Method and system for creating reusable software components through a uniform interface

Abstract

A method for designing software components for integration into any system without additional coding is provided. The method includes adopting a uniform application programming interface that breaks down external objects to include the characteristics of object, attribute, and method. Ideally, the characteristics include create object, delete object, read attributes, write attributes, and invoke behavior. A software tool is provided for communication between an API and a data source, the tool including a join engine adapted to provide communication between at least one view and at least one base source associated with the data source, the join engine further adapted to update the at least one base source in response to updates to the view. Ideally, the tool is further configured to support on the at least one base source operations of create object and delete object on the at least one view. The software tool is also configured to map events in the at least one base source to the at least one view, and can be configured to create virtual attributes based on the view through operations or expressions performed on the view, including, but not limited to algebraic expressions, names, strings, and functions.

Description

[0001] The present invention relates to software development and, in particular, to computer software that provides tools to create reusable software components using a uniform interface.DESCRIPTION OF THE RELATED ART[0002] Interfaces are tools that allow objects of arbitrary classes to be joined into compound documents. With respect to the management of databases, such joins take place to facilitate the manipulation of data from multiple tables or databases in a new view that is a virtual representation of the "physical" base table. Updating the data in the base table through the new view is problematic because of the presence of redundant data and the difficulty of consistently updating this data.[0003] On a larger scale, designing and implementing software solutions through a single integrated solution requires functional cooperation among a collection of disparate components. Oftentimes, these components are designed with abstractions that are application specific, and adaptatio...

AI Technical Summary

Problems solved by technology

Updating the data in the base table through the new view is problematic because of the presence of redundant data and the difficulty of consistently updating this data.

Thus, substantial time and costs are involved in modifying the components to achieve the functionality required by the system.

The conventional wisdom is that Joins will severely degrade the performance of a relational database especially as the number of tables involved in the Join increases beyond 5 or more.

The problem with this approach is that we then discard one of the major advantages of a relational database:

The de-normalized tables will have redundant data, along with the associated problems of consistently updating this data.

This second set of de-normalized tables will have more redundant data, along with the associated problems of consistently updating this data.

This provides an excessive load on the Data Source server and the network if the response times are to be kept small.

If two joins share the same name then the cache will not be used effectively.

As a result, the component doesn't adapt to the object's implementation, the objects adapt to the component's implementation.

It is also very difficult to do unless tools can be used to assist with the adaptation.

This means there can not be any extensions to the interface based on the object being abstracted.

The relational object model is not required and in fact would be overkill in a simple system, however, if implemented it ensures the ability for the system to grow as large as necessary and reduces the complexity that would otherwise be introduced as components from different domains are integrated together.

These are two views of two objects that have a relationship due to a sale, but without good data modeling these relationships would be difficult to manage.

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