US6023696A
Expired / Lapsed
US
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Summary table query routing
Assignee: Oracle International Corp
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Filing: 1997-10-31
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Granted: 2000-02-08
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Expires: 2017-10-31
Abstract
Abstract Methods and apparatus for effective and efficient usage of summary tables in a computer system including a database. In a computer system it is common for a database to include one or more summary tables which have pre-generated aggregations of data from one or more original, detailed database tables. In order to achieve the benefits of summary tables, they must be accessed when appropriate. Thus, information regarding the available summary database tables, including summary bitmaps for all the summary tables, is maintained in the metadata of a computer system. This information is updated whenever a summary table is created. The summary bitmaps are a main key for determining if any summary table is responsive to a user query to the computer system. The summary bitmaps map to corresponding SQL statements, which are generated to access the respective summary tables in the database. Once an SQL statement for accessing a respective summary table is identified for a particular user query, that SQL statement is then incorporated in the executable SQL query that is thereafter executed.
Inventors
- 👤 Andrew P. Osborn
- 👤 Robert L. Lavender
- 👤 Stephen D. Cave
- 👤 Paolo Fragapane
Bibliographic Details
Application Number
—
Jurisdiction
US
Data Source
google_patents
Last Synchronized
2026-10-31 05:13
CPC Classifications
G; G06; G06F; G06F16/00; G06F16/20; G06F16/24; G06F16/245; G06F16/2453; G06F16/24534; G06F16/24539; G06F16/22; G06F16/2228; G06F16/2237; Y; Y10; Y10S; Y10S707/00; Y10S707/99931; Y10S707/99933; Y10S707/99934
Claims Analysis
Total Claims: 30
Claim 1
Independent Claim
70 words
A method for processing a database query, comprising: receiving a database query; parsing the database query into one or more axis items; identifying a pre-generated query which can populate a table of a database, and which comprises all of the one or more axis items of the database query; generating an executable query using the pre-generated query; and executing the executable query to retrieve data requested by the database query.
Claim 2
Independent Claim
70 words
A method for processing a database query, comprising: receiving a database query; parsing the database query into one or more axis items; identifying a pre-generated query which can populate a table of a database, and which comprises all of the one or more axis items of the database query; generating an executable query using the pre-generated query; and executing the executable query to retrieve data requested by the database query.
Claim 3
Dependent Claim
54 words
The method of claim 1, further comprising retrieving, for each of the axis items, a bitmap associated with the axis item, a bitmap comprising a plurality of bits in which the position of each of the plurality of bits is associated with a table, and processing the retrieved bitmaps to identify the pre-generated query.
Claim 4
Dependent Claim
26 words
The method of claim 2, in which processing the retrieved bitmaps comprises executing a logical AND operation on the retrieved bitmaps to generate a resultant bitmap.
Claim 5
Dependent Claim
33 words
The method of claim 3, further comprising retrieving a plurality of pre-generated queries stored in a database, one for each bit in the resultant bitmap that is set to a value of one.
Claim 6
Dependent Claim
32 words
The method of claim 4, in which retrieving a plurality of pre-generated queries comprises retrieving only those pre-generated queries that comprise the same number of join axis items as the database query.
Claim 7
Dependent Claim
30 words
The method of claim 4, in which identifying a pre-generated query comprises identifying the pre-generated query of the plurality of pre-generated queries that comprises the least number of axis items.
Claim 8
Dependent Claim
48 words
The method of claim 4, in which identifying a pre-generated query comprises identifying the pre-generated query of the plurality of pre-generated queries that comprises a minimum number of axis items and in which the table that the identified pre-generated query can populate comprises the least number of rows.
Claim 9
Independent Claim
67 words
A method for providing access to a table in a database, comprising: generating a query that the table is responsive to; storing the query in a database; generating a bitmap for each axis item of the query, each respective bitmap comprising a plurality of bits; and setting a bit in each bitmap to a value of one, in which the set bit is indicative of the table.
Claim 10
Independent Claim
67 words
A method for providing access to a table in a database, comprising: generating a query that the table is responsive to; storing the query in a database; generating a bitmap for each axis item of the query, each respective bitmap comprising a plurality of bits; and setting a bit in each bitmap to a value of one, in which the set bit is indicative of the table.
Claim 11
Dependent Claim
32 words
The method of claim 8, further comprising storing the query in a record in a table in the database and storing each bitmap in a record in a table in the database.
Claim 12
Dependent Claim
47 words
The method of claim 9, in which the record comprising the query is stored in a first table in the database and each record comprising a bitmap is stored in a second table in the database, the first table being a different table than the second table.
Claim 13
Dependent Claim
26 words
The method of claim 9, in which the record comprising the query further comprises a bitmap position value corresponding to a bit position in the bitmaps.
Claim 14
Dependent Claim
32 words
The method of claim 9, in which the record comprising the query further comprises the number of axis items associated with the query and the number of data records in the table.
Claim 15
Dependent Claim
13 words
The method of claim 8, in which the table is a summary table.
