Visual data importer

• US 9,330,120 B2
• Filed: 09/05/2013
• Issued: 05/03/2016
• Est. Priority Date: 09/30/2011
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Palantir Technologies Incorporated
• Original Assignee: Palantir Technologies Incorporated
• Inventors: Downing, Stephen, Richards, Kevin, Sinensky, Asher
• Primary Examiner(s): Chen, Susan
• Application Number:
  US14/019,534
• Publication Number:
  US 20140012886A1
• Time in Patent Office: 971 Days
• US Class Current: 1/1
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 16/211 Schema design and management
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 16/212 with details for data modelling support
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 16/258 Data format conversion from or to a database

Abstract

Techniques for visual data import into an object model are described. A graphical user interface concurrently displays a first icon that represents a first object type and a second icon that represents a second object type. Input defining object-to-data mappings between properties of the object types and structured data of one or more data sources is received. Further input defining a relationship type for relationships between the first object type and the second object type is also received. In response to the second input, a graphical representation of the relationship type is displayed, visually linking the first icon to the second icon. Based at least on the object-to-data mappings, the definition of the relationship type, and the structured data, an object model is created, comprising first objects of the first object type, second objects of the second object type, and relationships between the first objects and the second objects.

Claims

1. A data processing system comprising:

one or more data repositories storing an object model that represents at least one of a person, event, or entity type, the object model comprising object model elements that include typed objects, properties of the typed objects, and relationships between the typed objects;

one or more memories storing a dynamic ontology, the dynamic ontology comprising ontology elements that define semantics of the object model, the semantics including object types, property types, and relationship types;

one or more hardware processors;

instructions on a computer readable medium for data import executed using the one or more hardware processors and configured to import data from one or more data sources into the object model;

instructions on the computer readable medium for definition executed using the one or more hardware processors and configured to generate or modify the dynamic ontology, identify one or more schemas comprising schema elements that define one or more structures according to which the one or more data sources conform, and generate a schema map that defines how the schema elements map to the ontology elements;

the data import being configured to generate the object model based on the one or more data sources and the schema map; and

instructions on the computer readable medium and executed using the one or more hardware processors and configured to cause display of a graphical interface that depicts an arrangement of a plurality of the ontology elements, the arrangement depicting at least two or more of the object types interconnected by one or more of the relationship types, the arrangement including controls for receiving inputs that define or modify the schema map with respect to the depicted ontology elements, the controls including a pull-down menu that is configured to select an object type used in the object model;

the definition being configured to generate the schema map, at least in part, based upon the inputs received via the controls.

2. The system of claim 1, the data import being configured to generate the object model by translating data items in the one or more data sources into the object model elements based on mappings, in the schema map, between the schema elements and the ontology elements.

3. The system of claim 1, the controls being configured to include a first control for modifying a mapping between particular attributes defined by the one or more schema and particular properties of an object type depicted in the graphical interface.

4. The system of claim 1,

the graphical interface further being configured to, responsive to input selecting a particular ontology element to add to the arrangement, add a representation of the particular ontology element to the arrangement.

5. The system of claim 1,

the graphical interface further being configured to, responsive to input selecting a particular ontology element to add to the arrangement, add a representation of the particular ontology element to the arrangement;

the system further comprises instructions on the computer readable medium for analysis and comparison configured to, responsive to adding the representation of the particular ontology element to the arrangement, automatically create one or more new mappings for the particular ontology element in the schema map by comparing properties of the particular ontology element to the schema elements and predicting which of the schema elements are to be mapped to the properties.

6. The system of claim 1,

the graphical interface further being configured to, responsive to input selecting a particular ontology element to add to the arrangement, add a representation of the particular ontology element to the arrangement;

the system further comprises instructions on the computer readable medium for analysis and comparison configured to, responsive to adding the representation of the particular ontology element to the arrangement, automatically create one or more new mappings for the particular ontology element in the schema map based on previous mappings for other schema maps generated by the definition.

7. The system of claim 1, further comprising:

instructions on the computer readable medium for analysis and comparison configured to automatically create a particular relationship type between particular object types that are depicted in the arrangement;

the graphical interface further being configured to depict, in the arrangement, the particular relationship type created by the analysis and comparison.

8. The system of claim 1, further comprising:

instructions on the computer readable medium for analysis and comparison configured to automatically create a particular relationship type between particular object types that are depicted in the arrangement, the relationship types being created based on one or more of;

the particular object types having similar properties, or the particular object types comprising properties that are mapped to a same schema element or to similar schema elements;

the graphical interface further being configured to depict, in the arrangement, the particular relationship type created by the analysis and comparison.

9. The system of claim 1, further comprising:

instructions on the computer readable medium for analysis and comparison configured to automatically identify particular object types or particular property types for which to add mappings in the schema map;

the graphical interface being configured to depict, in the arrangement, the particular object types or particular property types that were automatically identified by the analysis and comparison.

