Object caching and update queuing technique to improve performance and resource utilization

• US 20040230747A1
• Filed: 04/14/2004
• Published: 11/18/2004
• Est. Priority Date: 07/06/2000
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Steven D. Ims, Yih-Shin Tan, Yongcheng Li
• Original Assignee: Steven D. Ims, Yih-Shin Tan, Yongcheng Li
• Inventors: Li, Yongcheng, Ims, Steven D., Tan, Yih-Shin
• Granted Patent: US 7,130,964 B2
• Time in Patent Office: Days
• US Class Current: 711/133
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 16/9574 of access to content, e.g. by caching
• CPC Class Codes: Y10S 707/99952 Coherency, e.g. same view to multiple users

Abstract

The present invention provides a method, system, and computer program product for caching objects to improve performance and resource utilization of software applications which interact with a back-end data source, such as a legacy host application and/or legacy host data store or database. Read-only requests for information are satisfied from the cache, avoiding the overhead of a network round-trip and the computing overhead of repeating an interaction with the back-end data source. Refreshes of cached objects and update requests to objects may be queued for delayed processing (for example, at a time when the system is lightly loaded), thereby improving system resource utilization. A sequence of actions that may be required to initiate, and interact with, the refresh and update processes is also preferably stored in the cached objects. This technique is applicant-independent, and may therefore be used for objects having an arbitrary format.

Claims

1. A computer program product for improving performance and resource utilization of software applications that interact with a back-end data source to retrieve information stored therein, the computer program product embodied on one or more computer-readable media and comprising:

computer-readable program code means for storing one or more objects in a cache for responding to read requests against the objects, wherein (1) a set of input properties and values thereof is stored with or associated with each stored object and (2) refresh logic specifying how to refresh each of the stored objects is stored with or associated with the stored object or a group of stored objects;

computer-readable program code means for specifying a refresh policy that corresponds to each stored object or to each group of stored objects;

computer-readable program code means for receiving read requests against one or more of the objects;

computer-readable program code means for responding to the read requests using the stored objects;

computer-readable program code means for scheduling a refresh of a selected stored object by queuing the selected stored object or a reference thereto as a queued refresh request on a refresh queue; and

computer-readable program code means for refreshing the selected stored object, when triggered according to the corresponding refresh policy, by executing the refresh logic stored with or associated with the queued refresh request.

2. The computer program product according to claim 1, wherein a separate refresh queue is created for each of one or more back-end data sources to be accessed during operation of the computer-readable program code means for refreshing.

3. The computer program product according to claim 1, wherein the refresh policy comprises information about an associated object which is used for responding to update requests.

4. The computer program product according to claim 1, wherein the refresh policy comprises reaching a particular time of day.

5. The computer program product according to claim 1, wherein the refresh policy comprises reaching an elapsed time since a prior refresh.

6. The computer program product according to claim 1, further comprising:

computer-readable program code means for connecting to the back-end data source prior to operation of the computer-readable program code means for refreshing; and

computer-readable program code means for disconnecting from the back-end data source after operation of the computer-readable program code means for refreshing.

17. A system for improving performance and resource utilization of software applications that interact with a back-end data source to retrieve information stored therein, comprising:

means for storing one or more objects in a cache for responding to read requests against the objects, wherein (1) a set of input properties and values thereof is stored with or associated with each stored object and (2) refresh logic specifying how to refresh each of the stored objects is stored with or associated with the stored object or a group of stored objects;

means for specifying a refresh policy that corresponds to each stored object or to each group of stored objects;

means for receiving read requests against one or more of the objects;

means for responding to the read requests using the stored objects;

means for scheduling a refresh of a selected stored object by queuing the selected stored object or a reference thereto as a queued refresh request on a refresh queue; and

means for refreshing the selected stored object, when triggered according to the corresponding refresh policy, by executing the refresh logic stored with or associated with the queued refresh request.

18. The system according to claim 17, wherein a separate refresh queue is created for each of one or more back-end data sources to be accessed during operation of the means for refreshing.

19. The system according to claim 17, wherein the refresh policy comprises information about an associated object which is used for responding to update requests.

20. The system according to claim 17, wherein the refresh policy comprises reaching a particular time of day.

21. The system according to claim 17, wherein the refresh policy comprises reaching an elapsed time since a prior refresh.

22. The system according to claim 17, further comprising:

means for connecting to the back-end data source prior to operation of the means for refreshing; and

means for disconnecting from the back-end data source after operation of the means for refreshing.

33. A method for improving performance and resource utilization of software applications that interact with a back-end data source to retrieve information stored therein, comprising the steps of:

storing one or more objects in a cache for responding to read requests against the objects, wherein (1) a set of input properties and values thereof is stored with or associated with each stored object and (2) refresh logic specifying how to refresh each of the stored objects is stored with or associated with the stored object or a group of stored objects;

specifying a refresh policy that corresponds to each stored object or to each group of stored objects;

receiving read requests against one or more of the objects;

responding to the read requests using the stored objects;

scheduling a refresh of a selected stored object by queuing the selected stored object or a reference thereto as a queued refresh request on a refresh queue; and

refreshing the selected stored object, when triggered according to the corresponding refresh policy, by executing the refresh logic stored with or associated with the queued refresh request.

34. The method according to claim 33, wherein a separate refresh queue is created for each of one or more back-end data sources to be accessed during operation of the refreshing step.

35. The method according to claim 33, wherein the refresh policy comprises information about an associated object which is used for responding to update requests.

36. The method according to claim 33, wherein the refresh policy comprises reaching a particular time of day.

37. The method according to claim 33, wherein the refresh policy comprises reaching an elapsed time since a prior refresh.

38. The method according to claim 33, further comprising the steps of:

connecting to the back-end data source prior to operation of the refreshing step; and

disconnecting from the back-end data source after operation of the refreshing step.