KR100899616B1 - Method and system of management metadata using relational database management system - Google Patents

Abstract

Disclosed are a method of managing metadata by configuring metadata based on XML (Relational DBMS) and a system therefor. The method for managing metadata includes parsing an XML document to generate a table, and adding predetermined search identification tag information to the generated table to add a search identification tag information between the tables. Mapping the relationship to store the mapped metadata in the relational database, wherein unique frame information for each search identification tag information for metadata inquiry is previously stored in the relational database. According to the present invention, there is an advantage that a developer, an operator, and a user who performs an analysis task using a metameter can easily analyze and manage.

XML, RDBMS, relational database, table, query, search, normalization

Description

Method and system of management metadata using relational database management system

The present invention relates to a method for managing metadata using a relational database and a system therefor. In particular, the present invention relates to a search identification tag for generating XML-based metadata into a table and querying metadata stored in the generated table. The present invention relates to a method for managing metadata by adding information to a relational database and managing the metadata.

Recently, due to the development of the Internet and the rapid increase in the amount of information, research on the storage and retrieval of XML (eXtensible Markup Language), which is the standard of next-generation web documents, is being actively conducted for efficient information exchange on the Internet. In addition, with the advent of several standards and tools for creating, modifying, and manipulating metadata in XML format, many XML documents with different structures are increasing. In such a situation, optimizing the metadata storage of large-scale XML documents having different structures and extracting necessary information from them easily and quickly becomes a very important issue.

Conventionally, there are two main methods for managing XML metadata using an RDBMS. The first is to store the entire XML document in the form of CLOB (Character Large Object) of the RDBMS table. CLOB is a metadata type provided by the RDBMS to store large metadata in the form of documents. The second method is the same as the first method in that the entire XML document is stored in the form of CLOB of the RDBMS table. The difference is that specific tag and value information of the XML document is mapped and stored in the column of the table.

In the first method, it is impossible to search the specific metadata of XML by simply storing the entire XML file in a CLOB, whereas the second method uses a method of pre-determining and storing specific information to solve this problem.

Regardless of which method is used, there is a problem in that the user has to go through a complicated procedure to retrieve metadata stored in the RDBMS.

1 is a diagram illustrating a procedure for querying metadata stored in a relational database (RDBMS) according to the prior art.

Conventionally, a user executes a program for searching metadata, selects a field for searching by the user through folder navigation, and inputs an editing function of the corresponding field. If the user searches and inputs a query for extracting metadata to be searched, an item list corresponding to the query is displayed. When a specific case is input from the user, the item reference object can be inquired. A screen has been started.

In other words, the user has to click a folder having a complicated configuration in order to query a single item, and the user has to click on several paths to obtain the desired information.

Accordingly, the present invention for solving the above problems is a metadata management method and system for storing unique frame information for each search identification tag information for searching metadata stored in a relational database in advance in a relational database. I would suggest.

Other objects of the present invention will be readily understood through the description of the following examples.

In order to achieve the above object, according to an aspect of the present invention there is provided a method for managing metadata by configuring an XML (Extensible Markup Language) based metadata into a relational database (MS).

In a method of managing metadata by configuring an XML based Extensible Markup Language (XML) based relational database according to an embodiment of the present invention, parsing an XML document to a table Generating a; Adding predetermined search identification tag information to the generated table; Mapping a relationship between tables to which the search identification tag information is added; And storing the relationship between the mapped tables in the relational database, wherein unique frame information for each search identification tag information for metadata inquiry stored in the relational database is previously stored in the relational database. A metadata management method is provided.

According to another aspect of the present invention, a method for querying XML-based metadata composed of a relational database is provided.

Providing a user interface including search identification tag information according to an embodiment of the present invention; Receiving one of the search identification tag information included in the provided user interface; Reading metadata corresponding to the selected search identification tag information and frame information corresponding to the selected search identification tag information; And constructing and outputting an inquiry screen for metadata inquiry using the read metadata and frame information.

According to yet another aspect of the present invention, there is provided a system for managing metadata by configuring XML-based metadata as a relational database.