10. The system of claim 1, further comprising:

instructions on the computer readable medium for analysis and comparison configured to automatically identify particular object types or particular property types for which to add mappings in the schema map, based on one or more of;

comparing the ontology elements to the schema elements, or a history of other schema maps created by the definition;

the graphical interface being configured to depict, in the arrangement, the particular object types or particular property types identified by the analysis and comparison.

11. The system of claim 1,

the definition being configured to create new ontology elements in the ontology or modify the ontology elements based on particular inputs received via the graphical interface.

12. The system of claim 1,

the definition being configured to identify the one or more schema based on one or more of:

retrieving a particular schema identified by a particular data source, analyzing a particular data source to generate a particular schema, or receiving user input that defines at least a portion of a particular schema.

13. The system of claim 1,

the arrangement being configured to comprise different object type icons for different depicted object types;

the graphical interface being configured to comprise controls for selecting the different icons;

when a particular object type icon in the arrangement is selected, the graphical interface being configured to depict, in the graphical interface, a set of property types associated with the particular object type to which the particular object type corresponds, along with property type mapping controls by which particular schema elements are associated with particular property types associated with the particular object type.

14. The system of claim 1,

the graphical interface being configured to display, in the graphical interface, a first area in which is depicted a set of properties associated with a particular object type depicted in the arrangement;

the graphical interface being configured to display, in the graphical interface, a second area in which is depicted a set of the schema elements;

the definition being configured to create a mapping between a particular schema element and a particular property type responsive to one of;

input in the graphical interface that drags a first depiction of the particular schema element from the second area to a second depiction of the particular property type in the first area, or input in the graphical interface that drags the second depiction of the particular property type from the first area to the first depiction of the particular schema element in the second area.

15. The system of claim 1,

the arrangement being configured to comprise different object type icons for different depicted object types;

the graphical interface being configured to display, in the graphical interface, a schema area in which is depicted a set of the schema elements;

the definition being configured to create a mapping between a particular schema element and a particular property type of a particular object type responsive to input in the graphical interface that drags a first depiction of a particular schema element over a particular object type icon for the particular object type.

16. The system of claim 1,

the arrangement being configured to comprise different object type icons for different depicted object types;

the definition being configured to create a new relationship type between a first object type and a second object type responsive to input in the graphical interface that selects a first object type icon for the first object type and drags from the first object icon to a second object icon for the second object type;

the graphical interface being configured to depict the new relationship type in the arrangement using at least a line connecting the first object icon and the second object icon.

17. The system of claim 1,

the arrangement is configured to comprise different object type icons for different depicted object types;

the arrangement further being configured to comprise lines that connect the different object type icons, the lines representing relationship types defined by the ontology, the lines differing in representation based on which of the relationship types the lines represent, the lines differ with respect to one or more of;

line width, line type, line color, line label, or an associated relationship type icon.

18. The system of claim 1,

the definition being configured to read an existing schema map, previously created by the definition, and, based on the existing schema map, instruct the graphical interface to depict the arrangement, the existing schema map mapping at least a particular data source to the ontology;

the definition being configured to identify a new schema for a particular data source, the new schema comprising new schema elements reflecting updates to the particular data source since the definition last generated the existing schema map;

the definition being configured to modify the existing schema map to map particular ontology elements to the new schema elements responsive to inputs received via the graphical interface;

the data import being configured to generate the object model by updating an existing object model based on the modified existing schema map, the existing object model having been previously generated based on the existing schema map.

19. The system of claim 1, further comprising:

instructions on the computer readable medium for data analysis configured to facilitate visualization and analysis of the object model once it has been generated by the data import, the data analysis instructing the graphical interface to depict an arrangement of the object model, the arrangement of the object model being similar to the arrangement of the plurality of the depicted ontology elements.

20. A method comprising:

storing, using one or more hardware processors, a dynamic ontology, the dynamic ontology comprising ontology elements that define semantics of an object model, the semantics including object types, property types, and relationship types;

receiving, using one or more hardware processors, input selecting one or more data sources to import into the object model;

identifying, using one or more hardware processors, one or more schema comprising schema elements that define one or more structures according to which the one or more data sources conform;

causing a display of a graphical interface, using one or more hardware processors, that depicts an arrangement of a plurality of the ontology elements, the arrangement depicting at least two or more of the object types interconnected by one or more of the relationship types;

generating, using one or more hardware processors, a schema map that defines how the schema elements map to the ontology elements, based at least on inputs received via controls, included in the arrangement, for defining or modifying the schema map with respect to the depicted ontology elements, the controls including a pull-down menu to select an object type used in the object model;

generating and storing the object model, using one or more hardware processors, based on the one or more data sources and the schema map, the object model comprising object model elements that include typed objects, properties of the typed objects, and relationships between the typed objects;

the method is performed by one or more computing devices.