Claim 16
Independent Claim
101 words
A method for supporting the processing of database queries with summary tables, comprising: generating a plurality of summary tables for a database; creating a query for each of the plurality of summary tables; storing each query for each of the plurality of summary tables in a database; generating a table comprising a plurality of records, each record identifying an axis item in a query for a summary table of the database; and creating a bitmap for each axis item in the table, a bitmap comprising an indication of the summary tables in the database whose query comprises the respective axis item.
Claim 17
Independent Claim
101 words
A method for supporting the processing of database queries with summary tables, comprising: generating a plurality of summary tables for a database; creating a query for each of the plurality of summary tables; storing each query for each of the plurality of summary tables in a database; generating a table comprising a plurality of records, each record identifying an axis item in a query for a summary table of the database; and creating a bitmap for each axis item in the table, a bitmap comprising an indication of the summary tables in the database whose query comprises the respective axis item.
Claim 18
Dependent Claim
46 words
The method of claim 14, further comprising generating a summary object table comprising a plurality of summary object records, each summary object record identifying a summary table, and storing a query for a summary table in the summary object record that identifies the respective summary table.
Claim 19
Dependent Claim
37 words
The method of claim 15, in which each summary object record further comprises the number of axis items of the query for the respective summary table and the number of data records in the respective summary table.
Claim 20
Independent Claim
104 words
A method for processing a database query, comprising: retrieving, for each axis item of a database query, a bitmap associated with the respective axis item, each bitmap comprising a plurality of bits in which the position of each of the plurality of bits is associated with a table in a database; executing a logical operation on the retrieved bitmaps to generate a resultant bitmap; retrieving a pre-generated query stored in a database, the pre-generated query associated with a bit in the resultant bitmap; generating an executable query using the pre-generated query; and executing the executable query to retrieve data requested by the database query.
Claim 21
Independent Claim
104 words
A method for processing a database query, comprising: retrieving, for each axis item of a database query, a bitmap associated with the respective axis item, each bitmap comprising a plurality of bits in which the position of each of the plurality of bits is associated with a table in a database; executing a logical operation on the retrieved bitmaps to generate a resultant bitmap; retrieving a pre-generated query stored in a database, the pre-generated query associated with a bit in the resultant bitmap; generating an executable query using the pre-generated query; and executing the executable query to retrieve data requested by the database query.
Claim 22
Dependent Claim
51 words
The method of claim 17, further comprising identifying a table in a database for each bit that is set in the resultant bitmap, and determining those tables that are identified that have a pre-generated query associated with them which has the same number of join axis items as the database query.
Claim 23
Dependent Claim
46 words
The method of claim 17, further comprising identifying a table in a database for each bit that is set in the resultant bitmap, and determining those tables that are identified that have a pre-generated query associated with them which has the least number of axis items.
Claim 24
Dependent Claim
40 words
The method of claim 18, in which, from those tables that are identified that have a pre-generated query associated with them which has the least number of axis items, determining a table that has the least number of data records.
Claim 25
Dependent Claim
24 words
The method of claim 17, in which executing a logical operation comprises ANDing all of the retrieved bitmaps together to generate the resultant bitmap.
Claim 26
Independent Claim
82 words
A system supporting the processing of database queries, comprising: a plurality of database tables; a plurality of summary tables; a query for each of the plurality of summary tables, each query stored in a database; a bitmap table comprising a plurality of bitmap records, each bitmap record corresponding to an axis item of a query for a summary table; and a bitmap for each axis item, a bitmap comprising an indication of the summary tables whose query comprises the respective axis item.
Claim 27
Independent Claim
82 words
A system supporting the processing of database queries, comprising: a plurality of database tables; a plurality of summary tables; a query for each of the plurality of summary tables, each query stored in a database; a bitmap table comprising a plurality of bitmap records, each bitmap record corresponding to an axis item of a query for a summary table; and a bitmap for each axis item, a bitmap comprising an indication of the summary tables whose query comprises the respective axis item.
Claim 28
Dependent Claim
36 words
The system of claim 22, further comprising a summary object table comprising a plurality of summary object records, each summary object record corresponding to a summary table and comprising the query for the respective summary table.
Claim 29
Dependent Claim
37 words
The system of claim 23, in which each summary object record further comprises the number of axis items of the query for the respective summary table and the number of data records in the respective summary table.
Claim 30
Dependent Claim
37 words
The system of claim 22, further comprising a first program for generating the plurality of bitmap records of the bitmap table and a second program for processing a database query in which a bitmap record is accessed.
References Cited (Backward Citations)
USPTO Annuity & Maintenance Windows
| Annuity Stage | Window Opens | Payment Deadline | Surcharge Period Until | Estimated Fee | Status |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 3.5 Years (Year 4) | 2003-02-07 | 2003-08-09 | 2004-02-08 | $2000.00 | Window Closed / Lapsed |
| 7.5 Years (Year 8) | 2007-02-07 | 2007-08-09 | 2008-02-08 | $3760.00 | Window Closed / Lapsed |
| 11.5 Years (Year 12) | 2011-02-07 | 2011-08-09 | 2012-02-08 | $7700.00 | Window Closed / Lapsed |