Method and apparatus for storing and manipulating objects in a plurality of relational data managers on the web

• US 6,012,067 A
• Filed: 03/02/1998
• Issued: 01/04/2000
• Est. Priority Date: 03/02/1998
• Status: Expired due to Term

• Current Assignee: Shyam Sundar Sarkar
• Original Assignee: Shyam Sundar Sarkar
• Inventors: Sarkar, Shyam Sundar
• Primary Examiner(s): Black, Thomas G.
• Assistant Examiner(s): Corrielus, Jean M.
• Application Number:
  US09/033,325
• Time in Patent Office: 673 Days
• Field of Search: 713/201, 713/200, 709/229, 709/203, 395/500.25, 395/500.24, 707/104, 707/10, 707/201, 707/103
• US Class Current: 1/1
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 16/252 between a Database Management System and a front-end application
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 16/95 Retrieval from the web
• CPC Class Codes: Y10S 707/99944 Object-oriented database structure
• CPC Class Codes: Y10S 707/99945 Object-oriented database structure processing
• CPC Class Codes: Y10S 707/99952 Coherency, e.g. same view to multiple users

Abstract

The present invention provides a system for the retrieval, construction and manipulation of any kind of objects using Structured Query Language (SQL) over disparate relational storage systems on the web. Uniform Resource Locators (URLs) are used by the present invention to locate objects corresponding to component relational databases on the web and other web objects. URLs locating relational schema components and other web objects are stored as attribute values in tables. Object methods and operators on such web objects are defined as part of user defined type definition for an attribute type in a table. Object request brokers apply such methods or operators on web objects anywhere on the web. Since URLs can point to relational data store under a remote schema definition, a business application logic in the form of object package is executed after constructing proper sets of records by relational operations at the remote schema location. This leads to partitioning of a logical schema into many physical schema components with business objects. Also by this invention, parts of a web object can be intelligently manipulated and access methods through index creation enable range access over web objects. Additionally, this invention suggests possible internet security by authorizations at component schema locations and by further maintaining processing logic for secured transmission over the internet. SQL queries create, retrieve and manipulate disparate web objects with implicit or explicit calls to business application logic as object methods. This invention uniquely incorporates a cooperative method of preparation, execution and resolution of a SQL query manipulating uniform resource locators and object definitions at multiple locations on the web.

Claims

1. In a network of computers over the internet, a multi-tier client/server system comprising of:

A) Clients with browsers capable of triggering queries written in Structured Query Language (SQL) where these clients are connected to object request brokers in a Common Object Request Broker Architecture so as to make persistent communications with other object request brokers existing with relational database servers at multiple locations on the internet;

B) Relational database servers with schema and business application logic defined in the form of object packages comprising;

a) An user defined type creation for an attribute in a table where the type definition consists of variable definitions along with interface definitions for methods and operators on these variables;

b) An user defined type creation for an attribute in a table where the type definition consists of a variable that points to a local or remote object on the internet;

c) An user defined type creation for an attribute in a table where uniform Resource Locators (URLs) are used as values to locate any object on the web including relational databases;

d) An user defined type creation for an attribute in a table where the type definition consists of a variable that can locate a view definition or any object in a local or remote relational database;

e) Method and operator interfaces defined in user defined types implemented in Java classes,

C) Executions of application logic in object packages on local or remote web objects performed by Object Request Broker services in Common Object Request Broker Architecture (CORBA).

2. A multi-tier client/server system defined in claim 1 wherein said client generates Structured Query Language (SQL) queries with embedded business application logic and such said client queries travel directly to said relational database servers without requiring a middle tier of application servers.

3. A system as defined in claim 1 wherein said clients and said relational database servers communicate through Object Request Brokers and Internet Inter ORB Protocols (IIOP) and wherein said relational database servers further communicate among themselves through IIOP using Uniform Resource Locators (UTRLs) for locating component schema and objects.

5. A system as defined in claim 2 wherein said view cache carrying URLs further extends capabilities for locating any web objects or components of web objects and said object packages apply processing logic for constructing and manipulating these web objects.

6. A system as defined in claim 5 wherein said processing logic includes further intelligent capabilities of realigning and/or resizing component web objects, for example font size in text component, realignment of image component in HTML pages by using triggers, rules and stored procedures in relational databases.

