Database methods and apparatus

• US 9,063,988 B2
• Filed: 03/23/2009
• Issued: 06/23/2015
• Est. Priority Date: 03/23/2009
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: The Boeing Co.
• Original Assignee: The Boeing Co.
• Inventors: Justice, Christopher Floyd, Lovejoy, David Martin, Hinds, Bryan S., Goetsch, Jerry A., Compton, William Perry
• Primary Examiner(s): Chen, Susan
• Application Number:
  US12/409,096
• Publication Number:
  US 20100241670A1
• Time in Patent Office: 2,283 Days
• Field of Search: 707/649, 707/610, 703/22, 711/170, 345/13, 701/21, 717/101, 715/225
• US Class Current: 1/1
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 16/2465 Query processing support for facilitating data mining operations in structured databases
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 16/2477 Temporal data queries

Abstract

An apparatus having a computer-implemented database controller module, a computer-implemented database module, and a computer-implemented database query module. Software and/or firmware that is/are included in computer-implemented database controller module is/are configured to enter baseline data into the computer-implemented database module and to enter changes into the computer-implemented database module using an extensible multidimensional effectivity method of recording only an indicated change with its effectivity parameters. The computer-implemented database query module is configured to retrieve answers to queries relating to the baseline data and the changes and to return the answers in response to the queries.

Claims

1. A method for utilizing a computer-implemented database controller module and a computer-implemented database module, said method comprising:

entering, by a processor, baseline data for a NavAid model that includes one or more features into the computer-implemented database module using the computer-implemented database controller module, wherein the computer-implemented database module contains one or more of the following;

aeronautical data, marine data, and rail data; and

using, by the processor, the computer-implemented database controller module to enter changes to the baseline data into the computer-implemented database module, wherein at least one or more changes to the baseline data are made by the computer-implemented database controller module by recording only a change with parameters of the baseline data that are affected by the entered changes;

receiving a query related to the baseline data and at least one of the changes to the baseline data;

using the NavAid model to correlate the baseline data and the changes to the baseline data;

presenting a result of the query by creating a NavAid associated with the one or more changes and the baseline data.

2. A method in accordance with claim 1 wherein said at least one or more changes to the baseline data include updating the baseline data with tailored data.

3. A method in accordance with claim 2 wherein said at least one or more changes to the baseline data include untailoring the tailored data.

4. A method in accordance with claim 1 wherein said at least one or more changes to the baseline data comprise entering transaction data with a transaction type indicating “

delete”

or “

undelete.”

5. A method in accordance with claim 4 wherein said transactions indicating “

delete”

or “

undelete”

are tailored transactions.

6. A method in accordance with claim 1 wherein said one or more changes to the baseline data comprise storing attributes of a feature that includes a list of values or a list of complex objects, and wherein said storing attributes of a feature comprises including a “

specified”

column indicating the storage of an attribute list in a related table, and creating the related table including a column for items in the attribute list.

7. A method in accordance with claim 6 wherein said one or more changes to the baseline data include creating and removing associations between features in the baseline data, and creating and removing many-to-many associations between features in the baseline data.

8. A method in accordance with claim 7 wherein the computer-implemented database module includes at least one of an aeronautical database and a navigational database.

9. A method in accordance with claim 1 wherein at least one or more changes to the baseline data are made by the computer-implemented database controller module.

10. A method in accordance with claim 1 wherein the baseline data associated with the one or more features has not been altered with tailored data.

11. An apparatus comprising:

a computer-implemented database controller;

a NavAid;

a computer-implemented database module that includes one or more of the following;

aeronautical data, marine data, and rail data; and

a computer-implemented database query module;

wherein the computer-implemented database controller module is configured to enter, using a processor, baseline data into the computer-implemented database module and to enter changes to the baseline data, and wherein at least one or more of the changes to the baseline data are made by the computer-implemented database controller module by recording only a change with parameters of the baseline data that are affected by the entered changes;

wherein the NavAid is configured to correlate the baseline data and the changes to the baseline data; and

wherein said computer-implemented database query module is configured to retrieve, using the processor, answers to queries relating to the baseline data and the changes to present to a user.

12. An apparatus in accordance with claim 11 wherein the computer-implemented database controller module is configured to enter tailored data associated with the baseline data for a customer into the computer implemented database module, and the computer implemented database query module is configured to query the computer-implemented database module to conditionally deliver the tailored data depending upon the customer making a query.

13. An apparatus in accordance with claim 12 wherein the computer-implemented database controller is configured to untailor the tailored data.

14. An apparatus in accordance with claim 11 wherein the computer-implemented database controller module is configured to enter transactions associated with the baseline data with a transaction type indicating “

delete”

or “

undelete.”

15. An apparatus in accordance with claim 14 wherein said transactions indicating “

delete”

or “

undelete”

are tailored transactions, and the computer-implemented database query module is configured to deliver tailored responses to queries depending upon the customer making a query.

16. An apparatus in accordance with claim 11 wherein the computer-implemented database controller module is configured to store attributes of a feature within the baseline data, wherein the attributes comprise a list of values or a list of complex objects, and said storing attributes of a feature comprises including a “

specified”

column indicating the storage of an attribute list in a related table, and creating the related table including a column for items in the attribute list.

17. An apparatus in accordance with claim 16 wherein the computer-implemented database controller module is further configured to remove associations between features of the baseline data to create and remove associations between features of the baseline data, and to create and remove many-to-many associations between features of the baseline data.