Promoting data from structured data files

• US 8,819,072 B1
• Filed: 02/02/2004
• Issued: 08/26/2014
• Est. Priority Date: 02/02/2004
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Microsoft Technology Licensing LLC (Microsoft Corporation)
• Original Assignee: Microsoft Corporation
• Inventors: Bath, Kamaljit S., Shur, Andrey, Essey, Edward G., Stott, Nathaniel W., Perlow, Jonathan D., Cupala, Shiraz J., O'Connor, Brian G., Croicu, Alexandru
• Primary Examiner(s): Hoang, Son T
• Application Number:
  US10/770,240
• Time in Patent Office: 3,858 Days
• Field of Search: 707/2, 707/8, 707/102, 707/200
• US Class Current: 707/796
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 16/93 Document management systems

Abstract

A system and method that enables promotion of data from within a structured data file to a library is described. This system and method can also enable demotion of data from a library to within a structured data file. Further, this system and method can copy data from a structured data file, perform a function on the copied data, and promote a result of the performed function to a library.

Claims

1. One or more computer storage memories storing instructions which, when executed by a computer processor, are configured to perform acts of data promoting from structured data files comprising:

accessing a rules file comprising one or more rules for provisioning a library and promoting data into the library;

provisioning the library according to the rules file to create a new property based on data within one or more individual nodes of a structured data file, wherein the provisioning comprises adding at least one column corresponding to the new property in a table in the library;

receiving the structured data file comprising Extensible Markup Language (XML);

for multiple nodes of the structured data file, at least a portion of which are identically named, copying data located within that node of the structured data file associated with the new property without altering structure and content of the structured data file;

aggregating the copied data with other copied data associated with other nodes of the structured data file associated with the new property to produce a result;

after aggregating the copied data with the other copied data, promoting the result into the at least one column added to the table corresponding to the new property associated with the structured data file in the library according to the rules file, the rules file providing instructions for promoting the result with an XML Path language (XPath) expression; and

storing the promoted result in the library and associating the promoted result with the structured data file, wherein the storing and associating are effective to allow searching and presentation of the promoted result in the at least one column added to the table.

2. The memories of claim 1, wherein the act of copying is performed without altering a schema governing the structured data file.

3. The memories of claim 1, wherein the one or more rules within the rules file are based on a schema governing the structured data file.

4. The memories of claim 1, wherein the act of copying comprises locating a particular identically named node of the structured data file and copying the data in the located identically named node.

5. The memories of claim 1, wherein the act of storing the promoted result comprises storing the promoted result at an assigned location in the library.

6. The memories of claim 1, wherein the act of storing the promoted result comprises storing the promoted result within a cell of the table in the library.

7. The memories of claim 6, wherein the table comprises rows for multiple structured data files and columns for properties associated with the multiple structured data files.

8. The memories of claim 1, further comprising searching the library for the promoted result.

9. The memories of claim 1, wherein the library is a database.

10. The memories of claim 1, wherein the library is accessible by a server of a communication network.

11. The memories of claim 1, wherein the provisioning the library comprises:

creating the library with a location to accept the promoted result.

12. The memories of claim 1, further comprising:

receiving new data replacing the promoted result in the library; and

altering the structured data file to reflect the new data.

13. The memories of claim 12, wherein the act of altering the structured data file comprises locating a node of the structured data file from which the promoted result in the library was copied and replacing the copied data in the node with the new data.

14. One or more computer storage memories storing instructions which, when executed by a computer processor, are configured to perform acts of data promoting from structured data files comprising:

provisioning a library according to a set of rules to create a new property based on data within one or more individual fields of a structured data file, wherein the set of rules provides instructions for the provisioning the library with an Extensible Markup Language Path language (XPath) expression, wherein the provisioning comprises adding at least one column corresponding to the new property in a table in the library;

receiving the structured data file comprising Extensible Markup Language (XML);

for multiple nodes of the structured data file at least a portion of which are identically named, copying data located within an individual field of the node associated with the new property without altering structure and content the structured data file, wherein the copied data comprises content contained within the individual field of the node of the structured data file;

aggregating the copied data with other copied data associated with other individual fields of other identically named nodes of the structured data file associated with the new property;

after aggregating the copied data with other copied data, promoting a result of the aggregating into the at least one column added to the table corresponding to the new property associated with the structured data file in the library according to the set of rules; and

storing the promoted result in the at least one column added to the table in the library and associating the promoted result with the structured data file, wherein the storing and associating are effective to allow searching and presentation of the promoted result.

