Data database and database management system having data aggregation module integrated therein

Abstract

An improved method of and apparatus for aggregating data including a scalable multi-dimesional database (MDDB) and a high-performance aggregation engine that are integrated into a database management system (DBMS). The improved DBMS can be used to realize achieving a significant increase in system performance (e.g. deceased access/search time), user flexibility and ease of use. The improved DBMS system of the present invention can be used to realize an improved Data Warehouse for supporting on-line analytical processing (OLAP) operations or to realize an improved informational database system, operational database system, or the like.

What is claimed is:  
     
         1 . A database management system (DBMS) comprising: 
 a relational datastore storing data in tables;    an aggregation module, operatively coupled to the relational datastore, for aggregating the data stored in the tables of the relational datastore and storing the resultant aggregated data in a non-relational datastore;    a reference generating mechanism for generating a first reference to data stored in the relational datastore and a second reference to aggregated data generated by the aggregation module and stored in the non-relational datastore; and    a query processing mechanism for processing query statements, wherein, upon identifying that a given query statement is on said second reference, the query processing mechanism communicates with said aggregation module to retrieve portions of aggregated data identified by said reference that are relevant to said given query statement.    
     
     
         2 . The DBMS of  claim 1 , for use as a relational database management system (RDBMS) wherein the relational datastore stores fact data.  
     
     
         3 . The DBMS of  claim 2 , wherein the reference generating mechanism comprises a view mechanism.  
     
     
         4 . The DBMS of  claim 1 , wherein the reference generating mechanism comprises a native trigger mechanism.  
     
     
         5 . The DBMS of  claim 1 , wherein the non-relational datastore comprises a multi-dimensional database.  
     
     
         6 . The DBMS of  claim 1 , wherein the reference generating mechanism is part of a query servicing mechanism for servicing user submitted query statements.  
     
     
         7 . The DBMS of  claim 6 , wherein said aggregation module includes a query handling mechanism for receiving query statements, and wherein communication between said query processing mechanism and said query handling mechanism is accomplished by forwarding the given query statement to the query handling mechanism of the aggregation module.  
     
     
         8 . The DBMS of  claim 7 , wherein said query handling mechanism extracts at least one dimension from the received query statement and forwards the at least one dimension to the storage handler, and wherein the storage handler accesses locations of the non-relational datastore based upon the forwarded at least one dimension and returns the retrieved data back to the query servicing mechanism for communication to the user.  
     
     
         9 . The DBMS of  claim 8 , wherein said aggregation module includes a data loading mechanism for loading data from the relational datastore, an aggregation engine for aggregating the data loaded from the relational datastore, and a storage handler for storing in the non-relational datastore the data loaded from the relational datastore and the aggregated data generated by the aggregation engine.  
     
     
         10 . The DBMS of  claim 9 , wherein said aggregation module includes control logic that, upon determining that the non-relational datastore does not contain data required to service a given query statement, controls the aggregation engine to generate aggregated data required to service the given query statement and controls the aggregation module to return the aggregated data back to the query servicing mechanism for communication to the user.  
     
     
         11 . The DBMS of  claim 1 , further comprising OLAP analysis logic integral to the DBMS.  
     
     
         12 . The DBMS of  claim 1 , further comprising OLAP presentation logic integral to the DBMS.  
     
     
         13 . The DBMS of  claim 1 , for use as an enterprise wide data warehouse that interfaces to a plurality of information technology systems.  
     
     
         14 . The DBMS of  claim 1 , for use as a database store in an informational database system.  
     
     
         15 . The DBMS of  claim 14 , wherein the informational database system requires aggregation and calculations on basic detailed data.  
     
     
         16 . The DBMS of  claim 11 , for use as a database store in an operational database system.  
     
     
         17 . The DBMS of  claim 16 , wherein the operational database system is part of one of the following systems: a Customer Relations Management System, an Enterprise Resource Planning System, a Customer Data Record Database System.  
     
     
         18 . The DBMS of  claim 11 , wherein said query statements are generated by a query interface in response to communication of a natural language query communicated from a client machine.  
     
     
         19 . The DBMS of  claim 18 , wherein said client machine comprises a web-enabled browser to communicate said natural language query to the query interface.  
     
