Claims Analysis
Total Claims: 14
Claim 1
Independent Claim
45 words
A method for maintaining a synchronized data dictionary comprising the steps of: accessing objects coordinated by said dictionary; effecting changes upon said objects; recording information about said changes in a record separate from said data dictionary; and updating said data dictionary to reflect said changes.
Claim 2
Dependent Claim
25 words
The method of claim 1 wherein said recording step comprises the step of placing an entry in an audit journal for each of said changes.
Claim 3
Dependent Claim
34 words
The method of claim 2 wherein said updating step comprises the steps of: retrieving said information about said changes from said audit journal and ensuring that said information is reflected by said data dictionary.
Claim 4
Dependent Claim
69 words
The method of claim 2 for maintaining said data dictionary across a system failure, said method comprising the steps of: marking said audit journal with a first mark to indicate the location of a last entry processed; validating said last entry processed with a second mark; returning to the first instance of said first mark that has been validated by said second mark; and updating said data dictionary accordingly.
Claim 5
Dependent Claim
17 words
The method of claim 4 wherein said marking step comprises the step of using a checkpoint entry.
Claim 6
Dependent Claim
17 words
The method of claim 4 wherein said validating step comprises the step of using a commit entry.
Claim 7
Independent Claim
87 words
A method for adjusting the synchronization of a data dictionary, said method comprising the steps of: recording information about changes to system objects in an audit journal, where said information is in the form of one entry per change; accepting as prompts synchronization requests, where said synchronization requests are requests to process said entries of said audit journal; waking whenever an adjustable timeout occurs; and responding to said synchronization requests and said timeout by retrieving said entries from said audit journal and updating said data dictionary accordingly.
Claim 8
Dependent Claim
47 words
A data dictionary manager comprising : means for accessing objects coordinated by said dictionary; means for effecting changes upon said objects; means for recording information about said changes in a record separate from said data dictionary; and means for updating said data dictionary to reflect said changes.
Claim 9
Dependent Claim
27 words
The data dictionary manager of claim 15 wherein said means for recording comprises means for placing an entry in an audit journal for each of said changes.
Claim 10
Dependent Claim
38 words
The data dictionary manager of claim 16 wherein said means for updating comprises: means for retrieving said information about said changes from said audit journal; and means for ensuring that said information is reflected by said data dictionary.
Claim 11
Dependent Claim
82 words
The data dictionary manager of claim 9 for maintaining the data dictionary's integrity across a system failure, said data dictionary manager further comprising: means for marking an audit journal with a first mark to indicate the location of a last entry processed; means for validating said last entry processed with a second mark; means for returning to the first instance of a said first mark that has been validated by a said second mark; and means for updating said data dictionary accordingly.
Claim 12
Dependent Claim
16 words
The data dictionary manager of claim 11 wherein said means for marking comprises a checkpoint entry.
Claim 13
Dependent Claim
16 words
The data dictionary manager of claim 11 wherein said means for validating comprises a commit entry.
Claim 14
Dependent Claim
100 words
A data dictionary manager which allows for the adjusting of the synchronization of a data dictionary, said data dictionary manager comprising: means for recording information about changes to system objects in an audit journal, where said information is in the form of one entry per change; means for accepting as prompts synchronization requests, where said synchronization requests are requests to process said entries of said audit journal; means for waking whenever an adjustable timeout occurs; and means for responding to said synchronization requests and said timeout by retrieving said entries from said audit journal and updating said data dictionary accordingly.