JP2000047914A - System and method for managing data base table information - Google Patents

Abstract

PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To provide a data base table information managing system by which the structure of a table defined in a data base can be easily referred to, the structure can be easily managed even when the structure of the table is changed and the generalized relation of the table can be defined. SOLUTION: A data storage part 32 stores a table and data of a data base and a table information storage part 31 stores detailed information concerning the items of the table defined in the data storage part 32 and the information on the relation among the respective tables as table information. As for a processing request such as table information retrieval or registration from a table information managing picture 11, a table information processing part 21 manages the table information in the table information storage part 31. Further, as for a processing request from a data retrieval picture 12, a data retrieving processing part 22 retrieves the data in the data storage part 32. This retrieval can be hierarchically performed while narrowing down conditions along the relation of the tables.

Description

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

[0001]

[0001] 1. Field of the Invention [0002] The present invention relates to a database table information management system for managing information relating to table definitions in a database and information relating to relations between tables.

[0002]

2. Description of the Related Art A database / table information management system stores definition information of a table defined in a database and relation relation information as data, and displays information relating to the table definition and relation relation information on a screen from the data. With this, the table structure is grasped and managed. In addition, it has a function of searching for data registered in each table.

A conventional database table information management system of this type uses a generalized relation of a database table, that is, a relation in which a relation destination table differs between tables depending on the value of a table item. Has no information.

[0004]

In the conventional database table information management system described above, since there is no information on the generalized relation of the database table, the generalized relation between the database tables is managed. The first problem is that it is difficult to refer to the structure of the table.

Further, for the same reason, there is a second problem that it is not possible to hierarchically search for a table in a generalized relation in a data search of a database table.

A first object of the present invention is to provide a database / table information management system which can easily refer to the structure of a table defined in a database and can easily manage the structure even when the structure of the table is changed. Is to provide.

A second object of the present invention is to provide a database / table information management system capable of defining a generalized relation of a table.

[0008] A third object of the present invention is to store data registered in each table along a relation of the table.
An object of the present invention is to provide a database / table information management system capable of searching hierarchically while narrowing down conditions.

[0009]

[MEANS FOR SOLVING THE PROBLEMS] The database of the present invention
A table information management system includes a data storage unit that stores tables and data of a database, and a table storage unit that stores, as table information, detailed information on items of tables defined in the data storage unit and information of relations of each table. A table information processing unit that manages a table in the table information storage unit in response to a table information search or registration request from a table information management screen; and a data processing unit that processes the data in response to a processing request from a data search screen. A data search processing unit for searching data in the storage unit.

[0010] In a preferred embodiment of the database / table information management system according to the present invention, the detailed information includes an item alias for a table item, a data display format, a search target setting, whether or not a condition can be specified, and whether or not there is a generalization condition. It is characterized by.

In a preferred embodiment of the database / table information management system according to the present invention, the table information processing section stores information on data items of a table to be managed from the data storage section and table information from the table information storage section. A table information retrieving means for respectively retrieving and comparing the information on items in the table information by comparing the two, and when there is a change, the table information management by reflecting the change in the retrieved table information A table information display unit for outputting to a screen, table information registration unit for receiving table information set on the table information management screen as a registration request, and registering the table information in the table information storage unit; Is the search target table name received from the table information management screen Therefore, the data search means for detecting table information relating to the table to be subjected to the data search from the table information storage unit, and the data search screen is displayed by the detailed information and the relation information relating to the table items in the searched table information. Data display means, wherein the data search means searches the data storage unit on the data search screen.

In a preferred embodiment of the database table information management system according to the present invention, when relation information of a search target table is displayed on the data search screen, the data search means firstly executes a relation destination table to be searched. Acquiring the table information from the table information storage unit, and then searching the data storage unit using search items of a search target table included in the obtained table information and designated search conditions. And

Further, the database table information management method of the present invention provides a procedure for retrieving information on a data item of a table to be managed from a data storage section, a procedure for retrieving table information from a table information storage section, and a procedure for retrieving them. Comparing the information on the data items obtained by the above with the table information to check whether or not the information on the items in the table information has been changed; and, if there is the change, reflecting the change in the searched table information to reflect the change. A procedure for outputting to the information management screen, a procedure for receiving the table information as a registration request and registering the table information in the table information storage unit, and a table relating to a table to be subjected to data search by the search target table name received from the table information management screen A procedure for retrieving information from the data information storage unit; And instructions for displaying the data search screen the detailed information and relation information about the fields of the table in the table information, and having a procedure for searching the data storage unit by said data search screen.

