Patent US5974408A successfully refreshed from Google Patents.
US5974408A
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Method and apparatus for executing a query that specifies a sort plus operation
Assignee: Oracle International Corp
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Filing: 1998-08-04
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Granted: 1999-10-26
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Expires: 2018-08-04
Abstract
Abstract Sort plus operations such as "group by" and "distinct" generally require sorting of the retrieved data before performing the sort plus operation. A method and apparatus is disclosed for executing a query specifying a sort plus operation without performing the sorting operation. To perform the sort plus operation, it is determined whether a sorted source exists that can be used to obtain the data specified in the query. If the sorted source does exist, it is then used to perform the sort plus operation.
Inventors
- 👤 Jeffrey Ira Cohen
- 👤 Cetin Ozbutun
- 👤 Michael Depledge
- 👤 Hakan Jakobsson
Bibliographic Details
Application Number
—
Jurisdiction
US
Data Source
google_patents
Last Synchronized
2026-10-27 20:33
CPC Classifications
G; G06; G06F; G06F16/00; G06F16/20; G06F16/24; G06F16/245; G06F16/2453; G06F16/24534; G06F16/24537; Y; Y10; Y10S; Y10S707/00; Y10S707/99931; Y10S707/99932; Y10S707/99933; Y10S707/99934; Y10S707/99935; Y10S707/99936; Y10S707/99937; Y10S707/99951; Y10S707/99952; Y10S707/99953
Claims Analysis
Total Claims: 23
Claim 1
Independent Claim
91 words
A method of executing a query that specifies a sort plus operation, the method comprising: determining whether each condition in a set of one or more conditions is satisfied; said set of one or more conditions including a condition that data specified in the query can be obtained from a sorted source; and if each condition in the set of one or more conditions is satisfied, then obtaining data specified in the query from the sorted source, and executing a version of the sort plus operation that does not perform sorting.
Claim 2
Independent Claim
91 words
A method of executing a query that specifies a sort plus operation, the method comprising: determining whether each condition in a set of one or more conditions is satisfied; said set of one or more conditions including a condition that data specified in the query can be obtained from a sorted source; and if each condition in the set of one or more conditions is satisfied, then obtaining data specified in the query from the sorted source, and executing a version of the sort plus operation that does not perform sorting.
Claim 3
Dependent Claim
49 words
The method of claim 1, wherein the step of determining whether each condition in a set of one or more conditions is satisfied includes the steps of: identifying a key specified in the query; and determining whether an index has been built using the key specified in the query.
Claim 4
Dependent Claim
59 words
The method of claim 1, wherein the step of determining whether each condition in a set of one or more conditions is satisfied comprises the steps of: identifying a key specified in the sort plus operation of the query; and determining whether an index exists, wherein the index is based on the key specified in the sort plus operation.
Claim 5
Dependent Claim
44 words
The method of claim 1, wherein the step of obtaining data specified in the query from the sorted source includes the step of obtaining data specified in the query from an index, wherein the index is based on a key specified in the query.
Claim 6
Dependent Claim
68 words
The method of claim 1, wherein: the sort plus operation is a "group by" operation; and the step of executing a version of the sort plus operation that does not perform sorting includes the steps of identifying data based on a key specified in the query; and grouping data with adjacent data if the adjacent data has a same key value for the key specified in the query.
Claim 7
Dependent Claim
69 words
The method of claim 1, wherein: the sort plus operation is a "distinct" operation; and the step of executing a version of the sort plus operation that does not perform sorting includes the steps of identifying data based on a key specified in the query; and returning one key value for every series of consecutive data that has the same key value for the key specified in the query.
Claim 8
Dependent Claim
95 words
The method of claim 1 further comprising the steps of: determining a first cost for the steps of obtaining data specified in the query from the sorted source, and executing a version of the sort plus operation that does not perform sorting; determining a second cost for the steps of obtaining data specified in the query from an unsorted source, and executing a second version of the sort plus operation that performs sorting; wherein the set of one or more conditions further includes a condition that the first cost is less than the second cost.
Claim 9
Dependent Claim
117 words
A computer readable medium having stored thereon a sequences of instructions for executing a query that specifies a sort plus operation, said sequences of instructions including instructions which, when executed by a processor, cause the processor to perform the steps of: determining whether each condition in a set of one or more conditions is satisfied; said set of one or more conditions including a condition that data specified in the query can be obtained from a sorted source; and if each condition in the set of one or more conditions is satisfied, then obtaining data specified in the query from the sorted source, and executing a version of the sort plus operation that does not perform sorting.
Claim 10
Dependent Claim
117 words
A computer readable medium having stored thereon a sequences of instructions for executing a query that specifies a sort plus operation, said sequences of instructions including instructions which, when executed by a processor, cause the processor to perform the steps of: determining whether each condition in a set of one or more conditions is satisfied; said set of one or more conditions including a condition that data specified in the query can be obtained from a sorted source; and if each condition in the set of one or more conditions is satisfied, then obtaining data specified in the query from the sorted source, and executing a version of the sort plus operation that does not perform sorting.
