Data processing: database and file management or data structures – Database design – Data structure types
Reexamination Certificate
2001-07-30
2004-02-24
Corrielus, Jean M. (Department: 2172)
Data processing: database and file management or data structures
Database design
Data structure types
C707S793000, C707S793000, C717S106000, C717S108000, C717S112000
Reexamination Certificate
active
06697819
ABSTRACT:
FIELD OF THE INVENTION
The invention relates methods for converting an external access to a database or files into internal access to the database or files, and conversion of an external query format into an intermediate or internal query format.
BACKGROUND
The invention pertains to the way applications/clients access database resources. Generally, application programs, as data mining applications, customer relationship applications, order entry applications, inventory management applications, account management applications, and the like, referred to herein as “clients” and “applications”, access databases through an application specific interface. This means that on most projects, given real world pressures to complete the interface early, under budget, and with zero defects, for “24 by 7” availability, an individual or team is tasked with creating an interface that is specific to the application program and the database management system. While developers may use software developer kits to accomplish this task, the result may not be a “reusable interface,” just code snippets and “lessons learned” that can be applied to the next interface project.
Many application programs have their own application program specific version of a database access component. However, these application program specific versions of access components, while capable of being installed on many different database management systems, utilize installation wizards, installation dialog boxes, and the like that, in effect “hard wire” or “hard code” the interface to a specific application program—database management system pair after installation. The resulting interface components abstract database management system specific information into a class/utility that “uses” the component. As such, they lack the ability to switch between accesses by different application programs.
SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION
The problem of providing economical interconnectivity between application programs and database content is significantly obviated by the method, system, and program product described herein.
The database management system of the invention includes an object oriented interface and is synergistically paired with either (1) at least one database server adapted to serve a plurality of disparate database clients, or (2) at least one client adapted to be served by a plurality of servers, or (3) a plurality of servers serving a plurality of clients, all through the object oriented interface described herein. This object oriented interface comprises classes including a database access class, objects, and methods within the database access class to implement the interface, define methods within the class, and create and manage database connections in accordance with the method of the invention. There is at least one object within the database access class that is adapted to retrieve database properties, and create an object based upon these properties to establish a connection to the database. The class also contains a connection manager method to instantiate the interface, create a connection to the database, and thereafter call other methods within the database access class to access database content, execute database queries on the database content, and disconnect from database content.
The program product is in the form of computer readable computer code residing on one or more storage media. The storage media may be distribution media or may be database or application servers or database clients on one or more computers or one or more systems on one computer platforms. The storage media may be distribution media (in which case the executable code may be one or both of encrypted and compressed and may require extraction, decryption, or installation to be executable) or operational storage (as RAM, ROM, hard drive, tape drive, or the like).
The computer readable computer code, once rendered executable, connects application and database management system programs to configure and control an interface program between the application program and the database management system, in accordance with the method of the invention. The program product includes code to provide an object oriented interface between the database and the application program. The object-oriented interface contains classes, including at least one database access class. The interface code contains methods and objects to implement the interface, define methods, and create and manage database connections. It also contains code for accessing the database from the application program through the object oriented interface. The data access class also contains code for retrieving database properties, and creating within the database access class a first object containing properties needed to establish a connection to the database, and a second, connection manager object to instantiate the interface and create a connection to the database, and to thereafter call methods within the database access class to access database content, execute database queries, disconnect from database content.
The classes, methods, and objects within the database access class include application program specific connection managers to manage connections between application programs and the database through the interface.
When the object oriented interface is programmed in the Java language, and the classes and methods comprise application program specific connection managers to manage connections between an application program and a database, the DbAccess class will typically comprise one or more members, such as the members shown in the FIGURES and Appendices. These include one of ThinConnection, WebSphereConnection, WebLogicConnection, WebLogicJndiConnection, or WebLogicRmiConnection methods and classes to manage connections. Also included is a ProjectDatabaseAccess method to retrieve database property information and to create a DbPropertyBean containing properties needed to make connection to the database, and to create an SmDatabaseManager to a ConnectionDispenser object to make the connection to the database. Other included Java programming language methods, such as the getNewConnection, and setProperties methods use DbPropertyBean to retrieve and apply database properties.
In a preferred embodiment, the invention solves the problem of interconnectivity by using an interface method called a ConnectionDispenser. Classes, methods, and other objects that implement this interface provide an implementation that “knows how” to lookup a connection from the database. The higher level components like DbAccess can then operate strictly on the interface. This enables DbAccess to do common database functions without knowledge of where the connection is coming from (i.e. direct connections, Weblogic Server, WebSphere Application Server, etc).
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Keahey K; B
Corrielus Jean M.
Nisewaner Karna L.
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