     
         20 . The DBMS of  claim 7 , wherein the query processing mechanism of the DBMS and the query handling mechanism of the aggregation module communicate over a standard interface.  
     
     
         21 . The DBMS of  claim 20 , wherein the standard interface comprises one of: OLDB, OLE-DB, ODBC, SQL, and JDBC.  
     
     
         22 . The DBMS of  claim 21 , for use as an object database management system (ODBMS).  
     
     
         23 . The DBMS of  claim 1 , for use as an object-relational database management system (ORDBMS).  
     
     
         24 . The DBMS of  claim 1 , wherein said non-relational datastore comprises a multidimensional database storing data logically organized along a plurality of cartesian dimensions.  
     
     
         25 . The DBMS of  claim 1 , wherein said query statements are generated in response to user input.  
     
     
         26 . In a database management system (DBMS) comprising a relational datastore storing data in tables, a method for aggregating the data stored in the tables of the relational datastore and providing query access to the aggregated data, the method comprising the steps of: 
 (a) providing an integrated aggregation module, operatively coupled to the relational datastore, for aggregating the data stored in the relational datastore and storing the resultant aggregated data in a non-relational datastore;    (b) generating a reference to aggregated data generated by the aggregation module; and    (c) processing a given query statement, wherein, upon identifying that the given query statement is on said reference, retrieving from the integrated aggregation module portions of aggregated data identified by said reference that are relevant to said given query statement.    
     
     
         27 . The method of  claim 26 , wherein step (c) further comprises the step of extracting at least one dimension from the given query statement, accessing locations of the non-relational datastore based upon the extracted at least one dimension, and returning the retrieved data back to the user.  
     
     
         28 . The method of claim  126 , wherein step (a) further comprises the steps of loading data from the relational datastore, aggregating the data loaded from the relational datastore, and storing in the non-relational datastore the data loaded from the relational datastore and resultant aggregated data.  
     
     
         29 . The method of  claim 28 , wherein said aggregation module, upon determining that the non-relational datastore does not contain data required to service the given query statement, controls the aggregation engine to generate aggregated data required to service the given query statement and returns the aggregated data back to the user.  
     
     
         30 . The method of  claim 26 , wherein the DBMS comprises a relational database management system (RDBMS) storing fact data in the relational datastore.  
     
     
         31 . The method of  claim 26 , wherein the non-relational datastore comprises a multi-dimensional database.  
     
     
         32 . The method of  claim 26 , wherein the DBMS includes OLAP analysis logic integral to the DBMS.  
     
     
         33 . The method of  claim 32 , wherein the DBMS includes OLAP presentation logic integral to the DBMS.  
     
     
         34 . The method of  claim 26 , wherein the DBMS is used as an enterprise wide data warehouse that interfaces to a plurality of information technology systems.  
     
     
         35 . The method of  claim 26 , wherein the DBMS is used as a database store in an informational database system.  
     
     
         36 . The method of  claim 35 , wherein the informational database system requires aggregation and calculations on basic detailed data.  
     
     
         37 . The method  claim 26 , wherein the DBMS is used as a database store in an operational database system.  
     
     
         38 . The method of  claim 37 , wherein the operational database system is part of one of following systems: a Customer Relations Management System, an Enterprise Resource Planning System, a Customer Data Record Database System.  
     
     
         39 . The method of  claim 26 , wherein user operations in querying the relational datastore and non-relational datastore generate natural language queries communicated from a client machine.  
     
     
         40 . The method of  claim 39 , wherein said client machine comprises a web-enabled browser to generate said natural language queries.  
     
     
         41 . The method of  claim 26 , wherein communication with the aggregation module occurs over a standard interface.  
     
     
         42 . The method of  claim 41 , wherein the standard interface comprises one of: OLDB, OLE-DB, ODBC, SQL, and JDBC.  
     
     
         43 . The method of  claim 26 , wherein the DBMS comprises an object database management system (ODBMS).  
     
     
         44 . The method of  claim 26 , wherein the DBMS comprises as an object-relational database management system (ORDBMS).  
     
     
         45 . The method of  claim 26 , wherein said non-relational datastore comprises a multidimensional database storing data logically organized along a plurality of cartesian dimensions.  
     
     
         46 . The method of  claim 26 , wherein said given query statement is generated in response to user input.