A system for managing metadata by configuring XML-based metadata as a relational database, comprising: a table generator for parsing an XML document and converting the XML document into a table; A tag information generation unit for adding predetermined search identification tag information to the generated table; A mapping unit for mapping a relationship between tables to which the search identification tag information is added; A relational database for storing relationships between the mapped tables; And a view generator for generating an inquiry screen for inquiring metadata stored in the relational database.

As described above, according to the present invention, since unique frame information for each search identification tag information for searching metadata stored in the relational database is previously stored in the relational database, the user can easily query the metadata stored in the relational database. There is an advantage.

In addition, this structured metadata (metadata) is provided to the user has the advantage that can be more easily and accurately atypical analysis.

As the invention allows for various changes and numerous embodiments, particular embodiments will be illustrated in the drawings and described in detail in the written description. However, this is not intended to limit the present invention to specific embodiments, it should be understood to include all modifications, equivalents, and substitutes included in the spirit and scope of the present invention.

The terms first, second, A, B, etc. may be used to describe various components, but the components are not limited by the terms, but merely for distinguishing one component from other components. Only used as For example, without departing from the scope of the present invention, the first component may be referred to as the second component, and similarly, the second component may also be referred to as the first component. The term and / or includes a combination of a plurality of related items or any item of a plurality of related items.

When a component is referred to as being "connected" or "connected" to another component, it may be directly connected to or connected to that other component, but it may be understood that other components may be present in between. Should be. On the other hand, when a component is said to be "directly connected" or "directly connected" to another component, it should be understood that there is no other component in between.

The terminology used herein is for the purpose of describing particular example embodiments only and is not intended to be limiting of the present invention. Singular expressions include plural expressions unless the context clearly indicates otherwise. In this application, the terms "comprise" or "have" are intended to indicate that there is a feature, number, step, action, component, part, or combination thereof described in the specification, and one or more other It is to be understood that the present invention does not exclude the possibility of the presence or the addition of features, numbers, steps, operations, components, parts, or a combination thereof.

Unless defined otherwise, all terms used herein, including technical or scientific terms, have the same meaning as commonly understood by one of ordinary skill in the art. Terms such as those defined in the commonly used dictionaries should be construed as having meanings consistent with the meanings in the context of the related art and shall not be construed in ideal or excessively formal meanings unless expressly defined in this application. Do not.

Hereinafter, with reference to the accompanying drawings, it will be described in detail an embodiment of the present invention. Hereinafter, the same reference numerals are used for the same components in the drawings, and duplicate descriptions of the same components are omitted.

2 is a diagram schematically illustrating a process of storing an XML document in an RDBMS according to an embodiment of the present invention.

Analyze the structure of an XML document. The structure analysis target of the XML document may be, for example, an element, an attribute, and schema information.

After analyzing the structure of the XML document and normalizing it based on the analyzed content, the XML document is sequentially loaded using a parser. The loaded XML document is converted into a form that can be stored in a relational database by standard conversion rules, and is converted into a table form based on standard conversion rules for each element.

The relationship between the tables generated and converted in the above manner may be mapped and stored in a relational database.

Although not shown in the drawing, in order to easily search the metadata stored in the relational database when converting the XML document into a table form, predetermined search identification tag information may be added to the table.

In addition, when the mapped table and the relationship between the tables are stored in the relational database, frame information unique to each added search identification tag information may be configured and added to the relational database.

3 is a block diagram illustrating a configuration of a system for managing metadata by configuring XML-based metadata as a relational database according to an embodiment of the present invention.

Referring to FIG. 3, the metadata management system includes a table generator 410, a tag information generator 420, a mapping unit 430, a view generator 440, and a relational database (RDBMS) 450. .

Although not shown in FIG. 3, a controller for generating and outputting a signal for controlling each component of the metadata management system, an input unit for receiving a control command from the outside, and an output unit for outputting a processing result of the metadata management system are further included. It may be included.

The table generator 410 parses an XML document and converts each element of the XML document into a table form.

The table generator 410 may include a parser for parsing an XML document.

Parser 415 decrypts the XML document. Since the elements of the XML document are formed in a hierarchical structure, the XML document can be represented in the form of a tree and a table including all information. A sub element is represented as a sub node of an upper element and an attribute may also be recognized as a sub node of an element in which an attribute is defined.

