Apple patent application for cascade feature for creating records in a database
Posted by Dennis Sellers 
Jun 22, 2006 at 8:59am
On June 22, the US Patent & Trademark Office revealed Apple’s patent application titled “Cascade feature for creating records in a database,” originally filed in December 2004. The present invention relates to databases and, more particularly, to providing a cascade feature for a database program which can serve as an interface to a database.
Patent FIG. 2 depicts a “cascade” window in accordance with another embodiment of the invention.
Apple’s abstract
Techniques for providing a “cascade create” mechanism which allows data to be entered in related non-existing records in the database are disclosed. The techniques can be used to provide a database program that supports graphical, bi-directional data relationships, as well as multiple predicates.
The “cascade create” mechanism supports arbitrary data relationships, as well as complex data models that are not supported by conventional techniques. Furthermore, the “cascade create” mechanism frees the users and database programmers from having to write code or provide rules that are specific to a particular data model and/or specific data relationship.
Apple’s summary
Broadly speaking, the invention pertains to techniques for entering data in non-existing related records of a database. As will be described below, the techniques support arbitrary data relationships, as well as complex data models, which are not supported by conventional techniques. The techniques can be used to, among other things, support graphical relationship (e.g., a tree), bi-directional relationships, data relationships that span several tables, and multiple predicates (e.g., equality predicates, non-equality predicates). It will also be appreciated that the “cascade create” mechanism frees the users or database programmers from having to write code or provide rules that are specific to a particular data model and/or data relationship.
In accordance with one aspect of the invention, a database program provides a sophisticated “cascade create” mechanism that supports arbitrary data relationships, as well as complex data models which are not supported by conventional techniques. More particularly, the cascade create mechanism allows users to enter data into a related non-existing record (i.e., a record that has not been created in the database, but would be related to one or more records in the database).
In one embodiment, a user can trigger a “cascade create” option by entering data in an empty field which is displayed for the user by the database program. Typically, the empty field is associated with a table in the database. As such, one or more related records may also be displayed for the user by the database program. When the “cascade create” option is triggered, the database program can automatically identify the records that are related to the new record which is requested to be created. In addition, appropriate values can automatically be propagated by the database program between the new record and related records even though the new record is related to one or more intermediate tables between an initial parent table and the child table where the record is requested to be created.
As will be described below, the “cascade create” option can be a recursive method (or function) in accordance with one embodiment of the invention. In addition to managing a relatively simple data model, the same function can also recursively provide the parent record as the next child record for complex data relationships that include one or more intermediate tables (or intermediate parents) table between an initial parent and a child. In addition, when it is appropriate, new intermediate records can be generated by the recursive method. Furthermore, the recursive method can copy “match” values (or values in fields that connect tables in a relationship). As will be appreciated, the recursive function can copy match values (or related fields between tables) from a child table several tables away to a parent table, or vice versa. It should be noted that bi-directional relationships can be supported as the recursive function traverses back and forth between the initial parent table and the initial child table (or target table). It should also be noted that the recursive method can check for multiple predicates, and thus, can support data models with multiple predicates.
Notice
Macsimum News presents only a brief summary of patents with associated graphic(s) for journalistic news purposes as each such patent application and/or grant is revealed by the U.S. Patent & Trade Office. Readers are cautioned that the full text of any patent applications and/or grants should be read in its entirety for further details.
Inventors of patent 20060136465 are Christopher Lee Crim and Shaun Patrick Flisakowski.
neo@macsimumnews.com
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Contributor
Dennis Sellers
Dennis has been a newspaper editor/reporter (seven years) and teacher (seven years). He has over 4,000 magazine, newspaper and online articles to his credit. He has also covered the Mac and tech industries for over a decade for such online publications as MacCentral, MacMinute and now MacsimumNews.
