Data processing: database and file management or data structures – Database design – Data structure types
Reexamination Certificate
2000-03-17
2004-03-30
Le, Uyen (Department: 2171)
Data processing: database and file management or data structures
Database design
Data structure types
C715S252000
Reexamination Certificate
active
06714928
ABSTRACT:
COPYRIGHT NOTICE
A portion of the disclosure of this patent document contains material which is subject to copyright protection. The copyright owner has no objection to the facsimile reproduction by anyone of the patent document or the patent disclosure as it appears in the Patent and Trademark Office patent file or records, but otherwise reserves all copyright rights whatsoever.
BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION
The present invention relates generally to information processing environments and, more particularly, to development and execution of database application programs which operate in a Web environment.
Computers are very powerful tools for storing and providing access to vast amounts of information. Computer databases are a common mechanism for storing information on computer systems while providing easy access to users. A typical database is an organized collection of related information stored as “records” having “fields” of information. As an example, a database of employees may have a record for each employee. Here, each record contains fields designating specifics about the employee, such as name, home address, salary, and the like.
Between the actual physical database itself (i.e., the records contained in data pages stored on a storage device) and the users of the system, a database management system or DBMS is typically provided as a software cushion or layer. In essence, the DBMS shields the database user from knowing or even caring about underlying hardware-level details. Typically, all requests from users for access to the data are processed by the DBMS. For example, information may be added or removed from data files, information retrieved from or updated in such files, and so forth, all without user knowledge of underlying system implementation. In this manner, the DBMS provides users with a conceptual view of the database that is removed from the hardware level. The general construction and operation of a database management system is known in the art. See e.g., Date, C.,
An Introduction to Database Systems
, Volume I and II, Addison Wesley, 1990; the disclosure of which is hereby incorporated by reference.
DBMS systems have long since moved from a centralized mainframe environment to a de-centralized or distributed environment. One or more PC “client” systems, for instance, may be connected via a network to one or more server-based database systems (SQL database server). Commercial examples of these “client/server” systems include Powersoft™ clients connected to one or more Sybase SQL Server™ database servers. Both Powersoft™ and Sybase SQL Server™ are available from Sybase, Inc. of Emeryville, Calif. As the migration to client/server continues, each day more and more businesses are run from mission-critical systems which store information on server-based SQL database systems, such as Sybase SQL Server™. As a result, increasingly higher demands are being placed on server-based SQL database systems to provide enterprise-wide decision support—providing timely on-line access to critical business information (e.g., through “queries”). Accordingly, there is much interest in improving the performance of such systems, particularly in the area of database query performance.
In existing PC-based client/server application environments there are situations in which many, perhaps hundreds, of users having widely variant levels of database expertise execute sophisticated database queries frequently and regularly on a single, powerful relational database management system (RDBMS). One example of such a situation is one in which a database is used to track information regarding a company's employees. Such a database is relied upon and used many times a day by management staff, accounting staff, and personnel staff for various purposes. Since the people actually using the database are not necessarily fluent in database languages or procedures, it is necessary to have an effective, i.e., easy to use, and efficient interface between the user and the database itself.
Typically, the interface between the user and the database is programmed in advance by a database programmer using an application development package having various database “tools”, which range in sophistication from a programming language, e.g., the C programming language, to so-called “application builders” which provide software routines to automate some tasks, e.g., window managers to control data presentation effects such as “pop-up” windows, menu bars, and “pull down” menus. Such an interface typically employs graphics, color, and animation, all of which are CPU-intensive functions executed by the front-end desktop computer.
With the ever-increasing movement of computing to the Internet, there is great interest in extending database development tools to leverage the connectivity provided by the Internet. More particularly, developer users are particularly interested in tools that allow application software, including database application programs, to be “hosted” by the user's own browser.
SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION
A Database Development System is described that provides methodologies for creating an HTML database control object for use in a Client/Server Database System The system includes one or more Clients (e.g., Terminals or PCs) connected via a Network to a Server. In general operation, Clients store data in and retrieve data from one or more database tables resident on the Server by submitting SQL commands, some of which specify “queries”—criteria for selecting particular records of a table. The system includes a “DataWindow”(previously patented and described in commonly-owned U.S. Pat. No. 5,566,330) that provides a unique type of component or object used to retrieve, display, and manipulate data from a relational database or other data source. DataWindow objects have knowledge about the data they are retrieving, and present information according to user-specified display formats, presentation styles, validation rules, expressions and other data properties, so dynamic data is used in the most meaningful way.
In accordance with the present invention, the DataWindow component is adapted for providing an HTML DataWindow component that is well integrated with “Web” (i.e., “World Wide Web”) or hypertext technologies. The HTML DataWindow allows code-less creation and layout of forms, database queries, and result sets, automatic run-time generation of HTML and script for full range of DataWindow functionality, cross-browser HTML, with graceful degradation for older browsers, and client side validation (rules), date formatting, subtotals and computed columns.
A pure HTML DataWindow control is provided with the help of a Web page server (e.g., Sybase PowerDynamo™, available from Sybase, Inc. of Emeryville, Calif.) and a server component (which is invoked from that Web page server). Sybase PowerDynamo™ includes a Personal Web Server for use during development. The control is employed at design time to allow a developer to add database-driven content to his or her Web applications. In particular, using a Web or HTML DataWindow Design-Time Control (DTC) of the present intention, a developer visually drops the DataWindow onto an HTML editing surface (e.g., such as the previously-illustrated “Painters” that are displayed in PowerBuilder), and modifies the DTC properties as appropriate. Server code to create the DataWindow at runtime is then generated automatically. Client side validation (rules) defined for the DataWindow is translated into script commands (e.g., JavaScript, available from Netscape of Mountain View, Calif.) and executed on the client. JavaScript is a scripting language developed by Netscape to enable Web authors to design interactive sites. Although it shares many of the features and structures of the full Java language, it was developed independently. Javascript can interact with HTML source code, enabling Web authors to spice up their sites with dynamic content. No script commands need be written manually, however.
The HTML DataWindow serves as a thin-client DataWindow implementation fo
Chen Te Y
Le Uyen
Smart John A.
Sybase Inc.
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