Hierarchy based dependent object relationships

• US 9,020,830 B2
• Filed: 12/13/2011
• Issued: 04/28/2015
• Est. Priority Date: 03/08/2011
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: International Business Machines Corporation
• Original Assignee: Apptio (International Business Machines Corporation)
• Inventors: Purpus, Eric Scott, Atwell, Stephen David Luke
• Primary Examiner(s): Jalil, Neveen Abel
• Assistant Examiner(s): BISKEBORN, KRISTOFER M
• Application Number:
  US13/324,253
• Publication Number:
  US 20120233217A1
• Time in Patent Office: 1,232 Days
• Field of Search: 705/7.12, 707/792, 707/955
• US Class Current: 705/7.12
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 16/289 Object oriented databases
• CPC Class Codes: G06Q 10/06 Resources, workflows, human or project management; Enterprise or organisation planning; Enterprise or organisation modelling
• CPC Class Codes: Y10S 707/955 Object-oriented

Abstract

Embodiments are directed towards employing a plurality of object relationships to dynamically generate a hierarchical structure of dependent object relationships (“HSDOR”). Each object relationship may include a plurality of information, including, but not limited to, a consumer object, a provider object, a one or more direct values, a quantity of units consumed by the consumer object, or the like. Dependencies between the plurality of object relationships may be utilized to dynamically generate an HSDOR. In some embodiments, the HSDOR may be modified by resolving detected circularity relationships within the HSDOR and/or dynamically modifying object relationship dependencies affected by a new and/or modified object relationship. In some embodiments, the HSDOR may be utilized to iteratively determine a total value of an object as a function of total loaded values of object relationships from which the object depends.

Claims

1. A method operating on one or more network devices that include at least one processor and a memory, where each step of the method is performed by the at least one processor, comprising:

generating a plurality of propagation rules that generate and define a plurality of object relationships between a plurality of objects and that generate and assign a plurality of direct values to the plurality of object relationships;

receiving the plurality of object relationships for the plurality of objects, wherein each object relationship defines a dependency between a consumer object and a provider object such that the consumer object is directly dependent on the provider object, and wherein each object relationship includes the plurality of direct values that are each associated and allocated with different values of the provider object consumed by the consumer object such that a subset of the plurality of direct values are at least one of related to or dependent on each other;

dynamically generating a hierarchical structure of dependent object relationships (“

HSDOR”

) from the plurality of object relationships dependencies based on the plurality of propagation rules and one or more direct or indirect paths between a destination object and a source object;

utilizing the HSDOR to iteratively determine a total value for one or more of the plurality of objects as a function of a total loaded value of object relationships from which a respective object depends by combining a total loaded value of object relationships that share the respective object as the consumer object, wherein the total loaded value of a given object relationship is based at least in part on a combination of a direct value and the total value of the provider object of the given object relationship, and wherein the total loaded value of the given object relationship is iteratively determined by combining a quantity provided by the provider object of the given object relationship to a consumer object of the given object relationship with a direct value of the given object relationship and the total value of the provider object of the given object relationship;

determining a total quantity of units of objects consumed by each destination object/source object pair within the HSDOR based on a combination of each separate quantity of units of objects consumed along each separate direct path and indirect path between the destination object and the source object, wherein the source object of a destination object/source object pair is at least one of directly or indirectly dependent on the destination object; and

storing the total quantity of units of objects consumed by each destination object/source object pair within the HSDOR in the memory.

2. The method of claim 1, further comprising:

modifying the HSDOR by resolving any detected circularity relationships within the HSDOR, wherein a circularity relationship includes a first consumer object that directly depends on a first provider object such that the first provider object also directly or indirectly depends on the first consumer object.

3. The method of claim 1, further comprising:

receiving a new object relationship between a first object and a second object, wherein at least the first object is one of the plurality of objects; and

updating, automatically and iteratively, the total loaded value of each object relationship that depends on the new object relationship.

4. The method of claim 2, wherein resolving the detected circularity relationships includes:

ignoring a direct value associated with the detected circularity relationship.

5. The method of claim 1, further comprising:

receiving at least one new or modified object relationship;

identifying one or more object relationships affected by the at least one new or modified object relationship; and

dynamically modifying the HSDOR based on the one or more affected object relationships independent of unaffected object relationships.

6. The method of claim 1, wherein one or more object relationships include a bidirectional object relationship such that a first object is a consumer of a first direct value from a second object and the second object is a consumer of a second direct value from the first object.

7. The method of claim 1, further comprising:

generating an object hierarchy transform for the HSDOR by determining the total quantity of each destination/source pair within the HSDOR.

16. The method of claim 1, wherein the plurality of direct values for an object relationship include a one-time direct value and a periodic direct value.

17. The method of claim 1, further comprising:

modifying the HSDOR by automatically resolving any detected circularity relationships within the HSDOR by dynamically modifying at least one of the plurality of propagation rules.

