Modification of a saved database query based on a change in the meaning of a query value over time

a database and value technology, applied in the field of modification of saved queries, can solve the problems of inconvenient generation and storage of queries for future use, affecting the usefulness of future use, and the value used in stored queries may become outdated

US20080301110A1Inactive Publication Date: 2008-12-04IBM CORP
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Patent Information

Authority / Receiving Office
US · United States
Patent Type
Applications(United States)
Current Assignee / Owner
Publication Date
2008-12-04
Estimated Expiration
Not applicable · inactive patent

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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.
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Description

CROSS-REFERENCE TO PARENT APPLICATION

[0001] This patent application is a continuation of U.S. Ser. No. 11 / 366,882 filed on Mar. 2, 2006, which is incorporated herein by reference.BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION

[0002] 1. Technical Field

[0003] This invention generally relates to computer database systems, and more specifically relates to modification of a saved query based on a change in the meaning of a query value that changes with the passage of time.

[0004] 2. Background Art

[0005] 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...

Examples

Embodiment Construction

1.0 Overview

[0023]The present invention relates to database queries. For those not familiar with databases or queries, this Overview section will provide background information that will help to understand the present invention.

[0024]Known Databases and Database Queries

[0025]There are many different types of databases known in the art. The most common is known as a relational database (RDB), which organizes data in tables that have rows that represent individual entries or records in the database, and columns that define what is stored in each entry or record.

[0026]To be useful, the data stored in databases must be able to be efficiently retrieved. The most common way to retrieve data from a database is to generate a database query. A database query is an expression that is evaluated by a database manager. The expression may contain one or more predicate expressions that are used to retrieve data from a database. For example, let's assume there is a database for a company that inclu...