Processing information about occurrences of multiple types of events in a consistent manner
First Claim
1. A computer-implemented method for storing information about occurrences of multiple distinct types of events in a single database table having multiple defined fields, each of the event types having multiple parameters, the single database table having an associated metaschema that allows multiple event types to be defined in such a manner that information about occurrences of those event types can be stored in the single database table, the method comprising:
- receiving definitions for multiple event types having distinct parameters, the received definitions based on the metaschema;
for each of the multiple event type definitions, mapping each of the multiple parameters for that event type to one of the defined fields of the single database table, the mapping of the parameters for the multiple event type definitions based on the metaschema and such that multiple distinct parameters for multiple defined event types are mapped to one of the defined fields of the single database table; and
for each of a plurality of occurrences of the defined event types, storing information about the occurrence of the defined event type in the single database table by, receiving values for the parameters for the defined event type that reflect the occurrence; and
storing an indication of the event type occurrence in the single database table in such a manner that the stored indication includes a unique identification of the defined event type and that the received value for each parameter is stored in the defined field of the single database table to which that parameter is mapped, so that information about occurrences of multiple types of events can be stored in a single database table by using an associated metaschema to assist in storing values for multiple distinct parameters of multiple defined event types in one of the defined fields.
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Accused Products
Abstract
A method, system, and computer-readable medium are described for using an event type meta-definition to process occurrence information for multiple defined event types in a consistent manner, such as by using a single data structure to store occurrence information of varying types for multiple defined event types. In some situations, the event type meta-definition is a database metaschema, and if so the single data structure can be a single database table. By using a single data structure, occurrence information for multiple defined event types can be stored and retrieved in a consistent manner, and reports can also be defined to present information for multiple event types in a consistent manner.
17 Citations
77 Claims
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1. A computer-implemented method for storing information about occurrences of multiple distinct types of events in a single database table having multiple defined fields, each of the event types having multiple parameters, the single database table having an associated metaschema that allows multiple event types to be defined in such a manner that information about occurrences of those event types can be stored in the single database table, the method comprising:
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receiving definitions for multiple event types having distinct parameters, the received definitions based on the metaschema;
for each of the multiple event type definitions, mapping each of the multiple parameters for that event type to one of the defined fields of the single database table, the mapping of the parameters for the multiple event type definitions based on the metaschema and such that multiple distinct parameters for multiple defined event types are mapped to one of the defined fields of the single database table; and
for each of a plurality of occurrences of the defined event types, storing information about the occurrence of the defined event type in the single database table by, receiving values for the parameters for the defined event type that reflect the occurrence; and
storing an indication of the event type occurrence in the single database table in such a manner that the stored indication includes a unique identification of the defined event type and that the received value for each parameter is stored in the defined field of the single database table to which that parameter is mapped, so that information about occurrences of multiple types of events can be stored in a single database table by using an associated metaschema to assist in storing values for multiple distinct parameters of multiple defined event types in one of the defined fields. - View Dependent Claims (2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10)
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11. A computer-implemented method for storing information about events of multiple types using a single event occurrence data structure, the method comprising:
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for each of distinct first and second event types, receiving a definition for the event type that indicates at least one parameter for that event type whose values from occurrences of that event type are to be stored, a first parameter indicated for the first event type being distinct from a second parameter indicated for the second event type;
associating each of the first and second parameters with a single field of the event occurrence data structure;
receiving an indication of an occurrence of the first event type that includes a value of the first parameter for the indicated occurrence;
receiving an indication of an occurrence of the second event type that includes a value of the second parameter for the indicated occurrence; and
using the event occurrence data structure to store indications of each of the occurrences of the first and second event types, the storing of the indications such that the included values of the first and second parameters are each stored as values of the single field. - View Dependent Claims (12, 13, 14, 15, 16, 17, 18, 19, 20, 21, 22, 23, 24, 25, 26, 27, 28, 29, 30, 31, 32, 33, 34)
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35. A computer-readable medium whose contents cause a computing device to store information about events of multiple types using an event occurrence data structure having fields, by performing a method comprising:
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receiving definitions for event types, each definition indicating a type of information to be stored for occurrences of that event type;
for each of a plurality of defined event types, receiving an indication of an occurrence of the event type that includes information of the type indicated by the definition for that event type; and
storing indications of each of the occurrences in the event occurrence data structure, the stored indications such that the information included in the received occurrence indications of the types indicated by the definitions for the event types are stored in the same field of the event occurrence data structure. - View Dependent Claims (36, 37, 38, 39, 40)
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41. A computing device for storing information about events of multiple types using a single event occurrence data structure, comprising:
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an event type definer component that is capable of receiving definitions for each of distinct first and second event types that indicate parameters specific to those event types whose values from occurrences of those event types are to be stored, and of associating each of the indicated parameters with a field of the event occurrence data structure based on a meta-definition associated with the event occurrence data structure, the associating such that a first of the parameters indicated for the first event type and a distinct second of the parameters indicated for the second event type are each associated with a single field of the event occurrence data structure; and
an event occurrence information storer component that is capable of receiving an indication of an occurrence of the first event type that includes values for the parameters indicated for the first event type, of receiving an indication of an occurrence of the second event type that includes values for the parameters indicated for the second event type, and of storing indications of each of the occurrences of the first and second event types in such a manner that the included values for the first and second parameters are each stored as values of the single field. - View Dependent Claims (42, 43, 44)
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45. A computer system for storing information about events of multiple types using a single event occurrence data structure, comprising:
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means for receiving definitions for each of distinct first and second event types that indicate at least one type of information to be stored for occurrences of each of the event types, a first type of information indicated for the first event type being distinct from a second type of information indicated for the second event type, and for associating each of the first and second types of information with a single field of the event occurrence data structure;
means for receiving an indication of an occurrence of the first event type that includes information of the first type and receiving an indication of an occurrence of the second event type that includes information of the second type; and
means for using the event occurrence data structure to store indications of each of the occurrences of the first and second event types, the storing of the indications such that the received information of the first and second types are each stored as values of the single field.
