Data streaming for interactive decision-oriented software applications

Abstract

Providing data to a computer software application by intercepting a request made by a computer software application to retrieve a first data set from a first data storage location, accessing a record, defined in advance of the request, that includes a reference to the first data set and a reference to a second data set, retrieving the first data set from a data storage location other than the first data storage location, and retrieving the second data set from a data storage location other than the first data storage location in advance of a request by the computer software application to access the second data set at the first data storage location.

What is claimed is: 
     
         1 . A method for providing data to a computer software application, the method comprising:
 comparing
 a) a first record that refers to a first set of data requested during a first execution of a computer software application, to 
 b) a second record that refers to a second set of data requested during the first execution of the computer software application; 
   identifying a data portion that is common to the first and second sets of data;   modifying the first record to omit from the first set any reference to the data portion;   modifying the second record to omit from the second set any reference to the data portion;   creating a third record that refers to a third set of data that includes the data portion; and   associating the first, second, and third records with a data retrieval plan for providing data during a subsequent execution of the computer software application.   
     
     
         2 . The method of  claim 1  and further comprising associating any of the records with a rule determining a) if and how data that are referred to in the record are to be retrieved, and b) if and how data that are referred to in any of the other records are to be retrieved. 
     
     
         3 . The method of  claim 1  wherein said comparing, identifying, modifying, creating, and associating are implemented in any of
 a) computer hardware and 
 b) computer software embodied in a non-transitory, computer-readable storage medium. 
 
     
     
         4 . A computer program product for providing data to a computer software application, the computer program product comprising:
 a non-transitory, computer-readable storage medium; and   computer-readable program code embodied in the computer-readable storage medium, wherein the computer-readable program code is configured to   compare
 a) a first record that refers to a first set of data requested during a first execution of a computer software application, to 
 b) a second record that refers to a second set of data requested during the first execution of the computer software application, 
   identify a data portion that is common to the first and second sets of data,   modify the first record to omit from the first set any reference to the data portion,   modify the second record to omit from the second set any reference to the data portion,   create a third record that refers to a third set of data that includes the data portion, and   associate the first, second, and third records with a data retrieval plan for providing data during a subsequent execution of the computer software application.   
     
     
         5 . The computer program product of  claim 1  wherein the computer-readable program code is configured to associate any of the records with a rule determining a) if and how data that are referred to in the record are to be retrieved, and b) if and how data that are referred to in any of the other records are to be retrieved.