The parser 415 includes a tree-based Document Object Model (DOM) parser and an event-based Simple API for XML (SAX). The DOM parser facilitates access to the structure and information of the XML and enables its manipulation. It provides a standard interface that allows you to parse XML documents in the form of hierarchical nodes.

A SAX parser, on the other hand, is a parser that parses a document by firing an event for each element to process the XML document.

Referring to FIG. 3, the parser 415 is illustrated as a component of the table generator 410, but the parser 415 is irrelevant if the parser 415 can parse an XML document, and is not related to the table generator 410. It may be a separate component.

The tag information generator 420 adds predetermined search identification tag information to the table generated by the table generator 410. The search identification tag information is information for enabling a user to easily look up the metadata stored in the relational database 450. The search identification tag information is generated by the tag information generator 420 and added to the table.

The search identification tag information may vary in kind, such as first tag information, second tag information, and third tag information, depending on the type of metadata that the user wants to search. Each tag information represents a different type of metadata to be queried.

For example, for convenience of understanding and explanation of the invention, the type of metadata that the user wants to query is directly related to the physical metadata stored in the relational database 450, the metadata processed in the relational database 450, and the report creator. Assume there are three types of metadata to be displayed.

That is, in the above example, the physical metadata refers to the metadata stored as it is without any processing when stored in the relational database 450. An entity name, an attribute name, a table name, a column It may include a column name and join information between tables.

In addition, the processed metadata may be processed metadata in a predetermined method when stored in the relational database 450, and may include join information of a calculated or physical metadata and the processed metadata.

In addition, the metadata that is directly expressed to the report creator may include dimension information, measurement information, filter information, and physical table and column information connected thereto.

As shown in the example above, mapping the tables including metadata according to the type of metadata to be searched by the user, and storing the frame information to search the information in advance, makes it easier for the user to search the specific type of metadata. There is an advantage.

According to an embodiment of the present invention, a method of adding search identification tag information to a table may be generated by attaching a new attribute to a table to which an XML document is converted and inserting a search identification tag information value into an attached attribute.

The attribute attached to the table is the place where the search identification tag information is inserted. The method of attaching the attribute can be changed in various ways. For example, it can be implemented by adding a filed to a table, or by linking a linked list to a table.

By inserting the search identification tag information value in the attached attribute as described above, when the user selects the corresponding search identification tag information when the metadata is searched, metadata stored in a table corresponding to the selected search identification tag information may be provided to the user. .

In addition, the view generation unit 440 may generate an inquiry screen for metadata inquiry stored in the relational database 450 using the search identification tag information inserted by the tag information generation unit 420. A method of generating an inquiry screen in the view generator 440 will be described later.

The mapping unit 430 maps the relationship between the tables to which the search identification tag information is added in the tag information generation unit 420. Parsing an XML document will generate a plurality of tables, with each table appended with a predetermined search identification tag information value added by the tag information generation unit 420. The mapping unit 430 sets the relationship between each table by grouping and mapping for each search identification tag information.

The mapping method can be easily changed and implemented by those skilled in the related art in various ways. As an embodiment, the same elements of the metadata may be connected to be configured in the same frame when the inquiry screen is constructed.

That is, the mapping unit 430 may map tables having the same search identification tag information based on the search identification tag information added by the tag information generation unit 420.

In this case, when the user requests a query through a specific query, the metadata of the mapped elements can be provided to the user so that the user can more easily search the metadata stored in the relational database. have.

The view generator 440 generates an inquiry screen for inquiring metadata stored in the relational database 450.

In the related art, in order to inquire metadata desired by a user, there is a problem in that a folder having a complicated configuration must be searched by clicking a folder in order to search a specific item.

The view generator 440 generates a unique search screen for each search identification tag information before storing the table in the relational database 450. The view generating unit 440 generates a search screen in various ways.

According to an embodiment of the present invention, the view generator 440 may generate the frame information constituting the inquiry screen, and configure the inquiry screen by connecting a table to the generated frame.

For example, for convenience of explanation and understanding, it is assumed that search identification tag information is assumed to be 'A', and an inquiry screen for searching metadata related to 'A' is configured.

In this case, the view generator 440 may generate an inquiry screen by generating frame information for searching metadata related to 'A' and linking tables having 'A' search identification tag information. That is, it may be configured by a method of connecting to each other so that the metadata of the table having the 'A' search identification tag information is output in a specific space among the frames for configuring the metadata related to 'A'.