7. A system as defined in claim 5 wherein processing logic in object packages further comprises means of enforcing security over web object transmission on the internet for electronic commerce and other applications by the steps including:

A) Maintaining a Java class to decompose and apply other security specific processing logic on web objects such that this Java class can be downloaded implicitly to a sender location;

B) Maintaining an object package in the form of Java class at the receiver location with database server to apply processing logic for constructing and manipulating components of web object such that an inverse of decomposition can be applied;

C) Downloading Java class from client locations implicitly to decompose web objects and/or encrypt decomposed components before transmission over the internet so as to enforce security;

D) Receiving and storing web object components as values of an attribute in a view cache maintained in the server;

E) Applying processing logic after construction by relational operations over all the components stored.

8. A system as defined in claim 7 wherein said security over internet transactions further comprises means of adopting different privileges and access authorizations for users to retrieve and manipulate data stored at various component schema locations over the internet.

9. A system as defined in claim 5 wherein said view cache table with URLs locating web objects over the internet and said object package definition for methods and operators over such said web objects further comprises means of building an user defined index using operators over such web objects.

10. A system as defined in claim 9 wherein said index creation over web objects comprises means of making range accesses and other predicate based accesses.

11. A system as defined in claim 2 wherein said logical schema partitioned into said physical schema components comprises means of making and executing single SQL (Structured Query Language) query against the said logical schema irrespective of locations and distribution of physical schema components by the steps including:

A) Keeping non-detailed meta data (information about relational data) for the logical schema at each component physical schema locations so that locations of other component schema are available for all tables, types and packages used in a query;

B) Parsing a Structured Query Language (SQL) query at a physical component schema location to resolve definitions for tables, types and packages whatever is locally available and extracting portion of the query for sending it to other locations for preparation wherever the relevant meta data is available;

C) Preparing fully a SQL query at multiple sites by successively parsing with locally available meta data and initializing any object packages used in attribute definitions in tables at each component schema location;

D) Beginning execution only after complete preparations at all involved locations;

E) Performing relational operations and executing application logic at each component schema location by collaborations through Object Request Brokers;

F) Completing any business logic execution at a location by successive completion of other executions at other locations when there are dependencies and nested applications.

12. A system as defined in claim 11 wherein said preparation phase and said execution phase of an SQL query further comprises means of including internet locations with centralized legacy databases and other existing data stores.

13. A system as defined in claim 12 wherein said legacy databases and said existing centralized data stores carrying no object packages for business logic further comprises means of supporting SQL queries with embedded business logic against such legacy databases by defining object packages in other component schema locations.

14. A system as defined in claim 12 wherein said SQL queries with embedded business logic over said legacy databases and said centralized existing databases further comprises means of achieving extensibility and object orientation in relational data and SQL without any reorganization and replacement of existing systems.

4. In a network of computers over the intemet, multi-tier client/server system incorporating distributed business application logic with relational data at disparate locations comprising of:

A) A logical schema for relational databases with tables, foreign key/primary key relationships, attributes with user defined types, business application logic in object packages;

B) Many instances of component physical schema for relational databases distributed over disparate locations where these distributed schema instances are derived from one logical schema;

C) A component physical schema with definitions of tables, foreign key/primary key relationships, user defined types with object packages and local or remote object locators consisting of;

a) Uniform Resource Locators (URLs) used for locating remote schema or web objects;

b) Relations as view caches to maintain relationships over foreign keys inherited from a table in the local component schema and primary keys of a table in a remote schema located by URLs;

c) Relations as view caches to enforce referential integrity across component relational databases over the intemet;

d) Business logic in the form of object packages implemented in Java classes to incorporate processing logic over a join or other relational operations performed in a local component schema;

e) View cache tables maintaining an attribute which is an user defined type with an associated object package implemented as Java class at a remote schema location and URLs as attribute values for locating primary keys in that remote schema;

D) A multiple table join in a single logical schema performed as multiple partial joins at disparate component schema with persistent communications through Object Request Brokers maintained at each schema locations;

E) Many levels of business logic applications on a complex join in a logical schema executed as cooperative processing of distributed business logic on partial joins in component schema at disparate locations communicating through Object Request Brokers.