15. The memories of claim 14, wherein the act of copying data from multiple nodes comprises copying data from multiple, identically named nodes of the structured data file.

16. The memories of claim 15, wherein the act of aggregating comprises concatenating the copied data from the multiple, identically named nodes.

17. One or more computer storage memories storing instructions which, when executed by a computer processor, are configured to perform acts of data promoting from structured data files comprising:

receiving a set of rules describing actions for provisioning a library and promoting data into the library, wherein the library describes properties of data located within one or more individual nodes of a structured data file;

following the set of rules to provision the library to create a new property, wherein the provisioning comprises adding at least one column corresponding to the new property in a table in the library;

receiving the structured data file comprising Extensible Markup Language (XML);

for multiple nodes of the structured data file at least a portion of which are identically named, copying data from the node associated with the new property without altering the structured data file;

aggregating the copied data located within two or more multiple identically named nodes;

after aggregating the copied data, promoting the aggregated data into the at least one column added to the table corresponding to the new property in the library according to the set of rules, wherein the promoting uses an XML Path language (XPath) expression; and

storing the promoted data in the library and associating the promoted data with the structured data file.

18. The memories of claim 17, wherein the act of receiving the set of rules comprises receiving the set of rules across a communication network and the act of receiving the structured data file comprises receiving the structured data file across the communication network.

19. The memories of claim 17, wherein the act of receiving the structured data file comprises receiving the structured data file in a document object model form.

20. The memories of claim 17, wherein the act of promoting the data comprises locating multiple identically named nodes of the structured data file with the XPath expression, copying the data within a first of the multiple nodes, and storing the copied data in the library.

21. The memories of claim 17, wherein the act of promoting the data comprises determining a location in the library to place the aggregated data with aid from an OLEDB (Object Linking and Embedding to DataBase) expression.

22. The memories of claim 17, wherein the act of promoting the data further comprises:

performing a function using the copied data; and

copying a result of the function into the library.

23. The memories of claim 17, further comprising:

presenting the promoted data in a table of the library.

24. The memories of claim 17, further comprising:

receiving a change to the promoted data in the library; and

demoting the changed data into the structured data file.

25. The memories of claim 24, wherein the act of demoting comprises determining to which node or nodes of the structured data file the promoted data is associated and updating the node or nodes to reflect the changed data.

26. The memories of claim 17, wherein the set of rules is a first set of rules and the acts further comprise:

receiving at least a second set of rules, and wherein the act of following the set of rules to provision the library comprises following the second set of rules and the act of promoting the data comprises following the second set of rules.

27. The memories of claim 17, wherein the set of rules comprises a rules file.

28. An apparatus for data promoting from structured data files comprising:

a computer processor; and

computer memory coupled with the computer processor containing a series of instructions that, when executed by the computer processor, cause the computer processor to;

access a rules file comprising one or more rules for provisioning a library and promoting data into the library, wherein the library describes a property associated with a node of a structured data file;

provision the library according to the rules file to create a new property based on data within the node of the structured data file, wherein the provisioning comprises adding at least one column corresponding to the new property in a table in the library;

receive the structured data file comprising Extensible Markup Language (XML);

for each of multiple, identically named nodes of the structured data file, locate the node of the structured data file;

copy data located within the node of the structured data file associated with the new property in the located node without altering structure and content of the structured data file, wherein the copied data comprises at least some of the content contained within the structured data file;

aggregate the copied data with other copied data associated with other identically named nodes of the structured data file associated with the new property to produce a result; and

after aggregating the copied data with the other copied data, promote the result into the at least one column added to the table corresponding to the new property associated with the structured data file in the library according to the rules file, wherein the rules file provides instructions for promoting the result with an XML Path language (XPath) expression.

29. The apparatus of claim 28, the structured data file is not altered when the node is located.

30. The apparatus of claim 28, wherein one or more the rules are based on a schema governing the structured data file.

31. The apparatus of claim 28, wherein locating comprises locating multiple nodes of the structured data file, and copying comprises copying data from the multiple nodes of the structured data file.

32. The apparatus of claim 28, wherein the provisioning the library further comprises:

creating a location in the library to accept the aggregated copied data.

33. The apparatus of claim 28, further causing the computer processor to:

receive new data replacing the promoted result in the library; and

alter the structured data file to include the new data.