The relational database 450 stores relationships between tables mapped by the mapping unit 430.

In addition, the relational database 450 stores frame information generated by the view generator 440.

Conventionally, since a table or tree object generated by parsing an XML document is stored in a relational database and provided to a user, there is a problem in that the user has to go through a very complicated procedure to look up specific metadata. In the case where the frame information for constructing the inquiry screen is stored in advance in the relational database 450, there is an advantage in that the inquiry screen for searching the metadata can be provided to the user more easily.

4 is a diagram illustrating a mapped form of a relationship between tables according to an embodiment of the present invention.

According to FIG. 4, it can be seen that search identification tag information is added to the front of the table, and the search identification tag information is added by the tag information generation unit 420 as described above.

According to an embodiment of the present invention, a method of mapping relationships between tables may be performed by mapping tables having the same search identification tag information into a group.

A parent table and a son table can be configured and mapped between tables having the same search identification tag information, and can be mapped by connecting to a linked list between each table.

In addition, the mapping between tables may be composed of a non-circular linked list or a circular linked list. The mapping between tables may be changed in various ways.

5 is a flowchart illustrating a process of managing metadata by configuring XML-based metadata in a relational database according to an embodiment of the present invention.

In operation S610, the table generator 410 parses an XML document to generate a table. In order to parse an XML document, the table generator 410 may include a parser 415. The parser 415 may be a DOM parser or a SAX parser, and thus, a detailed description thereof will be omitted. Let's do it.

Thereafter, the process proceeds to step S620 in which predetermined search identification tag information is added to the table generated in step S610. The search identification tag information generates frame information for metadata inquiry stored in the relational database 450, and mapping the relationship between tables having the same search identification tag information is as described above.

The search identification tag information may be added by attaching an attribute to the table generated in step S610 and inserting a search identification tag information value in the attached attribute as a method of adding search identification tag information. The method of adding the search identification tag information can be easily changed in various ways.

In operation S630, the mapping unit 430 maps the relationship between the tables. The mapping between the tables may be mapped in a form of grouping tables having the same search identification tag information by using the search identification tag information added in step S620.

Thereafter, in step S640, unique frame information is generated for each search identification tag information. The configuration of the inquiry screen for each search identification tag information is different as described above, and the user can easily search the metadata by storing the frame information constituting the inquiry screen different for each search identification tag information in a relational database in advance. There is an advantage to this.

Subsequently, the process proceeds to step S650, in which the frame information constituting a unique inquiry screen for each table including search identification tag information added in step S620, relationship information between tables mapped in step S630, and search identification tag information generated in step S640 is obtained. Store in a relational database.

6 illustrates an example of a screen provided to a user for inquiring metadata according to an embodiment of the present invention.

Referring to FIG. 6, a configuration of a user interface 750 including search identification tag information and an inquiry screen 760 shown when a user selects specific search tag information are shown.

For convenience of understanding and explanation of the invention, it is assumed that there are three types of metadata for the user to query, and the types are 'Data view' 710, 'Performance view' 720 and 'Business view' 730. do.

When the user selects the 'Data view' 710 search identification tag information to look up metadata information of type 'Data view' 710 through the user interface 750, and requests the inquiry of the corresponding metadata The screen 760 is output.

The inquiry screen 760 configures a unique screen for each search identification tag information, and the frame information constituting each inquiry screen is previously stored in the relational database 450 as described above.

The frame configuration of the user interface 750 and the inquiry screen 760 of FIG. 6 is just one embodiment, and the user interface configuration and the frame configuration of the inquiry screen can be easily changed and implemented by those skilled in the art. Self-explanatory

A method of querying XML-based metadata composed of a relational database according to an embodiment of the present invention will be described with reference to FIG. 7.

7 is a flowchart illustrating a process of querying XML-based metadata composed of a relational database according to an embodiment of the present invention.

In operation S810, a user interface for querying metadata stored in the relational database is provided. Part of the user interface provided to the user also provides search identification tag information. The search identification tag information is information indicating the type of metadata to be queried by the user and is included in the user interface to be selected by the user.