[0014]

Next, an embodiment of the present invention will be described.

The database / table information management system of the present invention stores a data storage unit for storing database tables and data, detailed information on table items defined in the data storage unit, and relation information of each table. A database unit including a table storage unit that stores table information; a table information processing unit that manages a table in the table information storage unit in response to a table information search or registration request from a table information management screen; and a data search screen. And a data search processing unit for searching data in the data storage unit in response to the processing request.

Further, according to the database / table information management method of the present invention, a procedure for retrieving information on a data item of a table to be managed from a data storage unit, a procedure for retrieving table information from a table information storage unit, Comparing the information on the data items obtained by the above with the table information to check whether or not the information on the items in the table information has been changed; and, if there is the change, reflecting the change in the searched table information to reflect the change. A procedure for outputting to the information management screen, a procedure for receiving the table information as a registration request and registering the table information in the table information storage unit, and a table relating to a table to be subjected to data search by the search target table name received from the table information management screen A procedure for retrieving information from the data information storage unit; And instructions for displaying the data search screen the detailed information and relation information about the fields of the table in the table information, and having a procedure for searching the data storage unit by said data search screen.

Hereinafter, embodiments of the present invention will be described in detail with reference to the drawings.

FIG. 1 is a block diagram showing one embodiment of the database / table information management system of the present invention.
Referring to FIG. 1, the present embodiment includes a user interface unit 1 for a user to perform a task, a processing unit 2 operated by program control, and a database unit 3 for storing information.

The database unit 3 includes a table information storage unit 31 and a data storage unit 32. The table storage unit 32 stores tables and data for constituting a database. The table information storage unit 31 stores detailed information (item aliases, data display formats, search target settings, condition designation disabled, generalization conditions, etc.) regarding the items of the tables defined in the data storage unit 32, and the relationship between the tables. Is stored as table information.

The user interface unit 1 has a table information management screen 11 and a data search screen 12. The table information management screen 11 has a screen configuration shown in an example in FIG. 2, and is a user interface screen for managing table information stored in the table information storage unit 31.

The data search screen 12 has a screen configuration shown as an example in FIG. 3 and is a user interface screen for searching for data information stored in the data storage unit 32.

The processing unit 2 includes a table information search unit 21
1, a table information processing unit 21 having a table information display unit 212 and a table information registration unit 213, and a data search processing unit 22 having a data search unit 221 and a data display unit 222.

FIG. 2 shows an example of the table information management screen 11, FIG. 3 shows an example of the data search screen 12, and FIG.
The relations of the tables are shown.
First, features of the present invention will be described with reference to FIGS.

In FIG. 1, when performing table information management, the table information search means 211 receives a management target table name from the table information definition table name 2-1 of the table information management screen 11 (FIG. 2). The table information search unit 211 searches the data storage unit 32 for information on the data items of the management target table, and searches the table information storage unit 31 for table information. Further, the table information search unit 211 compares the information on the table item with the table information and checks whether there is any change in the information on the item in the table information.

Here, if the change is confirmed, the table information display means 212 reflects the change on the retrieved table information, and displays the table information management screen 11 (table information setting section 2-3 in FIG. 2). ). This allows
It is possible to cope with a change in information on table items in the data storage unit 32. In addition, since the detailed information on the table items stored in the table information storage unit 31 of FIG. 1 as the table information includes the generalization condition, FIG.
From a single relation item, such as the generalized relation 4-2, a generalized relation in which the relation destination table differs depending on the data value of a certain item can be managed.