Claim 11
Dependent Claim
51 words
The computer readable medium of claim 8, wherein the step of determining whether each condition in a set of one or more conditions is satisfied includes the steps of: identifying a key specified in the query; and determining whether an index has been built using the key specified in the query.
Claim 12
Dependent Claim
61 words
The computer readable medium of claim 8, wherein the step of determining whether each condition in a set of one or more conditions is satisfied comprises the steps of: identifying a key specified in the sort plus operation of the query; and determining whether an index exists, wherein the index is based on the key specified in the sort plus operation.
Claim 13
Dependent Claim
46 words
The computer readable medium of claim 8, wherein the step of obtaining data specified in the query from the sorted source includes the step of obtaining data specified in the query from an index, wherein the index is based on a key specified in the query.
Claim 14
Dependent Claim
70 words
The computer readable medium of claim 8, wherein: the sort plus operation is a "group by" operation; and the step of executing a version of the sort plus operation that does not perform sorting includes the steps of identifying data based on a key specified in the query; and grouping data with adjacent data if the adjacent data has a same key value for the key specified in the query.
Claim 15
Dependent Claim
71 words
The computer readable medium of claim 8, wherein: the sort plus operation is a "distinct" operation; and the step of executing a version of the sort plus operation that does not perform sorting includes the steps of identifying data based on a key specified in the query; and returning one key value for every series of consecutive data that has the same key value for the key specified in the query.
Claim 16
Dependent Claim
100 words
The computer readable medium of claim 8, further comprising instructions for performing the steps of: determining a first cost for the steps of obtaining data specified in the query from the sorted source, and executing a version of the sort plus operation that does not perform sorting; determining a second cost for the steps of obtaining data specified in the query from an unsorted source, and executing a second version of the sort plus operation that performs sorting; wherein the set of one or more conditions further includes a condition that the first cost is less than the second cost.
Claim 17
Independent Claim
139 words
A system for executing a query that specifies a sort plus operation, the system comprising: a memory; one or more processors coupled to the memory; and a set of computer instructions contained in the memory, the set of computer instructions including computer instructions which when executed by the one or more processors, cause the one or more processors to perform the steps of: determining whether each condition in a set of one or more conditions is satisfied; said set of one or more conditions including a condition that data specified in the query can be obtained from a sorted source; and if each condition in the set of one or more conditions is satisfied, then obtaining data specified in the query from the sorted source, and executing a version of the sort plus operation that does not perform sorting.
Claim 18
Independent Claim
139 words
A system for executing a query that specifies a sort plus operation, the system comprising: a memory; one or more processors coupled to the memory; and a set of computer instructions contained in the memory, the set of computer instructions including computer instructions which when executed by the one or more processors, cause the one or more processors to perform the steps of: determining whether each condition in a set of one or more conditions is satisfied; said set of one or more conditions including a condition that data specified in the query can be obtained from a sorted source; and if each condition in the set of one or more conditions is satisfied, then obtaining data specified in the query from the sorted source, and executing a version of the sort plus operation that does not perform sorting.
Claim 19
Independent Claim
49 words
The system of system 15, wherein the step of determining whether each condition in a set of one or more conditions is satisfied includes the steps of: identifying a key specified in the query; and determining whether an index has been built using the key specified in the query.
Claim 20
Independent Claim
49 words
The system of system 15, wherein the step of determining whether each condition in a set of one or more conditions is satisfied includes the steps of: identifying a key specified in the query; and determining whether an index has been built using the key specified in the query.
Claim 21
Dependent Claim
59 words
The system of claim 15, wherein the step of determining whether each condition in a set of one or more conditions is satisfied comprises the steps of: identifying a key specified in the sort plus operation of the query; and determining whether an index exists, wherein the index is based on the key specified in the sort plus operation.
Claim 22
Dependent Claim
44 words
The system of claim 15, wherein the step of obtaining data specified in the query from the sorted source includes the step of obtaining data specified in the query from an index, wherein the index is based on a key specified in the query.
Claim 23
Dependent Claim
95 words
The system of claim 15, further comprising the steps of: determining a first cost for the steps of obtaining data specified in the query from the sorted source, and executing a version of the sort plus operation that does not perform sorting; determining a second cost for the steps of obtaining data specified in the query from an unsorted source, and executing a second version of the sort plus operation that performs sorting; wherein the set of one or more conditions further includes a condition that the first cost is less than the second cost.
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| 7.5 Years (Year 8) | 2006-10-25 | 2007-04-26 | 2007-10-26 | $3760.00 | Window Closed / Lapsed |
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