Negative Buffering for Hierarchical Database Query Efficiency
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Solution Overview
Problem
Existing database technologies face inefficiencies in handling hierarchical data structures, leading to excessive database accesses due to the lack of effective negative buffering techniques, especially in scenarios with low data relevance and high potential request variability.
Innovation Solution
A method utilizing a combination of negative and positive buffering techniques to reduce database accesses by traversing hierarchical structures, where the negative buffer indicates non-existent data sets and the positive buffer stores retrieved data sets, allowing for the elimination of unnecessary traversing steps and database queries.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Productivity
If conventional buffering techniques are used to store retrieved data, then data access efficiency is improved for repeated requests, but database accesses still occur for non-existent data items
Solution Approach 1:
The invention segments the buffering mechanism into two distinct components: a positive buffer for storing existing data and a negative buffer for storing non-existent data information. This segmentation allows the system to handle both types of data access patterns efficiently, preventing unnecessary database queries for non-existent items while maintaining fast access for existing data.
Solution Approach 2:
The negative buffer acts as an intermediary layer between the application and the database, providing information about non-existent data items before actual database queries are executed. This intermediary prevents wasted database accesses by filtering out requests for known non-existent items.
2Loss of time
If negative buffering is applied to hierarchical data structures, then unnecessary database accesses are reduced, but the complexity of managing hierarchical relationships increases
Solution Approach 1:
The invention extends the traditional flat negative buffer concept into the hierarchical dimension by organizing negative buffer entries according to the hierarchical structure of the data. Each level of the hierarchy maintains its own negative buffer information, allowing efficient pruning of entire subtrees when parent nodes are known to be non-existent.
Solution Approach 2:
The system performs preliminary actions by pre-populating the negative buffer with information about non-existent data items and their hierarchical relationships before actual data access occurs. This preliminary organization enables rapid determination of whether database queries are necessary.
3Measurement precision
If the negative buffer stores detailed information about non-existent data, then search accuracy is improved, but the memory requirements increase
Solution Approach 1:
The invention extracts only the essential information needed for negative buffering - specifically, the identifiers of non-existent data items and their hierarchical relationships - while discarding redundant details. This extraction maintains search accuracy by preserving the key information needed to prevent unnecessary queries while minimizing memory consumption.
Data Source
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Figure 3A~3B
AI summary
A technique for processing database requests for hierarchically structured data is described. A database request processing module 106 comprises a database querying component 116 adapted to send search queries to a database 112 with a plurality of data sets, wherein the data sets comprise data items of one or more data categories and wherein the data items of at least one data category are interrelated in a hierarchical structure in accordance with parent/child relationships. The module 106 further comprises a negative buffer 118 referencing data sets not included in the database 112 as well as an interface 114 adapted to receive a database request. The database request comprises at least one search parameter specifying a data item belonging to the hierarchical structure and is directed at retrieving the most specific data set from the database 112 relative to the specified data item. A processor 122 of the module 106 is adapted to consult the negative buffer whether the database requests can be answered based on the content of the negative buffer. It is further adapted to determine for the remaining database requests the most specific data set by traversing the hierarchical structure starting with the specified data item. The traversing steps performed by the processor 122 comprise consulting the negative buffer 118 to eliminate unnecessary traversing steps and associated database accesses.