When performing a data search, the data search means 221 receives the name of the table to be searched from the table information management screen 11 (the data search table name 2-2 in FIG. 2). The table information search unit 211 searches the table information storage unit 31 for table information on a table for which data is to be searched. The data display unit 222 displays the data search screen 12 based on the detailed information on the table items in the searched table information and the relation information.
(Table information display section 3-3 in FIG. 3) is displayed. In the data search screen 12 set in this way, a search condition is specified (data condition setting unit 3-31 in FIG. 3), and when a search is executed, the data search unit 221 searches the data storage unit 32 with the condition. The search result is displayed on the data display unit 22.
2 to the data search screen 12 (the data display section 3- of FIG. 3).
Displayed in 4).

If a relation is set in the search target table, the information is displayed on the data search screen 12 (relation information display section 3-32 in FIG. 3). In order to perform a data search of the relation destination table in accordance with the relation, the relation target table item (relation target table item 3-4 in FIG. 3).
Select the data displayed in 1) as a search condition,
A search (relation search 2 in FIG. 3) is executed. The data search unit 221 first searches the table information storage unit 31 to obtain the table information of the relation destination table to be searched, and then specifies the search item of the search target table included in the searched table information. The data storage unit 32 is searched using the searched search condition. Search results are
The data display means 222 displays a new data search screen 12 (FIG. 3) different from the previously displayed screen.
This allows you to perform data search for the target table,
Data retrieval of a table related to the table can be performed hierarchically.

Next, for each means included in the processing unit 2,
Clarify its function.

The table information search means 211 responds to a search request from the table information management screen 11 by using the given table name as a key and by setting information on items set in the table of the data storage unit 32 (hereinafter referred to as table information). Item information) and table information (hereinafter, table information) stored in the table information storage unit 31 are searched. Further, comparison and verification of the retrieved table item information and table information are also performed.

The table information display means 212 displays the result of the comparison between the table item information and the table information by the table information search means 211 on the table information management screen 11. The comparison between the table item information and the table information and the difference in display depending on the verification result are as follows. If the table item information to be searched is retrieved from the data storage unit 32 and the table information is not stored in the table information storage unit 31, the table item information is displayed on the table information management screen 11 as default table information. Since the table relation is not defined in the default table information, only information of a single table is displayed.

When the table item information to be searched is searched from the data storage unit 32 and the table information is stored in the table information storage unit 31, a relation between the table to be searched and the table is defined. Displays all the tables that have been set. At this time, the table information of all the displayed tables is compared with the table item information, and it is checked whether or not the information on the items in the table information has been changed. If there is no change in the check, the searched table information is displayed on the table information management screen 11. If there is a change due to the check, the information is displayed on the table information management screen 11 in a form in which the change in the table item information is reflected on the information on the item in the searched table information. In the table information, the relation of the table is defined, and thus information of a plurality of tables is displayed together with the relation.

When the search target table information is stored in the table information storage unit 31, but the table item information is not searched from the data storage unit 32 (when the search target table is deleted from the data storage unit 32). In
Table deletion message on table information management screen 11
To be displayed.

The table information registration means 213 receives the table information set on the table information management screen 11 as a registration request, and registers it in the table information storage unit 31.

The data search means 221 processes two patterns according to the form of the search request from the data search screen 12. There are two types of search requests, a condition search and a relation search.
Is specified in the search condition column (search condition setting unit 3-31 in FIG. 3). The relation search is performed by selecting, as a search condition, data of an item having a relation relation (relation target table item 3-41 in FIG. 3) displayed on the data search screen 12. When the form of the search request is a condition search, a table name, a search item, and a search condition of the search target table are given, and the data in the data storage unit 32 is searched using these.

When the form of the search request is a relation search, first, table information such as a relation relation of the table to be searched is required. Therefore, the table information of the table to be searched is searched from the table information storage unit 21. Next, data in the data storage unit 32 is searched using the search items included in the searched table information, the table name of the search target table given by the search request from the data search screen 12, and the search conditions.

The data display means 222 displays data on the data search screen 12 based on the table information and data searched by the data search means 211. This screen is
It is configured based on the table information, and the data display is performed in a display format according to the data display information in the table information.

Next, the operation of this embodiment will be described in detail with reference to the flowcharts of FIGS.

