Systems and user interfaces for dynamic and interactive simultaneous querying of multiple data stores

• US 9,514,200 B2
• Filed: 07/31/2015
• Issued: 12/06/2016
• Est. Priority Date: 10/18/2013
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Palantir Technologies Incorporated
• Original Assignee: Palantir Technologies Incorporated
• Inventors: Shankar, Ankit, Ash, Andrew, Stowe, Geoff, Petracca, Thomas, Duffield, Benjamin
• Primary Examiner(s): HICKS, MICHAEL J
• Application Number:
  US14/815,459
• Publication Number:
  US 20160034545A1
• Time in Patent Office: 494 Days
• Field of Search: None
• US Class Current: 1/1
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 16/22 Indexing; Data structures therefor; Storage structures
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 16/242 Query formulation
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 16/2425 Iterative querying; Query formulation based on the results of a preceding query
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 16/2452 Query translation
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 16/2455 Query execution
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 16/2471 Distributed queries
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 16/248 Presentation of query results
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 16/252 between a Database Management System and a front-end application
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 16/256 in federated or virtual databases
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 16/322 Trees
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 16/9024 Graphs; Linked lists G06F16/9027 takes precedence

Abstract

Embodiments of the present disclosure relate to a computer system and interactive user interfaces configured to enable efficient and rapid access to multiple different data sources simultaneously, and by an unskilled user. The unskilled user may provide simple and intuitive search terms to the system, and the system may thereby automatically query multiple related data sources of different types and present results to the user. Data sources in the system may be efficiently interrelated with one another by way of a mathematical graph in which nodes represent data sources and/or portions of data sources (for example, database tables), and edges represent relationships among the data sources and/or portions of data sources. For example, edges may indicate relationships between particular rows and/or columns of various tables. The table graph enables a compact and memory efficient storage of relationships among various disparate data sources.

Claims

1. A method comprising:

generating a table graph comprising;

a first node associated with a first data table;

a second node associated with a second data table;

a first link between the first node and the second node, wherein the first link indicates a first field of the first data table is associated with a first field of the second data table; and

a second link between the first node and the second node, wherein the second link indicates a second field of the first data table is associated with a second field of the second data table;

executing a search query on the table graph by at least;

looking up first information in the first data table, wherein the first information is associated with the search query;

looking up second information in the second data table by reference to the first link, wherein the second information is associated with the first information, and wherein the first and second information together comprise a direct hit of the search query; and

looking up third information in the first data table by reference to the second link, wherein the third information is different from the first information, and wherein the third information comprises an indirect hit of the search query; and

providing, for display by a computing device;

the third information, and

an indication that the third information comprises the indirect hit of the search query.

2. The method if claim 1, wherein the first data table is stored in a first database and the second table is stored in a second database.

3. The method if claim 2, wherein the first database is of a first type and the second database is of a second type different from the first type.

4. The method if claim 3, wherein the first type comprises at least one of:

a relational database, an object-oriented database, a proprietary database, a file-based database, a hierarchical database, a network database, or an elastic-search database.

5. The method if claim 4, wherein the first database and the second database are located remotely from one another.

6. The method if claim 1, wherein the third information and the indication are provided for display in an interactive graphical user interface.

7. The method if claim 1 further comprising:

displaying, in an interactive graphical user interface and by the computing device, the third information and the indication.

8. The method if claim 1 further comprising:

providing, for display by the computing device;

the second information, and

a second indication that the second information comprises the direct hit of the search query.

9. The method if claim 8, wherein the third information, the indication, the second information, and the second indication are all provided for display in an interactive graphical user interface.

10. The method if claim 9 further comprising:

displaying, in an interactive graphical user interface and by the computing device, all of the third information, the indication, the second information, and the second indication.

11. The method if claim 1, wherein:

the table graph further comprises;

a third node associated with a third data table; and

a third link between the first node and the third node, wherein the third link indicates the first field of the first data table is associated with a first field of the third data table; and

executing the search query on the table graph further includes;

looking up fourth information in the third data table by reference to the third link concurrently with looking up the second information in the second data table, wherein the fourth information is associated with the first information.

12. The method if claim 11, wherein the first, second, and third information together comprise the direct hit of the search query.

13. The method if claim 11 further comprising:

automatically determining that looking up the fourth information is suitable for concurrent execution with looking up the second information based on at least one of;

query dependency, query complexity, history of query execution duration, usage statistics of the first, second, and/or third data tables, and/or predicted usage demand of the first, second, and third data tables.

14. The method if claim 13, wherein looking up the fourth information is performed in response to automatically determining that looking up the fourth information is suitable for concurrent execution with looking up the second information.

15. A system comprising:

a first database storing a first data table;

a second database storing a second data table;

a non-transitory computer readable storage medium storing a table graph comprising;

a first node associated with a first data table;

a second node associated with a second data table;

a first link between the first node and the second node, wherein the first link indicates a first field of the first data table is associated with a first field of the second data table; and

a second link between the first node and the second node, wherein the second link indicates a second field of the first data table is associated with a second field of the second data table; and

one or more hardware processors configured to execute software instructions in order to;

execute a search query on the table graph by at least;

looking up first information in the first data table, wherein the first information is associated with the search query;

looking up second information in the second data table by reference to the first link, wherein the second information is associated with the first information, and wherein the first and second information together comprise a direct hit of the search query; and

looking up third information in the first data table by reference to the second link, wherein the third information is different from the first information, and wherein the third information comprises an indirect hit of the search query; and

provide, for display by the system;

the third information, and

an indication that the third information comprises the indirect hit of the search query.

16. The system of claim 15, wherein the first database and the second database are located remotely from one another.

17. The system of claim 16, wherein the first database is of a first type and the second database is of a second type different from the first type.

18. The system of claim 15, wherein the one or more hardware processors configured to execute software instructions in order further to:

provide, for display by the system in an interactive graphical user interface;

the second information,

a second indication that the second information comprises the direct hit of the search query,

the third information, and

the indication.

19. The system of claim 15, wherein:

the table graph further comprises;

a third node associated with a third data table; and

a third link between the first node and the third node, wherein the third link indicates the first field of the first data table is associated with a first field of the third data table; and

executing the search query on the table graph further includes;

looking up fourth information in the third data table by reference to the third link concurrently with looking up the second information in the second data table, wherein the fourth information is associated with the first information.

20. The system of claim 15, wherein the one or more hardware processors configured to execute software instructions in order further to:

automatically determine that looking up the fourth information is suitable for concurrent execution with looking up the second information based on at least one of;

query dependency, query complexity, history of query execution duration, usage statistics of the first, second, and/or third data tables, and/or predicted usage demand of the first, second, and third data tables.