8. A network device, comprising:

a transceiver for communicating with at least one client device over a network;

a memory that stores at least instructions; and

a processor that executes the instructions to perform actions, the actions comprising;

generating a plurality of propagation rules that generate and define a plurality of object relationships between a plurality of objects and that generate and assign a plurality of direct values to the plurality of object relationships;

receiving the plurality of object relationships for the plurality of objects, wherein each object relationship defines a dependency between a consumer object and a provider object such that the consumer object is directly dependent on the provider object, and wherein each object relationship includes a plurality of direct values that are each associated and allocated with different values of the provider object consumed by the consumer object such that a subset of the plurality of direct values are at least one of related to or dependent on each other;

dynamically generating a hierarchical structure of dependent object relationships (“

HSDOR”

) from the plurality of object relationships dependencies based on the plurality of propagation rules and one or more direct or indirect paths between a destination object and a source object;

utilizing the HSDOR to iteratively determine a total value for one or more of the plurality of objects as a function of a total loaded value of object relationships from which a respective object depends by combining a total loaded value of object relationships that share the respective object as the consumer object, wherein the total loaded value of a given object relationship is based at least in part on a combination of a direct value and the total value of the provider object of the given object relationship, and wherein the total loaded value of the given object relationship is iteratively determined by combining a quantity provided by the provider object of the given object relationship to a consumer object of the given object relationship with a direct value of the given object relationship and the total value of the provider object of the given object relationship;

determining a total quantity of units of objects consumed by each destination object/source object pair within the HSDOR based on a combination of each separate quantity of units of objects consumed along each separate direct and indirect path between the destination object and the source object, wherein the source object of a destination object/source object pair is at least one of directly or indirectly dependent on the destination object; and

storing the total quantity of units of object consumed by each destination object/source object pair within the HSDOR in the memory.

9. The network device of claim 8, further comprising:

modifying the HSDOR by resolving any detected circularity relationships within the HSDOR, wherein a circularity relationship includes a first consumer object that directly depends on a first provider object such that the first provider object also directly or indirectly depends on the first consumer object.

10. The network device of claim 8, wherein the processor further enables actions, the actions comprising:

receiving a new object relationship between a first object and a second object, wherein at least the first object is one of the plurality of objects; and

updating, automatically and iteratively, the total loaded value of each object relationship that depends on the new object relationship.

11. The network device of claim 9, wherein resolving the detected circularity relationships includes:

ignoring a direct value associated with the detected circularity relationship.

12. A non-transitory processor readable storage device that includes instructions, which are arranged to be executed by a processor to perform actions, the actions comprising:

generating a plurality of propagation rules that generate and define a plurality of object relationships between a plurality of objects and that generate and assign a plurality of direct values to the plurality of object relationships;

receiving the plurality of object relationships for the plurality of objects, wherein each object relationship defines a dependency between a consumer object and a provider object such that the consumer object is directly dependent on the provider object, and wherein each object relationship includes a plurality of direct values that are each associated and allocated with different values of the provider object consumed by the consumer object such that a subset of the plurality of direct values of a respective object relationship are at least one of related to or dependent on each other;

dynamically generating a hierarchical structure of dependent object relationships (“

HSDOR”

) from the plurality of object relationships dependencies based on the plurality of propagation rules and one or more direct or indirect paths between a destination object and a source object;

utilizing the HSDOR to iteratively determine a total value for one or more of the plurality of objects as a function of a total loaded value of object relationships from which a respective object depends by combining a total loaded value of object relationships that share respective object as the consumer object, wherein the total loaded value of a given object relationship is based at least in part on a combination of a direct value and the total value of the provider object of the given object relationship, and wherein the total loaded value of the given object relationship is iteratively determined by combining a quantity provided by the provider object of the given object relationship to a consumer object of the given object relationship with a direct value of the given object relationship and the total value of the provider object of the given object relationship;

determining a total quantity of units of objects consumed by each destination object/source object pair within the HSDOR based on a combination of each separate quantity of units of objects consumed along each separate direct path and indirect path between the destination object and the source object, wherein the source object of a destination object/source object pair is at least one of directly or indirectly dependent on the destination object; and

storing the total quantity of units of objects consumed by each destination object/source object pair within the HSDOR in the storage device.

13. The non-transitory processor readable storage device of claim 12, further comprising:

modifying the HSDOR by resolving any detected circularity relationships within the HSDOR, wherein a circularity relationship includes a first consumer object that directly depends on a first provider object such that the first provider object also directly or indirectly depends on the first consumer object.

14. The non-transitory processor readable storage device of claim 12, wherein the processor to perform further actions, the actions comprising:

receiving a new object relationship between a first object and a second object, wherein at least the first object is one of the plurality of objects; and

updating, automatically and iteratively, the total loaded value of each object relationship that depends on the new object relationship.

15. The processor readable storage device of claim 13, wherein resolving the detected circularity relationships includes:

ignoring a direct value associated with the detected circularity relationship.