First, the table information search processing in the table information management will be described with reference to the flowchart of FIG. In the table information search processing shown in the flowchart of FIG. 5, the table information management screen 11 of FIG.
When a search is executed by specifying a table for which table information is to be set in the table information definition table name 2-1), the target table name is supplied to the table information search means 211. The table information search unit 211 checks whether this table is stored in the data storage unit 32 (steps S1 and S2 in FIG. 5). In the data storage unit 32,
If this table is not stored, it is further checked whether the table information of this table is stored in the table information storage unit 31 (S3 and S4).
If the table information of this table is not stored in the table information storage unit 31, it is determined that an error has occurred, and an error message is displayed by the table information display unit 212 on the table information management screen 11 of FIG. 1 (table information setting unit 2 of FIG. 2). -3) (S5). On the other hand, in step S4,
When the table information is retrieved, the table information display unit 212 sends a message to the effect that the table has been deleted from the table storage unit 32 to the table information management screen 11 (table information setting unit 2-3 in FIG. 2). Output (S6).

In S2, if a table for setting table information is stored in the data storage unit 32, the table information search means 211 of FIG. 1 acquires the table item information (S7), and It is checked whether or not the table information is stored in the table information storage unit 31 (S8 and S9). Table information storage unit 31
If the table information of this table is not stored, the table information display unit 212 uses the table item information acquired in step S7 as the default table information, and displays the table information management screen 11 (table information setting unit in FIG. 2). It is displayed in 2-3) (S10). For example, when the table A is defined in the data storage unit 32 in FIG. 1 and is not stored in the table information storage unit 31, the table information displayed in the table information setting unit 2-3 in FIG. , Table item information 31 of table A only.

On the other hand, if the table information is found in step S9, the information on the items in the table information is obtained and compared in step S7 with the table item information (S11 and S12). As a result of the comparison, if there is no change, the table information display means 212 displays the searched table information on the table information management screen 11 (table information setting unit 2-3 in FIG. 2) (S13), and the change is made. If there is, by the table information display means 212,
The table information management screen 1 reflects the change of the table item information in the information on the item in the searched table information, and
1 (table information setting section 2-3 in FIG. 2) (S
14). For example, if the column name A _{n + 1} is added as an item to the table A defined in the table in the data storage unit 32 but the change is not reflected in the table information storage unit 31, the table information retrieval a, column names a _{n + 1} is displayed in added form to the table item information 31 of table a of FIG.

If the table information can be retrieved in S4 or S9, the relation information of the table in the retrieved table information is displayed on the table information management screen 11 (table information setting section 2-3 in FIG. 2). Therefore, the above processing (S1 to S14) is repeatedly executed for all tables designated as relation targets (S15). For example, the data storage unit 32
Table A, table B, and table C defined in the table are in a relational relationship as in the table information setting unit 2-3 in FIG. The process is performed on the table A, and the table item information 2-31 of the table A in FIG. 2 is displayed. Next, processing relating to tables B and C having a relational relationship with table A is performed, and table item information 2-32 of table B in FIG.
The table item information 2-33 of the table C in FIG. 2 is displayed. Since the display of the item information of each table related to the table A is completed, finally, the relation relation information of the table A, the table B, and the table C in FIG. Display 2-34.

Next, the table information registration processing in the table information management will be described with reference to the flowchart of FIG. By the table information search processing, the table information management screen 11 (table information setting unit 2-3 in FIG. 2)
Is corrected (step T1 in FIG. 6). The correction is made on the table information management screen of FIG.
The setting regarding the item information of the table is performed by correcting the displayed information of each table. The setting related to the relation relation is set by drawing an arrow from the item defining the relation relation of the relation source table to the item defining the relation relation of the relation destination table.
In the setting of the generalized relation, after setting the relation, the item for setting the generalization condition is selected, and the generalization condition is set. When registration is performed on the table information management screen 11 (FIG. 2) (T2), the set table information is supplied to the table information registration means 213. The table information registration unit 213 registers the table information in the table information storage unit 31 (T
3).