After the search identification tag information is selected from the user in step S820, the frame information corresponding to the search identification tag information selected in step S830 is read.

The frame information is unique to each search identification tag information and is information that allows a user to easily search metadata, and the frame information is previously stored in the relational database 450 as described above.

In operation S840, metadata corresponding to the search identification tag information selected by the user is read.

Since metadata stored in the relational database 450 is stored by adding search identification tag information, an implementation of a method of reading metadata corresponding to search identification tag information selected by a user is obvious to those skilled in the art. Do.

In step S850, the inquiry screen is configured by combining the frame information and the metadata read in steps S830 and S840. A method of composing an inquiry screen by combining frame information and metadata is described in detail above, and a description thereof will be omitted.

The order of steps S830 and S840 may be changed, or may be performed at the same time. That is, in reading frame information and metadata corresponding to the search identification tag information selected by the user, the frame information may be read first or the metadata may be read first. It is also possible to read frame information and metadata at the same time.

Subsequently, the process proceeds to step S860 and the inquiry screen configured in step S850 is output to the user, and the user can search the desired type of metadata more easily.

Although described above with reference to a preferred embodiment of the present invention, those skilled in the art that various modifications of the present invention without departing from the spirit and scope of the invention described in the claims below And can be changed.

1 is a diagram illustrating a procedure for querying metadata stored in a relational database (RDBMS) according to the prior art.

2 is a diagram schematically illustrating a process of storing an XML document in an RDBMS according to an embodiment of the present invention.

3 is a block diagram illustrating a configuration of a system for managing metadata by configuring XML-based metadata in a relational database according to an embodiment of the present invention.

4 is a diagram illustrating a mapped form of relationships between tables according to an embodiment of the present invention.

5 is a flowchart illustrating a process of managing metadata by configuring XML-based metadata in a relational database according to an embodiment of the present invention.

6 illustrates an example of a screen provided to a user for querying metadata according to an embodiment of the present invention.

7 is a flowchart illustrating a process of querying XML-based metadata composed of a relational database according to an embodiment of the present invention.

Claims (13)

In a method of managing metadata by configuring XML (Extensible Markup Language) based metadata into a relational database, Parsing an XML document to generate a table; Attaching an attribute to the generated table; Adding search identification tag information to the attribute; Mapping a relationship between tables to which the search identification tag information is added; And Storing the relationship between the mapped tables in the relational database, And frame information unique to each of the search identification tag information for searching the metadata stored in the relational database is previously stored in the relational database. The method of claim 1, Parsing the XML document is A metadata management method comprising using a Document Object Model (DOM) parser or a Simple API for XML (SAX) parser. delete The method of claim 1, The search identification tag information includes first tag information for querying physical metadata stored in the relational database, second tag information for querying metadata processed in the relational database, and metadata directly displayed to a report creator. Metadata management method comprising at least one of the third tag information for querying. The method of claim 4, wherein Physical metadata stored in the relational database, And at least one of an entity name, an attribute name, a table name, a column name, and inter-table join information. The method of claim 4, wherein Metadata processed in the relational database, Metadata connection method comprising physical metadata stored in the relational database and metadata processed in the relational database. The method of claim 4, wherein Metadata that is directly expressed to the report creator, And at least one of dimension information, measurement information, and filter information. In the method for querying XML-based metadata composed of a relational database, Providing a user interface including search identification tag information; Receiving one of the search identification tag information included in the provided user interface; Reading metadata corresponding to the selected search identification tag information and frame information corresponding to the selected search identification tag information; And And constructing and outputting an inquiry screen for metadata inquiry by using the read metadata and frame information. In a system for managing metadata by configuring XML-based metadata as a relational database, A table generator for parsing an XML document and converting the document into a table; A tag information generation unit attaching an attribute to the table and adding search identification tag information to the attribute; A mapping unit for mapping a relationship between tables to which the search identification tag information is added; A relational database for storing relationships between the mapped tables; And And a view generation unit for generating an inquiry screen for inquiring metadata stored in the relational database. The method of claim 9, The table generator, And a parser for parsing the XML document. delete The method of claim 9, The mapping unit, And mapping the table according to search identification information tag information added to the table. The method of claim 9, The view generator, And generating frame information for querying metadata stored in a relational database using the search identification tag information.

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