Configurable Revision Tracking for Data Sets
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Solution Overview
Problem
Conventional computing environments fail to accurately identify meaningful revision events in data sets, often providing users with irrelevant revision dates that do not reflect significant changes from their perspective, and lack the ability to interpret data formats, leading to improper identification of revisions.
Innovation Solution
A method and system that monitor data sets to determine revision events based on configurable requirements, updating a revision value to indicate when a meaningful change has occurred, and provide a graphical representation of revisions, allowing users to track and visualize changes effectively.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Ease of operation
If conventional computing environments use standard revision dating techniques (file save/open/print timestamps), then the revision date artifact can be automatically provided without requiring data interpretation, but the revision date does not reflect meaningful changes from the user's perspective
Solution Approach 1:
The patent introduces a configurable requirement as an intermediary mechanism between the raw data change detection and the revision date assignment. This configurable requirement acts as a filter that translates low-level data changes into meaningful revision events, allowing the system to automatically provide revision dates while ensuring they reflect user-defined meaningful changes rather than mere file operation timestamps
Solution Approach 2:
The system changes the parameter used for revision detection from standard file operation timestamps to configurable requirements that define meaningful changes. By allowing users to configure what constitutes a meaningful change (e.g., specific data field modifications, structural changes), the system transforms the revision detection mechanism to align with user perspectives while maintaining automatic operation
2Extent of automation
If RCS environments track revisions by checking data sets into the repository, then revision tracking mechanism is established, but the system lacks knowledge about data formats and cannot properly identify revisions
Solution Approach 1:
The patent applies preliminary action by establishing configurable requirements before revision tracking begins. These configurable requirements define the criteria for meaningful changes in advance, allowing the system to automatically and accurately identify revisions when they occur, eliminating the need for complex real-time data format interpretation during the tracking process
Solution Approach 2:
The system implements feedback by continuously monitoring data sets against the configurable requirements and updating revision dates when meaningful changes are detected. This feedback mechanism allows the system to learn and adapt to data format characteristics over time, improving revision identification accuracy without requiring explicit programming of each data format
3Productivity
If the system monitors data sets continuously to detect all changes, then revision events can be captured, but the system cannot distinguish between meaningful changes and trivial modifications
Solution Approach 1:
The patent extracts the essence of meaningful changes by using configurable requirements as filters. Instead of analyzing every data modification in detail, the system extracts only those changes that satisfy the pre-defined configurable requirements, efficiently distinguishing meaningful revisions from trivial modifications while maintaining high productivity in change detection
Data Source
AI summary
Exemplary embodiments update a revision value related to a data set that includes data. The revision value indicates whether a revision event has occurred with respect to the data set. Exemplary embodiments identify whether a change associated with the data qualifies as a revision event in the data set. The identification is based on a configurable requirement. The revision value is specified based on the identification to provide a user with an indication of whether the revision event has occurred.