Data processing: database and file management or data structures – Database design – Data structure types
Reexamination Certificate
2002-01-30
2004-09-28
Mizrahi, Diane D. (Department: 2175)
Data processing: database and file management or data structures
Database design
Data structure types
C707S793000
Reexamination Certificate
active
06799184
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.
COMPUTER PROGRAM LISTING APPENDIX
A Computer Program Listing Appendix, containing fourteen (14) total files on compact disc, is included with this application.
BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION
1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates generally to information processing environments and, more particularly, to a database system providing methods that handle, manage, and store information in Extensible Markup Language (XML) format and that support queries of XML documents and data.
2. Description of the Background Art
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 where 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 data actually stored on a storage device) and the users of the system, a database management system 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 the 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. Commercial examples of these “client/server” systems include Powersoft® clients connected to one or more Sybase® Adaptive Server® database servers. Both Powersoft® and Sybase® Adaptive Server® (formerly Sybase® SQL Server®) are available from Sybase, Inc. of Emeryville, Calif.
In recent years, this distributed environment has shifted from a standard two-tier client/server environment to a three-tier client/server architecture. This newer client/server architecture introduces three well-defined and separate processes, each typically running on a different platform. A “first tier” provides the user interface, which runs on the user's computer (i.e., the client). Next, a “second tier” provides the functional modules that actually process data. This middle tier typically runs on a server, often called an “application server.” A “third tier” furnishes a database management system (DBMS) that stores the data required by the middle tier. This tier may run on a second server called the “database server.” Three-tier database systems are well documented in the patent and trade literature, see e.g., commonly-owned U.S. Pat. No. 6,266,666, entitled “Component transaction server for developing and deploying transaction-intensive business applications,” the disclosure of which is hereby incorporated by reference.
More recently, the first tier (or client) for many three-tier systems is accessing the second-tier application server through the Internet, typically using a Web browser, such as Netscape Navigator or Microsoft Internet Explorer. Increasingly, applications running on these systems provide for business-to-business or business-to-consumer interaction via the Internet between the organization hosting the application and its business partners and customers. Many organizations receive and transmit information to business partners and customers through the Internet.
A considerable portion of the information received or exchanged is in Extensible Markup Language or “XML” format. XML is a pared-down version of SGML, designed especially for Web documents, which allows designers to create their own customized tags, enabling the definition, transmission, validation, and interpretation of data between applications and between organizations. For further description of XML, see e.g., “Extensible Markup Language (XML) 1.0,” (2nd Edition, Oct. 6, 2000) a recommended specification from the W3C, the disclosure of which is hereby incorporated by reference. A copy of this specification is currently available on the Internet at http://www.w3.org/TR/2000/REC-xml-20001006. Many organizations utilize XML to exchange data with other remote users over the Internet.
As an increasing amount of information is in XML format, users want to be able to search this XML information in an efficient manner. However, this XML data is not in a format that can be easily stored and searched in current database systems. Most XML data is sent and stored in plain text format. This data is not formatted in tables and rows like information stored in a relational DBMS. To search this semi-structured data, users typically utilize keyword searches similar to those utilized by many current Internet search engines. These keyword searches are resource-intensive and are not as efficient as relational DBMS searches of structured data. For example, a user may perform a keyword search for “Harrison Ford.” This keyword search would not only return information regarding the actor with this name, but would also typically return information on Ford automobiles or dealerships owned by Harrison.
Given the increasing use of XML in recent years, many organizations now have considerable quantities of data in XML format, including Web documents, newspaper articles, product catalogs, purchase orders, invoices, and product plans. To extract and store this XML data, developers currently utilize Document Object Model (“DOM”) processors. DOM itself represents a specification of how objects in HTML and XML documents (text, images, headers, links, and the like) are represented. These DOM processors are very application-specific as developers typically write specific drivers for specific applications and types of data. For example, one particular processor may deal primarily with large static documents and catalogs, while another processor may handle smaller and more dynamic data such as orders, invoices, messages, and other types of data.
Documents and catalogs can be quite large and contain a lot of information, but are generally static. Searching large catalogs using these existing DOM processors is inefficient, as it requires reparsing the document and searching by text keyword. Both of these processes are very resource-intensive. Orders, invoices, and messages are usually smaller, but more frequent in number and more dynamic. In the case of these types of data, there is a need to be able to efficiently locate the appropriate item from a large group of similar items. For example, a user may wish to find invoices sent to a particular customer without having to search through all of the invoices in the system.
Another category of semi-structured information currently handled by these DOM processors is “transitional RDBMS data.” Transitional RDBMS data is information that may be stored by an organization in a relational DBMS, but that is exchanged with another company (or another group within the same company)
Bhatt Vadiraja
Eachampadi Raghavan T.
Sampath Srikanth
Singh Anupam
Mizrahi Diane D.
Riddle G. Mack
Smart John A.
Sybase Inc.
LandOfFree
Relational database system providing XML query support does not yet have a rating. At this time, there are no reviews or comments for this patent.
If you have personal experience with Relational database system providing XML query support, we encourage you to share that experience with our LandOfFree.com community. Your opinion is very important and Relational database system providing XML query support will most certainly appreciate the feedback.
Profile ID: LFUS-PAI-O-3188017