Data transformation system, graphical mapping tool, and method for creating a schema map

• US 9,430,114 B1
• Filed: 11/03/2011
• Issued: 08/30/2016
• Est. Priority Date: 11/03/2011
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Actian Corporation
• Original Assignee: Pervasive Software Incorporated (Actian Corporation)
• Inventors: Dingman, Paul C., Bunton, William G., Van Dyken, Kathryn E., Zhang, Yimin, Yogman, Laurence T.
• Primary Examiner(s): CHEEMA, AZAM M
• Application Number:
  US13/288,435
• Time in Patent Office: 1,762 Days
• US Class Current: 1/1
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 15/16 Combinations of two or more digital computers each having at least an arithmetic unit, a program unit and a register, e.g. for a simultaneous processing of several programs coordinating program control therefor G06F9/52; in regulating and control system G05B
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 16/211 Schema design and management
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 16/25 Integrating or interfacing systems involving database management systems
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 2203/04803 Split screen, i.e. subdividing the display area or the window area into separate subareas
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 3/048 Interaction techniques based on graphical user interfaces [GUI]

Abstract

Graphical mapping interface embodiments and method are provided for creating and displaying a schema map, which may be used by a data transformation system to perform a data transformation between at least one source schema and at least one target schema. According to one embodiment, the graphical mapping interface may comprise a source schema region for displaying a graphical representation of at least one source schema, a target schema region for displaying a graphical representation of at least one target schema, and a mapping region for displaying graphical representations of a plurality of links connecting the source nodes displayed in the source schema region to the target nodes displayed in the target schema region. The plurality of links may comprise at least one control link having at least one ECA rule associated therewith and at least one data link having at least one textual-based target field expression associated therewith.

Claims

1. A graphical mapping interface for creating and displaying a schema map, wherein the graphical mapping interface is displayed on a screen and implemented with computer-readable instructions, which are stored on a non-transitory computer-readable storage medium and executed on a processor, and wherein the graphical mapping interface comprises:

a main map window comprising a source schema region adapted for displaying a graphical representation of a primary source schema defining a structure of a primary data source; and

a pop-up map window accessible from the main map window, wherein the pop-up map window comprises;

a source schema region adapted for displaying a graphical representation of the primary source schema, wherein the primary source schema comprises at least one source node;

a target schema region adapted for displaying a graphical representation of an intermediate target schema, wherein the intermediate target schema comprises at least one intermediate target node;

an expression region adapted for displaying at least one target field expression for at least one intermediate target node displayed in the target schema region of the pop-up map window;

a mapping region adapted for creating and displaying a graphical representation of one or more links connecting one or more nodes of the primary source schema to one or more nodes of the intermediate target schema within the pop-up map window; and

wherein upon closing the pop-up map window, a graphical representation of the intermediate target schema is displayed in the source schema region of the main map window and accessible for mapping within the main map window.

2. The graphical mapping interface as recited in claim 1, wherein the mapping displayed in the pop-up map window is adapted to perform a lookup operation on the primary source schema and provide results of the lookup operation to the intermediate target schema.

3. The graphical mapping interface as recited in claim 1, wherein the mapping displayed in the pop-up map window is adapted to transfer at least a subset of data from the primary source schema to the intermediate target schema.

4. The graphical mapping interface as recited in claim 1, further comprising a second pop-up map window accessible from the main map window and adapted for creating and displaying a mapping between a second intermediate target schema and at least one of the primary source schema and the intermediate target schema, wherein upon closing the second pop-up map window, a graphical representation of the second intermediate target schema is displayed in the source schema region and accessible for mapping within the main map window.

5. The graphical mapping interface as recited in claim 1, wherein the rule is created and displayed in a console panel region of the main map window when the pop-up map window is displayed.

6. The graphical mapping interface as recited in claim 1, wherein the main map window further comprises:

a target schema region adapted for displaying a graphical representation of at least one target schema; and

a mapping region adapted for creating and displaying a graphical representation of one or more links connecting one or more nodes of the primary source schema to one or more nodes of the at least one target schema.

7. The graphical mapping interface as recited in claim 6, wherein the mapping region of the main map window is further adapted for creating and displaying a graphical representation of a link connecting a node of the intermediate target schema displayed in the source schema region of the main map window to a node of the at least one target schema displayed in the target schema region of the main map window.

8. A method for creating a mapping in a graphical mapping interface that is displayed on a screen and implemented with computer-readable instructions, which are stored on a non-transitory computer-readable storage medium and executed on a processor, the method comprising:

displaying a main map window comprising a source schema region, which is adapted for displaying a graphical representation of a primary source schema defining a structure of a primary data source;

accessing a pop-up map window from the main map window;

creating a mapping between the primary source schema and an intermediate target schema by drawing one or more graphical links connecting one or more nodes of the primary source schema to one or more nodes of the intermediate target schema within a mapping region of the pop-up map window, wherein the step of creating a mapping between the primary source schema and the intermediate target schema comprises;

displaying a graphical representation of the primary source schema within a source schema region of the pop-up map window, wherein the primary source schema comprises a plurality of source nodes;

displaying a graphical representation of the intermediate target schema within a target schema region of the pop-up map window, wherein the intermediate target schema comprises a plurality of intermediate target nodes; and

creating a mapping between the primary source schema and the intermediate target schema by drawing a plurality of graphical links between the source nodes and the intermediate target nodes, wherein the plurality of graphical links comprise at least one control link and at least one data link, and wherein graphical representations of the control and data links are displayed in the mapping region of the pop-up map window; and

wherein upon closing the pop-up map window, a graphical representation of the intermediate target schema is displayed in the source schema region of the main map window.

