Apparatus and method for modification of a saved database query based on a change in the meaning of a query value over time

Abstract

An apparatus and method modify a saved query based on a change in a query value meaning that changes over time. In preferred embodiments a graphical query interface displays an option to adjust query values of a saved database query. A query adjustment mechanism then adjusts the value of the query to compensate for the change in the meaning of the query value since the query was created such that the adjusted query will have the same basic meaning as when the query was originally created. Preferred Embodiments allow the user to specify to adjust the query to the current date or to a specified date in the past.

Description

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION [0001] 1. Technical Field [0002] This invention generally relates to computer database systems, and more specifically relates to apparatus and methods for modification of a saved query based on a change in the meaning of a query value that changes with the passage of time. [0003] 2. Background Art [0004] Database systems have been developed that allow a computer to store a large amount of information in a way that allows a user to search for and retrieve specific information in the database. For example, an insurance company may have a database that includes all of its policy holders and their current account information, including payment history, premium amount, policy number, policy type, exclusions to coverage, etc. A database system allows the insurance company to retrieve the account information for a single policy holder among the thousands and perhaps millions of policy holders in its database. [0005] Retrieval of information from a database is ty...

AI Technical Summary

Benefits of technology

[0008] According to the preferred embodiments, an apparatus and method modify a saved query based on a change in the meaning of a query value that changes over time. In preferred embodiments a graphical query interface displays an option to adjust query values of a saved database query. A query adjustment mechanism then adjusts the value of the query to compensate for the change in the query value since the query was created such that the adjusted query will have the same basic meaning as when the query was originally created. Preferred embodiments allow the user to specify to adjust the query to the current date or to a specified date in the past.

Problems solved by technology

A problem with using queries to retrieve information from a database is that it typically requires specialized knowledge of a query language, such as Structured Query Language (SQL), as well as detailed knowledge of the database and its relationships.

However, after the passage of time, some of the values used in the stored query may become outdated.

Without a way to modify the saved query that has time sensitive query values where the meaning of the query values change over time, the computer database industry will continue to suffer from the generation and storing of queries for future use that do not remain useful as the meaning of the values change over time.

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