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46. A computer-implemented method for storing information about events of multiple types using a single event occurrence data structure having multiple fields, the method comprising:
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retrieving a meta-definition that specifies how values of distinct parameters for multiple distinct event types can be stored using a single event occurrence data structure;
for each of multiple distinct event types, receiving a definition for the event type indicating parameters that are specific to the event type and whose values from occurrences of that event type are to be stored; and
mapping the indicated parameters for the event type to the fields of the single event occurrence data structure based on the retrieved meta-definition;
receiving indications of multiple occurrences of the defined event types, each indicated occurrence of an event type including values for the parameters indicated for that event type; and
storing indications of each of the indicated occurrences by, for each of the parameters indicated for the event type whose occurrence is indicated, storing the included value for the parameter from the occurrence in the field of the event occurrence data structure to which the parameter is mapped. - View Dependent Claims (47, 48, 49)
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50. A computer-implemented method for retrieving stored information about occurrences of multiple defined event types, each of the event types having one or more parameters whose values from occurrences of that event type are stored in one or more of multiple fields of an event occurrence data structure, the method comprising:
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receiving an indication of one or more occurrences of one or more of the event types, each indicated occurrence of an event type having one or more values for parameters of that event type that are stored in one or more of the fields of the event occurrence data structure;
retrieving mapping information for each of the one or more event types whose occurrences are indicated the mapping information for an event type indicating fields of the event occurrence data structure that are associated with the parameters of that event type;
for each of the indicated occurrences of an event type, extracting values for at least one of the parameters of that event type for that occurrence from the one or more fields of the event occurrence data structure that are indicated for those parameters by the mapping information for that event type; and
providing an indication of the extracted values. - View Dependent Claims (51, 52, 53, 54, 55, 56)
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57. A computer-implemented method for reporting about occurrences of multiple defined event types, each of the occurrences having corresponding information stored in an entry of an event occurrence data structure, the method comprising:
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receiving an indication of a report to contain information about one or more of the event types;
for each of the one or more event types, determining the entries of the event occurrence data structure that store information about occurrences of those event types;
retrieving from the determined entries at least some of the stored information about the occurrences of the one or more event types;
generating the indicated report based at least in part on the retrieved occurrence information; and
providing an indication of the generated report. - View Dependent Claims (58, 59, 60, 61, 62)
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63. A method for storing information about occurrences of multiple defined event types using an event occurrence data structure, the method comprising:
for each of a plurality of defined event types, receiving information reflecting an occurrence of the event type that includes values for one or more parameters specific to that event type;
determining based on a definition for the event type one or more fields of the event occurrence data structure in which the included values of the parameters for that event type are to be stored; and
storing the received information in the event occurrence data structure in such a manner that the included values of the parameters for the event type are stored as values of the determined fields. - View Dependent Claims (64, 65, 66, 67)
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68. A computer-implemented method for processing information about events of multiple types in a consistent manner by using an event type meta-definition, the method comprising:
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receiving definitions for multiple distinct event types, each event type having one or more parameters that each receive values for occurrences of that event type;
applying the event type meta-definition to the received definitions so as to associate parameters for multiple event types together, the associated parameters representing different information;
receiving requests to process information about multiple occurrences of the defined event types; and
processing values for the different information represented by the associated parameters from the multiple occurrences of multiple event types in a consistent manner based on the event type meta-definition. - View Dependent Claims (69, 70, 71, 72, 73)
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74. One or more computer memories collectively containing a data structure that stores information about occurrences of multiple event types, each event type having one or more attributes specific to that event type such that an occurrence of that event type is represented by a group of values for those attributes, the values for the attributes of a first of the event types differing in type of information from the values for the attributes of a second of the event types, the data structure comprising a multiplicity of entries each corresponding to an occurrence of an event type and each having values for at least first and second fields of the data structure, each entry comprising:
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a stored value for the first field that uniquely identifies the event type for the occurrence; and
one or more stored values for the second field that are the group of values for the attributes of the identified event type, the one or more stored values obtained from the occurrence, and wherein the data structure contains an entry corresponding to an occurrence of the first event type and an entry corresponding to an occurrence of the second event type, such that the values stored for the second field differ in the type of information in those data structure entries. - View Dependent Claims (75, 76, 77)
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Specification