Creating data in a data store using a dynamic ontology

• US 8,856,153 B2
• Filed: 06/12/2013
• Issued: 10/07/2014
• Est. Priority Date: 11/20/2006
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Palantir Technologies Incorporated
• Original Assignee: Palantir Technologies Incorporated
• Inventors: Jain, Akash, Gettings, Nathan, McGrew, Robert J
• Primary Examiner(s): BROWN, SHEREE N
• Application Number:
  US13/916,447
• Publication Number:
  US 20130275446A1
• Time in Patent Office: 482 Days
• Field of Search: 707/755
• US Class Current: 707/755
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 16/21 Design, administration or maintenance of databases
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 16/213 with details for schema evolution support
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 16/22 Indexing; Data structures therefor; Storage structures
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 16/2219 Large Object storage; Management thereof
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 16/2365 Ensuring data consistency and integrity
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 16/245 Query processing
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 16/367 Ontology
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 40/205 Parsing
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 40/211 Syntactic parsing, e.g. based on context-free grammar [CFG] or unification grammars
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 40/226 Validation
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 40/284 Lexical analysis, e.g. tokenisation or collocates

Abstract

In one embodiment, a method comprises creating and storing an ontology for a data store in response to receiving first user input defining the ontology, wherein the ontology comprises a plurality of data object types and a plurality of object property types; creating one or more parser definitions in response to receiving second user input defining the parser definitions, wherein each of the parser definitions specifies one or more sub-definitions of how to transform first input data into modified input data that is compatible with one of the object property types; and storing each of the one or more parser definitions in association with one of the plurality of object property types.

Claims

1. A method comprising:

storing a plurality of parser definitions, wherein each parser definition is associated with an object type, wherein a particular parser definition of the one or more parser definitions comprises two or more parser sub-definitions, wherein a first parser sub-definition of the two or more parser sub-definitions is associated with a first property type, and wherein a second parser sub-definition of the two or more parser sub-definitions is associated with a second property type;

wherein at least the first property type is a composite type that includes two or more of a string component, a date component, or a number component;

determining whether input data matches the particular parser definition;

based at least in part on determining that the input data matches the particular parser definition;

creating at least a first property instance of the first property type and a second property instance of the second property type;

storing first data corresponding to a first portion of the input data in the first property instance, wherein the first portion of the input data and the corresponding first data each include two or more of string data, date data, or number data;

storing second data based on a second portion of the input data in the second property instance;

wherein the method is performed by one or more computing devices.

2. The method of claim 1, wherein the particular parser definition is an expression pattern, and wherein each of the two or more parser sub-definitions is a syntactic pattern that is referenced by the expression pattern.

3. The method of claim 1, wherein the particular parser definition is an expression pattern that references the first property type as a token.

4. The method of claim 1, further comprising receiving user input that defines the particular parser definition, the first parser sub-definition, and the second parser sub-definition, wherein the particular parser definition is stored based at least in part on the user input.

5. The method of claim 1, further comprising receiving user input that defines the object type, the first property type, and the second property type before storing the particular parser definition.

6. The method of claim 1, further comprising:

storing a validator for the first property type, wherein the validator defines valid data for the first property type;

determining whether the first data matches the validator before storing the first data in the first property instance.

7. The method of claim 6, wherein the validator is one or more of:

an expression that defines a range of valid data, a set of valid data, or a code module that, when executed against particular input data, determines whether the particular input data matches a specified syntax or data model.

8. The method of claim 1, wherein the composite type consists of a string component and a number component, and wherein the first portion of the input data and the corresponding first data each consist of string data and number data.

9. The method of claim 1, wherein the particular parser definition comprises a particular sub-definition that is associated with a particular property type, wherein the particular property type comprises a particular component that is not required to match any portion of the input data when determining whether the input data matches the particular parser definition.

10. The method of claim 1, further comprising transforming the first portion of the input data to the first data, wherein the first portion is not valid for the first property type before the first portion is transformed to the first data, and wherein the first data is valid for the first property type after the first portion is transformed to the first data.

11. A computer system comprising:

one or more processors;

one or more non-transitory computer-readable storage media storing instructions, which, when executed by the one or more processors, cause;

storing a plurality of parser definitions, wherein each parser definition is associated with an object type, wherein a particular parser definition of the one or more parser definitions comprises two or more parser sub-definitions, wherein a first parser sub-definition of the two or more parser sub-definitions is associated with a first property type, and wherein a second parser sub-definition of the two or more parser sub-definitions is associated with a second property type;

wherein at least the first property type is a composite type that includes two or more of a string component, a date component, or a number component;

determining whether input data matches the particular parser definition;

based at least in part on determining that the input data matches the particular parser definition;

creating at least a first property instance of the first property type and a second property instance of the second property type;

storing first data corresponding to a first portion of the input data in the first property instance, wherein the first portion of the input data and the corresponding first data each include two or more of string data, date data, or number data;

storing second data based on a second portion of the input data in the second property instance.

12. The computer system of claim 11, wherein the particular parser definition is an expression pattern, and wherein each of the two or more parser sub-definitions is a syntactic pattern that is referenced by the expression pattern.

13. The computer system of claim 11, wherein the particular parser definition is an expression pattern that references the first property type as a token.

14. The computer system of claim 11, wherein the instructions, when executed by the one or more processors, further cause receiving user input that defines the particular parser definition, the first parser sub-definition, and the second parser sub-definition, wherein the particular parser definition is stored based at least in part on the user input.

15. The computer system of claim 11, wherein the instructions, when executed, further cause receiving user input that defines the object type, the first property type, and the second property type before storing the particular parser definition.

16. The computer system of claim 11, wherein the instructions, when executed by the one or more processors, further cause:

storing a validator for the first property type, wherein the validator defines valid data for the first property type;

determining whether the first data matches the validator before storing the first data in the first property instance.

17. The computer system of claim 16, wherein the validator is one or more of:

an expression that defines a range of valid data, a set of valid data, or a code module that, when executed against particular input data, determines whether the particular input data matches a specified syntax or data model.

18. The computer system of claim 11, wherein the composite type consists of a string component and a number component, and wherein the first portion of the input data and the corresponding first data each consist of string data and number data.

19. The computer system of claim 11, wherein the particular parser definition comprises a particular sub-definition that is associated with a particular property type, wherein the particular property type comprises a particular component that is not required to match any portion of the input data when determining whether the input data matches the particular parser definition.

20. The computer system of claim 11, wherein the instructions, when executed by the one or more processors, further cause transforming the first portion of the input data to the first data, wherein the first portion is not valid for the first property type before the first portion is transformed to the first data, and wherein the first data is valid for the first property type after the first portion is transformed to the first data.