Patent Application
20050065960
1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to data management technology, and in particular to a system of managing a plurality of correlated data records.
2. Description of the Related Art
A data application system can be divided into data application programs and applied data. Compared to the applied data, the application programs may be time-consuming but less complicated than the applied data, which, prepared by data owners, is generally distributed among different fields, such as operators or customers. Thus, regarding a data application system establishment in an enterprise, finished application programs frequently must await data preparation for a long time.
Three main issues affect data preparation of a data application system. The first is data correction, the second data integrity, and the third data validity, verification by which the applied data must undergo prior to application into the data application programs. Data correction ensures that the applied data that which the data application programs require. Data integrity fully checks data correlations, and data validity determines that applied data is still in its effective period.
For example, if a data application program requires an order list as its applied data, the order list is the correct applied data. A customer list and a product list may both have been combined to produce the order list, so both must be checked before applying the order list to the data application program. Finally, if the orders change once a month, then the effective period of the order list is one month.
The difficulties described become more serious in a large enterprise, in which applied data of a data application system is stored in database, utilizing management tools provided thereby. However, conventional management tools provided by the databases focus solely on the applied data, not the requirements of the data application system, frequently causing data inaccuracy.
U.S. Pat. No. 6,345,270 discloses a data management system allowing various forms of data to be centrally managed. However, the methods and systems disclosed are dictated by the aspects of the data, rather than correlations required by the data application system. Thus, the invention is not suitable for application to a data application system, especially for large enterprises.
Accordingly, an object of the invention is to provide a system of data management verifying applied data for a data application system considering the requirements thereof.
To achieve the foregoing object, the invention provides a system of data management to manage correlated data records. In one embodiment, the inventive system comprises a data verification module, a data notation module, and a data management module. The data verification module verifies the data records according to the data correlations and produces verification results. Each verification result corresponds to a data record. The data notation module notes the verification results in the corresponding data records. The data management module manages the data records according to the verification results. The system may further comprise data application modules for application to the data records.
The present invention can be more fully understood by reading the subsequent detailed description and examples with references made to the accompanying drawings, wherein:
As summarized above, the present invention provides a system overcoming conventional data management problems. The inventive system includes a data verification module, a data notation module, and a data management module. The system further comprises several data application modules.
The data verification module verifies data records according to data correlations and produces verification results. Each verification result corresponds to a data record. The verification results include at least one of valid, invalid, and expired. A data record is valid if the data record can be applied to the data application modules, and invalid if the data record cannot be applied to the data application modules, such as locking of some data fields. A data record is considered expired if the data record is overdue.
The data notation module notes the produced verification results in the corresponding data records, as data preparation conditions. The data management module manages the data records according to the verification results.
The data correlations are established according to correlations or processing order between the data records as applied to the data application modules. The data correlations may be sequential, parallel, or both. By way of explanation, three data records data, record A, data record B, and data record C are to be applied to a data application module. If data record B is made available only after data record A is available, then the data correlation between data record A and B is sequential. If data record A and data record B must be prepared before application to the data application module, but there are no correlations between data record A and data record B, then the data correlation between data record A and B is considered parallel. If data record C will be valid only after data records A and B are valid for application to the data application module, and data records B and C have parallel data correlation, then the data correlation between data record A, B and C is sequential and parallel. The data correlation can be implemented as a tree structure or rule-based conditional statements.
The data records are stored in databases. Each data record has a data record owner, responsible for data record preparation. Thus, the data management module sends the verification results to the data record owners for data management. The data owners can modify or maintain their own data records according to the received verification results. The data management module may directly delete the data records from the database.
Moreover, the invention provides a method of data management for a plurality of correlated data records. First, the data records are verified according to the data correlations, producing verification results. Here, each verification result corresponds to a data record.
Next, the verification results are noted in the corresponding data records. Finally, the data records are managed according to the verification results, after which they are applied to data application modules.
Here, the data correlations are similar as mentioned. The data records are stored in database. Each data record has a data record owner, responsible for preparation. Thus, the data management module sends the verification results to the data record owners or deletes the data records directly to accomplish data management.
In addition, the invention provides a database comprising a data storage module and a data operation module. The data storage module stores correlated data records. The data operation module operates the data records.
The data management module includes a data verification module, a data notation module, and a data management module. The data verification module verifies the data records according to the data correlations and produces verification results, each of which corresponds to a data record. The data notation module notes the verification results in the corresponding data records.
The data management module manages the data records according to the verification results. The system further comprises data application modules for application to the data records.
Again, the data correlations are similar as mentioned. Each data record has a data record owner, responsible for the data record preparation. Thus, the data management module sends the verification results to the data record owners or deletes the data records to accomplish data management.
The data records 16 are stored in databases 22. Each data record has a data record owner 24, responsible for the data preparation. The data management module 14 sends the verification results to the data record owners 24 for data management. Otherwise, the data management module 14 deletes the data records from the databases 22 directly for data management. Databases 22 can be designed as several databases according to different functions or a single integrated database.
The data correlations are established according to correlations between the data records applied to the data application modules 18. The data correlations may be sequential, parallel, or both.
Nodes with oblique lines, such as nodes 30, 40, imply the actual data records. The blank nodes, such as 50 and 400, indicate the nodes as check points for combining the actual data records. Similarly, node 50 is available only if nodes 500 and 502 are available. The data correlation between node 50 and node 500, 502 is sequential. Node 50 does not imply the actual data record, but a check point for data availability. Node 502 is available only if nodes 504, 506 and 508 are available. Thus, the data correlation between node 502 and node 504, 506, and 508 is sequential. Nodes 40, 400, 402, 404, 406, 408, and 410 are similar as mentioned. All the applied data records are obtained from databases 60. Databases 60 can be designed into several different databases according their functions or a single integrated database.
As an example, if an enterprise desires to establish a data application system, referring to
Here, the data correlations are similar as mentioned. The data records are stored in databases. Each data record has a data record owner, responsible for the data record preparation. Thus, the verification results are sent to the data record owners for data management. The data records may be deleted directly for data management.
It will be appreciated from the foregoing description that the system and method described herein provide a dynamic and robust solution to data preparation problems for a data application system. If, for example, the data application system changes data application programs, the system and method of the present invention can be revised accordingly.
While the invention has been described by way of example and in terms of the preferred embodiments, it is to be understood that the invention is not limited to the disclosed embodiments. To the contrary, it is intended to cover various modifications and similar arrangements (as would be apparent to those skilled in the art). Therefore, the scope of the appended claims should be accorded the broadest interpretation so as to encompass all such modifications and similar arrangements.
