium of claim 35, wherein determining field-specific fees comprises accessing an abstract model for logically defining the desired operation accessing the data, the abstract model comprising the metadata.

42. The non-transitory computer-readable medium of claim 41, wherein each mapping rule comprises an access method for each logical field of an abstract operation specification logically defining the desired operation accessing the data via the mapping rules defined by the metadata, wherein each logical field describes a physical location of the corresponding physical entity.

43. A computer implemented method of providing a logical framework for defining abstract operations for accessing data at different levels of granularity of an abstract model of the data, the data comprising a plurality of physical entities, each physical entity including one or more physical fields, the abstract model defining abstract operation specifications logically describing one or more operations to access the data, the computer implemented method comprising:

responsive to a request, performing, by a computer processor, an operation to access one or more physical fields containing at least a subset of the data, wherein the operation includes accessing the abstract model, the abstract model comprising metadata defining;

(a) a plurality of logical fields in a form of a plurality of logical field definitions, wherein at least a first of the plurality of logical field definitions includes a field-specific fee attribute;

(b) a mapping rule for each of the plurality of logical fields, the mapping rule of each logical field comprising an access method that is executed to retrieve a respective physical field of physical entities of the data;

(c) a plurality of model entity definitions, each comprising at least one logical field corresponding to a physical field of a physical entity, each model entity definition specifying an entity-specific fee attribute separate from any field-specific fee attribute of the at least one logical field;

(d) in a form of a logical field category definition, a logical field category belonging to a parent category that in turn belongs to a grandparent category, of which at least one category has a category-specific fee attribute;

wherein the operation further includes accessing the one or more physical fields via a first logical field of the plurality of logical fields and according to the mapping rules defined by the metadata, wherein the first logical field belongs to the model entity and the logical field category;

providing a run-time component to transform, according to the mapping rules defined by the metadata, abstract operation specifications into physical operation specifications consistent with the physical data, wherein each abstract operation specification includes at least one user-selected model entity definitions of the plurality of model entity definitions;

determining, by the computer processor, a first fee pertaining to the first logical field, by retrieving the entity-specific fee attribute of each of the plurality of logical fields that are mapped to the one or more physical fields accessed by the operation, wherein a second fee pertaining to the logical field category is determined based on the category-specific fee attribute, wherein a third fee pertaining to the model entity is determined based on the entity-specific fee attribute; and

calculating, by the computer processor, a total fee to charge for accessing the data, wherein the total fee is a combination of at least two of the first fee, the second fee, and the third fee.

44. The computer implemented method of claim 43, wherein each of the plurality of physical entities is a table in a database.

45. The computer implemented method of claim 43, wherein each physical operation specification is selected from one of an insert statement and an update statement and wherein the model entity fee attributes define different fees for each statement.

46. The computer implemented method of claim 43, wherein each physical operation specification is a query, and wherein the model entity fee attributes define fees specific to queries.

47. The computer implemented method of claim 43, wherein the abstract operation specification is an abstract query, and further comprising:

receiving, via a user interface, the abstract query comprising a plurality of query conditions, result fields and a selection of one of the model entity definitions;

accessing the model entity definition corresponding to the selection;

determining whether the model entity definition corresponding to the selection specifies one or more required result fields; and

adding the one or more required result fields to the query upon determining that the model entity definition corresponding to the selection specifies one or more required result fields.

48. The computer implemented method of claim 43, further comprising transforming, by the run-time component transforms and according to the abstract model, a single abstract operation specification into at least two separate physical operation specifications consistent with the physical data, wherein each physical operation specification modifies a different physical entity of the data and wherein each physical operation specifications is ordered for execution according to a physical entity relationships specification defining hierarchical relationships between the physical entities of the data.

49. The computer implemented method of claim 43, further comprising:

issuing, by a requesting entity, a request to execute a single abstract operation specification; and

transforming, by the run-time component, the single abstract operation specification into the at least two physical operation specifications for modifying the data.

50. The computer implemented method of claim 49, wherein transforming the single abstract operation specification into the at least two physical operation specifications comprises:

generating the at least two physical operation specifications; and

ordering the at least two physical operation specifications according to a physical entity relationships specification of the abstract model.

51. The computer implemented method of claim 43, wherein each logical field describes a location of the corresponding physical entity.