Next, the data search screen display processing flow of the data search will be described with reference to the flowchart of FIG. In the process of displaying the data search screen 12 from the table information management screen 11 shown in the flowchart of FIG. 7, a table on which data search is to be performed is specified on the table information management screen 11 (data search target table name 2-2 in FIG. 2). Then, the target table name is supplied to the data search means 221. The data search means 221 checks whether the table information of this table is stored in the table information storage unit 31 (Steps U1 and U2 in FIG. 7).

When the table information of this table is retrieved from the table information storage section 31, the data display means 222 displays the screen configuration based on the information on the items in the table information, relation relation information, and data display information. And output it to the data search screen 12 (FIG. 3) (U
3). For example, when the search is performed by designating the table A as the data search target table name 2-2, the table item information 2-31 of the table A of FIG. , Table B and table C are searched for relation relation information 2-34.
The retrieved table item information 31 of the table A of FIG. 2 is used to set the search target table name display section 3-33 and the search item display section 3-34 of FIG. 3, and the tables A, B, and C of FIG. Relation information 2-34
Thus, the relation information display section 2-32 in FIG. 3 is set. In the relation information display section 3-32, symbols (→, ←) indicating the parent-child relationship between the relation tables are displayed, and → indicates a child table such as the relation from table A to table B in this example. Represents the relationship to
Represents a relation relation to the parent table, such as the relation from table B to table A in this example.

On the other hand, at U2, the table information storage 31
If the table information of this table is not stored, it is determined that an error has occurred, and an error message is output to the table information management screen 11 (table information setting unit 2-3 in FIG. 2) by the data display unit 222 (U4). .

Next, the process of searching for data from the data search screen 12 will be described with reference to the flowchart of FIG. A search condition is designated on the data search screen 12 (designation of a condition in the search condition setting unit 3-31 of FIG. 3 or selection of data from the relation target table item 3-41), and a search is executed (condition search 3-1 of FIG. 3). Alternatively, when the relation search 3-2) is performed, the type of data search and the search condition are supplied to the data search unit 221. Data search means 221
Checks the type of this data search (step V in FIG. 8).
1 and V2). When the type of data search is a condition search, the data storage unit 32 is searched by specifying a search target table and a search item supplied together with the search condition (V
3). The search result is output to the data search screen 12 (the data display section 3-4 in FIG. 3) by the data display means 222 (V4).

On the other hand, in the case of V2, when the type of data search is a relation search, the table information of the search target table supplied together with the search condition is stored in the table information storage unit 3.
It is checked whether it is stored in No. 1 (V5, V6).
If the table information of this table is not stored in the table information storage unit 31, it is regarded as an error, and an error message is displayed on the data search screen 11 (FIG. 3) by the data display unit 222 (V7). On the other hand, when the table information is searched in V6, the data storage unit 32 is searched by specifying the search item in the searched table information, the search target table already supplied, and the search condition (V8). The data display means 222 includes information on items in the searched table information, relation-related information,
The screen is configured based on the data display information, a new data search screen 12 (FIG. 3) is output, and the searched data information is output to the screen (V9).

A program for causing a computer to execute the database table information management method described above may be recorded on a recording medium such as a floppy disk or a semiconductor memory and read and executed by a computer.

[0049]

A first effect of the present invention is that the structure of a table defined in a database can be easily referred to, and the structure can be easily managed even when the structure of the table is changed. . As a result, the number of man-hours for managing the structure of the database table can be reduced. The reason is to register and manage the detailed information and the relation-related information on the items of each table as table information in the database.

A second effect is that a generalized relation of a table can be defined. As a result, the structure of more database tables can be managed.
The reason is that generalization conditions are included as detailed information on items in the table information.

A third effect is that data registered in each table can be searched hierarchically while narrowing down conditions along the relation of the tables. As a result, the data search can be easily performed, and the search operation can be efficiently performed. The reason is that the search is performed while recognizing the table structure using the table information registered in the database.

[Brief description of the drawings]

FIG. 1 is a block diagram showing an embodiment of a database / table information management system according to the present invention.

FIG. 2 is a diagram showing a table information management screen according to the present invention.

