Relational database access system using semantically dynamic objects

• US 20020078008A1
• Filed: 03/19/2001
• Published: 06/20/2002
• Est. Priority Date: 08/20/1996
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Business Objects Incorporated (SAP SE)
• Original Assignee: Bernard Liautaud, Jean-Michel Cambot
• Inventors: Liautaud, Bernard, Cambot, Jean-Michel
• Granted Patent: US 6,578,027 B2
• Time in Patent Office: Days
• US Class Current: 707/1
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 16/2428 Query predicate definition using graphical user interfaces, including menus and forms G06F16/2423 takes precedence
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 16/25 Integrating or interfacing systems involving database management systems
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 16/28 Databases characterised by their database models, e.g. relational or object models
• CPC Class Codes: Y10S 707/99931 Database or file accessing
• CPC Class Codes: Y10S 707/99932 Access augmentation or optimizing
• CPC Class Codes: Y10S 707/99933 Query processing, i.e. searching
• CPC Class Codes: Y10S 707/99934 Query formulation, input preparation, or translation
• CPC Class Codes: Y10S 707/99935 Query augmenting and refining, e.g. inexact access

Abstract

A relational database access system and method provides a new data representation and a query technique which allows information system end users to access (query) relational databases without knowing the relational structure or the structure query language (SQL). The present invention utilizes semantically dynamic objects.

Claims

1. A relational database access system comprising

means for generating a user query wherein said user query represents a query on one or more business objects,

query engine means for translating said user query into a structured query language (SQL) equivalent statement, and

means responsive to said SQL language equivalent statement for accessing said relational database.

2. The system as in claim 1 wherein said query on business objects include the specific objects to be retrieved, the conditions that the results must match and the order in which the results must be sorted.

3. The system as in claim 2 including a predefined business object universe representative of said database and including one or more predefined business objects to provide semantically dynamic tabular representation of data from said database.

4. The system as in claim 3 wherein said universe includes classes representative of logical sets of objects;

said business objects;

joins which are representative of relational synchronization between tables; and

contexts which represent subsets of the list of joins.

5. The system as in claim 4 wherein an object represents a single column including a header that is the name of the object and one or more rows of data.

6. The system as in claim 5 wherein said query engine means includes means for generating a select clause.

7. The system as in claim 6 wherein said query engine means includes means for generating a group by clause.

8. The system as in claim 7 wherein said query engine means includes means for generating joins representative of a path used to access data.

9. The system as in claim 8 wherein said query engine means includes means for testing the set of joins for multiple paths.

10. The system as in claim 9 wherein said query engine means includes means for selecting between multiple paths.

11. The system as in claim 10 wherein said query engine means includes means for generating a query on business objects definition screen, which allows a user to define a query wherein the query includes a result object representative of information required by the user;

conditions, which represent restrictions to be used on the data; and

sorts, which represent the sorting of the returned data.

12. The system as in claim 11 wherein said query engine means include means for providing a result objects window to permit a user to construct a linear association of business objects.

13. The system as in claim 12 wherein said query engine means include means for providing a conditions window to permit a user to specify a list of conditions on any of the available objects.

14. The system as in claim 13 wherein said query engine means includes means for providing a sorts window to permit a user to introduce a sort on a list of objects.

15. The system as in claim 14 wherein said query engine means include means for generating a business object selector window which provides a list of business objects of the current universe.

16. The system as in claim 15 including means for generating an initial list of tables involved in said query.

17. The system as in claim 16 including means for generating a final list of tables so as to determine a single path connecting all the tables in said initial list of tables using a list of joins of the current universe.

18. The system as in claim 17 including means for generating a FROM clause by listing all the tables of said final list of tables.

19. The system as in claim 18 including means for generating a WHERE clause including the list of joins from the selected context that involved the tables of said final list of tables;

building the conditions on objects from said result objects windows;

building the conditions placed under the objects in the results objects window by converting it to its SQL equivalent statement; and

translating the objects and the operators used in the conditions window by their SQL equivalent statement.

20. The system as in claim 19 including means for generating a group by clause, including means for scanning the list of objects involved in the query on business objects and using the concatenation of all the SQL equivalent statements present in the result objects and sort windows.

21. The system as in claim 20 including means for generating a having clause by translating the simple conditions placed on objects in the result objects windows into their SQL equivalent statement.

22. The system as in claim 21 including means for generating an order by clause by taking the sorts defined in the sorts window and replacing them by their SQL equivalent statement.

25. The method as in claim 24 wherein said query on business objects include the specific objects to be retrieved, the conditions that the results must match and the order in which the results must be sorted.

26. The method as in claim 25 including a predefined business object universe representative of said database and including one or more predefined business objects to provide semantically dynamic tabular representation of data from said database.

28. The system as in claim 27 including a predefined business object universe representative of said database and including one or more predefined business objects to provide semantically dynamic tabular representation of data from said database.

23. In a relational database access system including a predefined business object universe representative of said database and including one or more predefined business objects to provide semantically dynamic tabular representation of data from said database and wherein a user generates a user query representing a query on one or more of said business objects, the apparatus comprising

query engine means for translating said user query into a structured query language (SQL) equivalent statement, and

means responsive to said SQL language equivalent statement for accessing said relational database.

24. In a relational database access system the method comprising the steps of

generating a user query wherein said user query represents a query on one or more business objects,

translating said user query into a structured query language (SQL) equivalent statement,

said SQL language equivalent statement accessing said relational database.

27. A database access system comprising

means for generating a user query wherein said user query represents a query on one or more business objects,

query engine means for translating said user query into a query language equivalent statement for said database, and

means responsive to said query language equivalent statement for accessing said database.