52. The computer implemented method of claim 43, wherein the abstract model further comprises a logical field fee attribute for each of the plurality of logical fields, wherein the fee attributes each specify a fee for accessing the corresponding physical entity as part of a physical operation specification.

53. The computer implemented method of claim 52, wherein at least one fee attribute defined by the abstract model specifies a first fee for a first type of operation and a second fee for a second type of operation.

54. The computer implemented method of claim 53, wherein the first type of operation is a query and the second type of operation is one of an insert and an update.

55. A non-transitory computer-readable medium containing a program which, when executed by a processor, provides a logical framework for defining abstract query operations for fee-based access to data at different levels of granularity of an abstract model of the data, the program comprising:

program code configured to perform, responsive to a request, an operation to access one or more physical fields containing at least a subset of the data, wherein the operation includes accessing the abstract model, the abstract model comprising metadata defining;

(i) a plurality of logical fields in a form of a plurality of logical field definitions, wherein each of the plurality of logical field definitions includes a field-specific fee attribute;

(ii) a mapping rule for each of the plurality of logical fields, comprising an access method that is executed to retrieve a corresponding physical field of physical entities of the data; and

(iii) a logical field category in a form of a logical field category definition specifying a category name and one or more of the plurality of logical fields to include in the logical field category, wherein the logical field category belongs to a parent category that in turn belongs to a grandparent category, of which at least one category has a category-specific fee attribute separate from any field-specific fee attribute of the one or more logical fields;

wherein the operation further includes accessing the one or more physical fields via a first logical field of the plurality of logical fields and according to the mapping rules defined by the metadata, wherein the first logical field belongs to the logical field category;

a run-time component configured with transformation instructions to transform an abstract query, comprising logical fields selected from the plurality of logical fields, into a physical query consistent with the physical data, according to the mapping rule for each logical field and defined by the metadata; and

a fee calculator configured to determine a first fee pertaining to the first logical field, by retrieving the field-specific fee attribute of each of the plurality of logical fields that are mapped to the one or more physical fields accessed by the operation, wherein a second fee pertaining to the logical field category is determined based on the category-specific fee attribute, wherein the fee calculator is further configured to calculate a total fee for executing one or more physical queries, wherein the total fee is a combination of the first fee and the second fee.

56. The non-transitory computer-readable medium of claim 55, wherein the mapping rules comprise an access method for each of the plurality of logical fields, wherein each logical field describes a location of the physical entities of the data.

57. A computer to provide fee-based access to data at different levels of granularity of an abstract model of the data, the computer comprising:

at least one computer processor; and

a memory containing a program executable by the at least one computer processor, the program including;

program code configured to perform, responsive to a request, an operation to access one or more physical fields containing at least a subset of the data, wherein the operation includes accessing a logical framework for defining abstract modification operations for modifying physical data, the logical framework including an abstract model for defining an abstract modification specification logically describing an operation to modify the data, the abstract model comprising metadata defining;

(i) a plurality of logical fields in a form of a plurality of logical field definitions, wherein each of the plurality of logical field definitions includes a field-specific fee attribute;

(ii) a mapping rule for each of the plurality of logical fields, comprising an access method that is executed to retrieve a corresponding physical field of physical entities of the data; and

(iii) a logical field category in a form of a logical field category definition for a logical field category specifying a category name and one or more of the plurality of logical fields to include in the logical field category, wherein the logical field category belongs to a parent category that in turn belongs to a grandparent category, of which at least one category has a category-specific fee attribute separate from any field-specific fee attribute of the one or more logical fields;

wherein the operation further includes accessing the one or more physical fields via a first logical field of the plurality of logical fields and according to the mapping rules defined by the metadata, wherein the first logical field belongs to the logical field category;

a run-time component to transform an abstract query, comprising logical fields selected from the plurality of logical fields, into a physical query consistent with the physical data, according to the mapping rule for each logical field and defined by the metadata; and

a fee calculator configured to determine a first fee pertaining to the first logical field, by retrieving the field-specific fee attribute of each of the plurality of logical fields that are mapped to the one or more physical fields accessed by the operation, wherein a second fee pertaining to the logical field category is determined based on the category-specific fee attribute, wherein the fee calculator is further configured to calculate a total fee to charge for executing physical queries, based on the field-specific and category-specific fee attributes, wherein the total fee is a combination of the first fee and the second fee.