FIG. 3 is a diagram showing a data information search screen according to the present invention.

FIG. 4 is a diagram showing an example of a table relation according to the present invention;

FIG. 5 is a flowchart of a table information search process according to the present invention.

FIG. 6 is a flowchart of a table information registration process according to the present invention.

FIG. 7 is a flowchart of a data search screen display process according to the present invention.

FIG. 8 is a flowchart of a data search process according to the present invention.

[Explanation of symbols]

 DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 1 User interface part 2 Processing part 3 Database part 11 Table information management screen 12 Data search screen 21 Table information processing part 22 Data search processing part 31 Table information storage part 32 Data storage part 211 Table information search means 212 Table information display means 213 Table Information registration unit 221 Data search unit 222 Data display unit 2-1 Table information definition table name 2-2 Data search target table name 2-3 Table information setting unit 2-31 Table item information 2-32 Table item information 2-33 Table Item information 2-34 Relation information 3-1 Condition search 3-2 Relation search 3-3 Table information display section 3-4 Data display section 3-31 Search condition setting section 3-32 Relation information display section 3-33 Search target table name Display section 3-34 Search item display section 3-41 Relation target table item 4-1 Generalized relation

Claims (6)

[Claims] 1. A data storage unit for storing tables and data of a database, and a table storage unit for storing, as table information, detailed information on items of tables defined in the data storage unit and information on relations of each table. A table information processing unit for managing a table in the table information storage unit in response to a table information search or registration request from a table information management screen; and a data storage unit in response to a processing request from a data search screen. And a data retrieval processing unit for retrieving the data of the database table information management system. 2. The database table information management according to claim 1, wherein the detailed information includes an item alias, an data display format, a search target setting, whether or not a condition can be specified, and whether or not there is a generalization condition with respect to a table item. system. 3. The table information processing unit retrieves information on data items of the table to be managed from the data storage unit and table information from the table information storage unit, and compares the two to compare the items in the table information. Table information search means for checking whether or not information has been changed; table information display means for, when there is a change, reflecting the change in the searched table information and outputting the change to the table information management screen; Table information registering means for receiving table information set on the screen as a registration request and registering the table information in the table information storage unit; and the data search processing unit includes a search target table name received from the table information management screen. Table information on the table to be searched for data A data search unit that detects from the file information storage unit; and a data display unit that displays the data search screen based on detailed information and relation information regarding a table item in the searched table information. 3. The database / table information management system according to claim 1, wherein the data storage unit is searched by the data search screen. 4. When relation information of a search target table is displayed on the data search screen, the data search means first acquires table information of a relation destination table to be searched from the table information storage unit. 4. The database table information management system according to claim 3, wherein the data storage unit is searched using a search item of a search target table included in the acquired table information and a specified search condition. 5. A procedure for retrieving information relating to data items of a management target table from a data storage unit, a procedure for retrieving table information from a table information storage unit, and retrieving information relating to data items and table information obtained by these retrievals. Comparing the information on the items in the table information to determine whether or not there is a change in the table information; and, if there is any change, outputting the changed information to the retrieved table information on the table information management screen. Receiving information as a registration request and registering the information in the table information storage unit;
A step of searching the data information storage unit for table information on a table to be a data search target, based on the search target table name received from the table information management screen; and detailed information on table items in the searched table information. A database / table information management method, comprising: displaying a data search screen according to relation information; and searching the data storage unit using the data search screen. 6. A procedure for retrieving information relating to data items of a table to be managed from a data storage unit, a procedure for retrieving table information from a table information storage unit, and retrieving information relating to data items and table information obtained by these retrievals. Comparing the information on the items in the table information to determine whether or not there is a change in the table information; and, if there is any change, outputting the changed information to the retrieved table information on the table information management screen. Receiving information as a registration request and registering the information in the table information storage unit;
A step of searching the data information storage unit for table information on a table to be a data search target, based on the search target table name received from the table information management screen; and detailed information on table items in the searched table information. A computer-readable recording medium storing a program for causing a computer to execute a database / table information management method having a procedure of displaying a data search screen using relation information and a procedure of searching the data storage unit using the data search screen.