9. The method as recited in claim 8, further comprising creating, within a mapping region of the main map window, a mapping between the intermediate target schema displayed in the source schema region and a primary target schema displayed in a target schema region of the main map window.

10. The method as recited in claim 8, further comprising:

accessing a second pop-up window from the main map window, wherein the second pop-up window is associated with the graphical representation of the intermediate target schema displayed in the source schema region of the main map window; and

creating a mapping within the second pop-up map window between a second intermediate target schema and at least one of the primary source schema and the intermediate target schema, wherein upon closing the second pop-up map window, a graphical representation of the second intermediate target schema is displayed in the source schema region of the main map window.

11. The method as recited in claim 8, wherein the step of creating a mapping between the primary source schema and the intermediate target schema further comprises specifying a rule associated with the at least one control link, wherein the at least one control link connects a particular source node to a particular intermediate target node, and wherein the rule specifies an event corresponding to the particular source node, a conditional expression, and an action to be performed for the particular intermediate target node if an occurrence of the event is detected in the primary data source and the conditional expression is met.

12. The method as recited in claim 8, wherein the step of creating a mapping between the primary source schema and the intermediate target schema further comprises specifying at least one target field expression within an expression region of the pop-up map window for at least one intermediate target node displayed in the target schema region of the pop-up map window, and wherein a textual representation of the at least one target field expression is displayed in the expression region.

13. A graphical mapping interface for creating and displaying a schema map, wherein the graphical mapping interface is displayed on a screen and implemented with computer-readable instructions, which are stored on a non-transitory computer-readable storage medium and executed on a processor, and wherein the graphical mapping interface comprises:

a source schema region adapted for displaying a graphical representation of at least one source schema;

a target schema region adapted for displaying a graphical representation of at least one target schema comprising at least one target record node, which is configured for supporting multiple types of output operations on one or more target objects included within the at least one target record node, wherein the multiple types of output operations comprise an insert operation, a delete operation, an update operation and an upsert operation;

a console region adapted for setting properties of the at least one target record node, wherein the properties comprise a target reference name, an output operation selected from the multiple types of output operations and a target object name for each of the one or more target objects; and

a mapping region adapted for creating and displaying a graphical representation of links connecting nodes of the at least one source schema to nodes of the at least one target schema.

14. The graphical mapping interface as recited in claim 13, wherein the at least one target schema comprises a plurality of record types, and wherein an output operation and a target reference name is defined for each record type.

15. The graphical mapping interface as recited in claim 14, wherein the output operation is selected from a group comprising an insert operation, a delete operation, an update operation and an upsert operation.

16. The graphical mapping interface as recited in claim 13, wherein the source schema region is adapted for displaying a graphical representation of a plurality of source schemas, wherein the target schema region is adapted for displaying a graphical representation of a plurality of target schemas, and wherein the plurality of source schemas and the plurality of target schemas comprise different schema types.

17. The graphical mapping interface as recited in claim 16, wherein the different schema types are selected from a group comprising single mode, multi-mode, multi-record, flat and hierarchical schema types.

18. A data transformation system, comprising:

a graphical mapping interface for creating and displaying a schema map, wherein the graphical mapping interface is displayed on a screen and implemented with computer-readable instructions, which are stored on a non-transitory computer-readable storage medium and executed on a processor, and wherein the graphical mapping interface comprises;

a main map window comprising a source schema region adapted for displaying a graphical representation of a primary source schema defining a structure of a primary data source; and

a pop-up map window accessible from the main map window, wherein the pop-up map window comprises;

a source schema region adapted for displaying a graphical representation of the primary source schema, wherein the primary source schema comprises at least one source node;

a target schema region adapted for displaying a graphical representation of an intermediate target schema, wherein the intermediate target schema comprises at least one intermediate target node;

an expression region adapted for displaying at least one target field expression for at least one intermediate target node displayed in the target schema region of the pop-up map window; and

a mapping region adapted for creating and displaying a graphical representation of one or more links connecting one or more nodes of the primary source schema to one or more nodes of the intermediate target schema within the pop-up map window; and

wherein upon closing the pop-up map window, a graphical representation of the intermediate target schema is displayed in the source schema region of the main map window and accessible for mapping within the main map window.

19. The data transformation system as recited in claim 18, wherein the mapping region of the pop-up map window is further adapted for displaying at least one control link connecting a source record node of the primary source schema to an intermediate record node of the intermediate target schema, and wherein a rule associated with the at least one control link specifies an event corresponding to the source record node, a conditional expression, and an action to be performed for the intermediate target node if an occurrence of the event is detected in the primary data source and the conditional expression is met.