58. The computer of claim 57, wherein each fee attribute defines at least one of a per request fee and a per item fee, wherein the per request fee is a singular fee charged for the operation regardless of a number of instances a corresponding logical field is included in the operation, wherein the per item fee is charged for each instance of a corresponding logical field included in the operation.

59. The computer of claim 57, wherein each logical field describes a location of the corresponding physical field.

60. A computer implemented method of providing fee-based access to data at different levels of granularity of an abstract model of the data, the data comprising a plurality of physical entities, each physical entity including one or more physical fields, the computer implemented method comprising:

receiving, via a user interface, user input comprising instructions for an operation for accessing the data via one or more selected physical fields of the plurality of the physical fields, wherein the operation includes accessing metadata defining;

(i) a plurality of logical fields;

(ii) a mapping rule for each of the plurality of logical fields, the mapping rule of each logical field mapping the respective logical field to a corresponding one of the plurality of physical entities; and

(iii) a fee schedule for each of the plurality of logical fields, the fee schedule of each logical field specifying a fee to charge when the respective logical field is involved in accessing the physical entity corresponding to the respective logical field;

wherein the operation further includes accessing the one or more selected physical fields according to the mapping rules defined by the metadata;

determining, by a computer processor, a field-specific fee for each of the one or more selected physical fields, by retrieving the specified fee to charge for each of the plurality of logical fields that are mapped to the one or more selected physical fields accessed by the operation;

determining, by the computer processor, a category-specific fee for at least one of;

(i) a physical field category to which a first of the one or more selected physical fields belongs, wherein the physical field category belongs to a parent category that in turn belongs to a grandparent category;

(ii) the parent category; and

(iii) the grandparent category;

calculating, by the computer processor, a total fee to charge a user for accessing the one or more selected physical fields, wherein the total fee is a combination of the field-specific fees and the category-specific fee; and

displaying the total fee to the user via a user interface.

61. The computer implemented method of claim 60, wherein the physical entities are database tables.

62. The computer implemented method of claim 60, wherein determining field-specific fees comprises determining whether a field-specific fee is a per request fee or a per item fee, wherein the per request fee is a singular fee charged for the operation regardless of a number of instances a corresponding physical field is included in the operation, wherein the per item fee is charged for each instance of a corresponding physical field included in the operation.

63. The computer implemented method of claim 60, wherein each of the fee schedules defines a separate fee for each separate operation type.

64. The computer implemented method of claim 63, wherein the separate operation types comprise queries, inserts and updates.

65. A computer implemented method for displaying fee information for fee-based access to data at different levels of granularity of an abstract model of the data, the data comprising a plurality of physical entities, each physical entity including one or more physical fields, the computer implemented method comprising:

displaying one or more user interface screens for construction of queries;

receiving, via the one or more user interface screens, user input defining a query configured to access one or more selected physical fields of the one or more physical fields, wherein accessing the one or more selected physical fields includes accessing metadata defining;

(i) a plurality of logical fields;

(ii) a mapping rule for each of the plurality of logical fields, the mapping rule of each logical field mapping the respective logical field to a corresponding one of the plurality of physical entities;

(iii) a field-specific access fee for each of the plurality of logical fields;

wherein the one or more selected physical fields are accessed according to the mapping rules defined by the metadata; and

(iv) a category-specific access fee;

determining, by a computer processor, a first fee pertaining to a first logical field used to access a first one of the one or more selected physical fields, by retrieving the specified fee to charge for each of the plurality of logical fields that are mapped to the one or more selected physical fields accessed by the operation;

displaying, via the one or more user interface screens on an output device;

(i) the field-specific access fee of the logical field used to access each of the one or more selected physical fields and (ii) the category-specific access fee;

wherein the first physical field belongs to a physical field category, wherein the physical field category belongs to a parent category that in turn belongs to a grandparent category, wherein the category-specific access fee pertains to at least one of the physical field category, the parent category, and the grandparent category; and

calculating, by the computer processor, a total fee to charge for accessing the data, based on a combination of the field-specific access fee for at least a first one of the one or more selected physical fields and the category-specific access fee.

