18099034. EXTENDING DATABASE DATA WITH INTENDED USAGE INFORMATION simplified abstract (Oracle International Corporation)

EXTENDING DATABASE DATA WITH INTENDED USAGE INFORMATION

Organization Name

Oracle International Corporation

Inventor(s)

Tirthankar Lahiri of Palo Alto CA (US)

Juan R. Loaiza of Woodside CA (US)

Beda Christoph Hammerschmidt of Palo Alto CA (US)

Andrew Witkowski of Foster City CA (US)

Sankar Subramanian of Cupertino CA (US)

Sabina Petride of Tracy CA (US)

Ajit Mylavarapu of Mountain View CA (US)

Gerald Venzl of Redwood City CA (US)

EXTENDING DATABASE DATA WITH INTENDED USAGE INFORMATION - A simplified explanation of the abstract

This abstract first appeared for US patent application 18099034 titled 'EXTENDING DATABASE DATA WITH INTENDED USAGE INFORMATION

Simplified Explanation

The patent application describes techniques for storing metadata within a database system to indicate an intended usage (IU) for columns, affecting how the database server behaves during operations involving those columns.

• The IU assigned to a column supplements the datatype definition and can include an IU-bundle indicating constraints for the database server to validate.
• Techniques for implementing multi-column IUs and flexible IUs are also described.

Potential Applications

This technology could be applied in various industries where precise control over database operations is required, such as finance, healthcare, and e-commerce.

Problems Solved

This technology solves the problem of limited control over database behavior based on column usage intentions, allowing for more specific constraints and validations to be applied.

Benefits

The benefits of this technology include improved data integrity, enhanced database performance, and increased flexibility in defining column behaviors.

Potential Commercial Applications

Potential commercial applications of this technology include database management systems, data analytics platforms, and software development tools.

Possible Prior Art

One possible prior art could be the use of database triggers to enforce constraints on column values based on specific conditions.

How does this technology impact database performance?

This article does not delve into the specific performance implications of implementing these metadata-driven constraints. It would be interesting to explore how these additional validations affect database operations in terms of speed and efficiency.

Are there any potential security vulnerabilities associated with this metadata-driven approach?

The article does not address any security considerations related to storing metadata within the database system. It would be important to investigate if this approach introduces any new security risks that need to be mitigated.

Original Abstract Submitted

Disclosed herein are techniques for storing, within a database system, metadata that indicates an intended usage (IU). Once created, an IU may be assigned to a column to (a) indicate how the column is intended to be used, and (b) affect how the database server behaves when database operations involve values from the column. The IU assigned to a column supplements, but does not replace, the datatype definition for the column. Each IU may have an IU-bundle. The IU-bundle of an IU indicates how the database server behaves with respect to any column that is assigned the IU. For example, the IU-bundle may indicate constraints that the database server must validate during operations on values from columns assigned to the IU. Techniques are also described for implementing multi-column IUs and flexible IUs.