20. The data transformation system as recited in claim 18, wherein the main map window further comprises:

a target schema region adapted for displaying a graphical representation of at least one target schema; and

a mapping region adapted for creating and displaying a graphical representation of one or more links connecting one or more nodes of the primary source schema to one or more nodes of the at least one target schema.

21. The data transformation system as recited in claim 20, wherein the mapping region of the main map window is further adapted for creating and displaying a graphical representation of a link connecting a node of the intermediate target schema displayed in the source schema region of the main map window to a node of the at least one target schema displayed in the target schema region of the main map window.

22. The data transformation system as recited in claim 20, wherein the at least one target schema displayed in the target schema region of the main map window comprises at least one target record node having multiple output operations associated therewith.

23. The data transformation system as recited in claim 22, wherein the multiple output operations are selected from a group comprising an insert operation, a delete operation, an update operation and an upsert operation.

24. The data transformation system as recited in claim 20, wherein the source schema region of the main map window is adapted for displaying a graphical representation of a plurality of source schemas, wherein the target schema region of the main map window is adapted for displaying a graphical representation of a plurality of target schemas, and wherein the plurality of source schemas and the plurality of target schemas comprise different schema types.

25. The data transformation system as recited in claim 24, wherein the different schema types are selected from a group comprising single mode, multi-mode, multi-record, flat and hierarchical schema types.

26. The data transformation system as recited in claim 18, further comprising a design repository for storing the schema map created via the graphical mapping interface.

27. The data transformation system as recited in claim 26, further comprising a package builder coupled for extracting the schema map from the design repository and configured for packaging the schema map into a deployment package.

28. The data transformation system as recited in claim 27, further comprising:

a read spoke configured for retrieving data from the data source;

a target spoke configured for storing transformed data to the data target; and

a transformation engine coupled to the read spoke for receiving the data from the data source, coupled to the target spoke for storing the transformed data in the data target, and coupled to the package builder for receiving the deployment package, wherein the transformation engine is configured for transforming the received data into the transformed data using the schema map included within the deployment package.

29. A graphical mapping interface for creating and displaying a schema map, wherein the graphical mapping interface is displayed on a screen and implemented with computer-readable instructions, which are stored on a non-transitory computer-readable storage medium and executed on a processor, and wherein the graphical mapping interface comprises:

a main map window comprising a source schema region adapted for displaying a graphical representation of a primary source schema defining a structure of a primary data source; and

a pop-up map window accessible from the main map window, wherein the pop-up map window comprises;

a source schema region adapted for displaying a graphical representation of the primary source schema, wherein the primary source schema comprises at least one source node;

a target schema region adapted for displaying a graphical representation of an intermediate target schema, wherein the intermediate target schema comprises at least one intermediate target node; and

a mapping region adapted for creating and displaying a graphical representation of one or more links connecting one or more nodes of the primary source schema to one or more nodes of the intermediate target schema within the pop-up map window, wherein the one or more links comprise at least one control link connecting a source record node of the primary source schema to an intermediate record node of the intermediate target schema, and wherein a rule associated with the at least one control link specifies an event corresponding to the source record node, a conditional expression, and an action to be performed for the intermediate target node if an occurrence of the event is detected in the primary data source and the conditional expression is met; and

wherein upon closing the pop-up map window, a graphical representation of the intermediate target schema is displayed in the source schema region of the main map window and accessible for mapping within the main map window.

30. The graphical mapping interface as recited in claim 29, wherein the mapping displayed in the pop-up map window is adapted to perform a lookup operation on the primary source schema and provide results of the lookup operation to the intermediate target schema.

31. The graphical mapping interface as recited in claim 29, wherein the mapping displayed in the pop-up map window is adapted to transfer at least a subset of data from the primary source schema to the intermediate target schema.

32. The graphical mapping interface as recited in claim 29, further comprising a second pop-up map window accessible from the main map window and adapted for creating and displaying a mapping between a second intermediate target schema and at least one of the primary source schema and the intermediate target schema, wherein upon closing the second pop-up map window, a graphical representation of the second intermediate target schema is displayed in the source schema region and accessible for mapping within the main map window.

33. The graphical mapping interface as recited in claim 29, wherein the pop-up map window further comprises an expression region adapted for displaying at least one target field expression for at least one intermediate target node displayed in the target schema region of the pop-up map window.

34. The graphical mapping interface as recited in claim 29, wherein the rule is created and displayed in a console panel region of the main map window when the pop-up map window is displayed.

35. The graphical mapping interface as recited in claim 29, wherein the main map window further comprises:

a target schema region adapted for displaying a graphical representation of at least one target schema; and

a mapping region adapted for creating and displaying a graphical representation of one or more links connecting one or more nodes of the primary source schema to one or more nodes of the at least one target schema.

36. The graphical mapping interface as recited in claim 35, wherein the mapping region of the main map window is further adapted for creating and displaying a graphical representation of a link connecting a node of the intermediate target schema displayed in the source schema region of the main map window to a node of the at least one target schema displayed in the target schema region of the main map window.