66. The computer implemented method of claim 65, further comprising displaying a per query fee, the per query fee being a singular fee charged for the query regardless of a number of instances a corresponding physical field is included in the query.

67. The computer implemented method of claim 65, further comprising determining the field-specific fees by accessing an abstract model for logically defining the query, the abstract model comprising the metadata,

wherein the category-specific fee attribute is separate from any field-specific fee attribute of the one or more logical fields.

68. The computer implemented method of claim 67, wherein each mapping rule comprises an access method for each logical field of an abstract operation specification logically defining the operation accessing the data, and wherein each logical field describes a physical location of the corresponding physical entity.

69. The computer implemented method of claim 67, wherein each fee attribute defines at least one of a per request fee and a per item fee, wherein the per request fee is a singular fee charged for the query regardless of a number of instances a corresponding logical field is included in the query, wherein the per item fee is charged for each instance of a corresponding logical field included in the query.

70. A system to provide fee-based access to data at different levels of granularity of an abstract model of the data, the abstract model defining one or more abstract operations to access the data, the system comprising:

one or more computer processors;

a memory containing a program which, when executed by the one or more computer processors, performs an operation comprising;

responsive to a request, performing a desired operation to access one or more physical fields containing at least a subset of the data, wherein the operation includes accessing the abstract model, the abstract model comprising metadata defining;

(i) a plurality of logical fields in a form of a plurality of logical field definitions, wherein each logical field definition specifies a respective logical field name and a respective mapping rule comprising an access method that is executed to retrieve a corresponding physical field of physical entities of the data, wherein at least a first of the plurality of logical field definitions includes a field-specific fee attribute; and

(ii) a logical field category in a form of a logical field category definition specifying a category name and one or more of the plurality of logical fields to include in the logical field category, wherein the logical field category belongs to a parent category that in turn belongs to a grandparent category, of which at least one category has a category-specific fee attribute separate from any field-specific fee attribute of the one or more logical fields;

wherein the desired operation further includes accessing the one or more physical fields via a first logical field of the plurality of logical fields and according to the mapping rules defined by the metadata, wherein the first logical field belongs to the logical field category;

determining a first fee pertaining to the first logical field, by retrieving the specified fee to charge for each of the plurality of logical fields that are mapped to the one or more physical fields accessed by the desired operation, wherein a second fee pertaining to the logical field category is determined based on the category-specific fee attribute; and

calculating a total fee to charge for accessing the data, wherein the total fee is a combination of the first fee and the second fee.

71. The system of claim 70, wherein at least one fee attribute defined by the abstract model specifies a given fee for a first type of operation and a different fee for a second type of operation, wherein the total fee is based on a type of operation performed, wherein the type is selected from the first and second types.

72. A system to provide fee-based access to data at different levels of granularity of an abstract model of the data, the data comprising a plurality of physical entities, each physical entity including one or more physical fields, the system comprising:

one or more computer processors;

a memory containing a program which, when executed by the one or more computer processors, performs an operation comprising;

receiving instructions to perform a desired operation for accessing one or more physical fields containing at least a subset of the data;

performing the desired operation, wherein the desired operation includes accessing metadata defining;

(i) a plurality of logical fields;

(ii) a mapping rule for each of the plurality of logical fields, the mapping rule of each logical field mapping the respective logical field to a corresponding physical entity of the plurality of physical entities; and

(iii) a fee schedule for each of the plurality of logical fields, the fee schedule specifying a fee to charge for each logical field when the respective logical field is used to access the data;

wherein the desired operation further includes accessing the one or more physical fields according to the mapping rules defined by the metadata;

determining a field-specific fee for each of a plurality of the physical fields accessed by the desired operation, by retrieving the specified fee to charge for each of the plurality of logical fields that are mapped to the one or more physical fields accessed by the operation;

determining a category-specific fee pertaining to at least one of;

(i) a physical field category to which a first of the one or more accessed physical fields belongs, wherein the physical field category belongs to a parent category that in turn belongs to a grandparent category;

(ii) the parent category; and

(iii) the grandparent category; and

calculating a total fee to charge a user for the desired operation, wherein the total fee is a combination of the field-specific fees and the category-specific fee.

73. The system of claim 72, wherein the physical entities are database tables.

74. The system of claim 72, wherein the desired operation is one of a query, an insert and an update.