Book of business mechanism

• US 8,171,017 B2
• Filed: 10/03/2007
• Issued: 05/01/2012
• Est. Priority Date: 10/03/2007
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Oracle International Corporation (Oracle Corporation)
• Original Assignee: Oracle International Corporation (Oracle Corporation)
• Inventors: Manson, Nicholas, Toal, Colin, Luo, Wei, Mitra, Chitra, Adams, Julie Choi, Edmonds, Adam, Viggers, Kevin James
• Primary Examiner(s): NGUYEN, KIM T
• Application Number:
  US11/866,545
• Publication Number:
  US 20090132479A1
• Time in Patent Office: 1,672 Days
• Field of Search: 707/718, 707/723
• US Class Current: 707/718
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 16/2282 Tablespace storage structures; Management thereof

Abstract

A “Book of Business” (or Book) is a set of business domain data of one or more book types. This set of data is identified by a “driving condition” or quality. A driving condition typically arises from a business practice, and may be further qualified by local conditions. Accordingly, data may be organized based on local activities or conditions that may not be explicitly stored in a database. In one embodiment, a method for querying the database includes identifying data in a database. The data is organized into one or more segments. A book of business associated with a segment in the one or more segments is then generated. The book of business includes a set of references to the data organized into the segment. A query plan may be determined based on the book of business. A set of results may then be generated based on the query plan.

Claims

1. A method for interacting with data stored in databases, the method comprising:

receiving, at one or more computer systems, information defining a hierarchy of business data containers representing books of business, each business data container in the hierarchy of business data containers limiting data access to a subset of data stored in a database according to predetermined criteria;

generating, with one or more processors associated with one or more computer systems, one or more book entries for each business data container configured to contain data in the hierarchy of business data containers according to a data schema associated with the business data container and data stored in the database in response to the predetermined criteria associated with the business data container;

generating, with the one or more processors associated with one or more computer systems, a book index for each business data container configured to contain data in the hierarchy of business data containers based on the one or more book entries of the business data container and one or more key attributes of data stored in at least one book entry;

generating, with the one or more processors associated with one or more computer systems, a graphical user interface that enables users of the graphical user interface to select a visual representation of each business data container in the hierarchy of business data containers;

receiving, at the one or more computer systems, information indicative of a selection of a user of the graphical user interface of a visual representation of a business data container in the hierarchy of business data containers;

generating, with the one or more processors associated with the one or more computer systems, a query plan to be executed by a database management system based on the book index associated with the business data container and a task associated with the selected business data container; and

executing, with the one or more processors associated with the one or more computer systems, the query plan by the database management system to obtain information stored in the database.

2. The method of claim 1 further comprising:

receiving, at the one or more computer systems, information organizing the data stored in the database into one or more segments; and

generating, with the one or more processors associated with the one or more computer systems, a business data container in the hierarchy of business data containers for each segment in the one or more segments.

3. The method of claim 2 further comprising organizing the data stored in the database automatically in response to predetermined criteria.

4. The method of claim 2 further comprising organizing the data stored in the database manually in response to input provided by one or more users.

5. The method of claim 1 wherein each business data container further specifies a set of queries to be performed against a subset of the data stored in the database associated with the business data container.

6. The method of claim 1 further comprising:

associating, with the one or more processors associated with the one or more computer systems, at least one task with business data container.

7. The method of claim 1 further comprising:

collocating, with the one or more processors associated with the one or more computer systems, a set of book entries of the business data container and a set of book indexes at an application object corresponding to the selected business data container; and

synchronizing, with the one or more processors associated with the one or more computer systems, at least some of the set of book entries between the application object and the database.

8. A non-transitory computer-readable medium storing computer-executable code for interacting with data stored in databases, the non-transitory computer-readable medium comprising:

code for receiving information defining a hierarchy of business data containers representing books of business, each business data container in the hierarchy of business data containers limiting data access to a subset of data stored in a database according to predetermined criteria;

code for generating one or more book entries for each business data container configured to contain data in the hierarchy of business data containers according to a data schema associated with the business data container and data stored in the database in response to the predetermined criteria associated with the business data container;

code for generating a book index for each business data container configured to contain data in the hierarchy of business data containers based on the one or more book entries of the business data container and one or more key attributes of data stored in at least one book entry;

code for generating a graphical user interface that enables users of the graphical user interface to select a visual representation of each business data container in the hierarchy of business data containers;

code for receiving information indicative of a selection of a user of the graphical user interface of a visual representation of a business data container in the hierarchy of business data containers;

code for determining a query plan based on the book index associated with the business data container and and a task associated with the selected business data container; and

code for executing the query plan to obtain information stored in the database.

9. The non-transitory computer-readable medium of claim 8 further comprising:

code for receiving information organizing the data stored in the database into one or more segments; and

code for generating a business data container in the hierarchy of business data containers for each segment in the one or more segments.

10. The non-transitory computer-readable medium of claim 9 further comprising code for organizing the data stored in the database automatically in response to predetermined criteria.

11. The non-transitory computer-readable medium of claim 9 further comprising code for organizing the data stored in the database manually in response to input provided by one or more users.

12. The non-transitory computer-readable medium of claim 8 wherein each business data container further specifies a set of queries to be performed against a subset of the data stored in the database associated with the business data container.

13. The non-transitory computer-readable medium of claim 8 further comprising:

code for associating at least one task with business data container.

14. The non-transitory computer-readable medium of claim 8 further comprising:

code for collocating a set of book entries of the business data container and a set of book indexes at an application object corresponding to the selected business data container; and

code for synchronizing at least some of the set of book entries between the application object and the database.