Parent-Child Data Record Linking in Legacy Modernization
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Solution Overview
Problem
Current legacy database modernization methods often result in data loss or destruction due to undetected flaws in modernization software, are time-consuming and costly, and fail to maintain referential integrity between parent and child data records, leading to incomplete and unreliable modern databases.
Innovation Solution
A system and method for linking parent and child data records during migration by sequentially receiving data records, generating a destination store, and correcting dangling keys to ensure referential integrity, allowing for parallel migration of parent and child records with enforced foreign key constraints.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Productivity
If parent and child data records are migrated separately without constraints, then migration speed is improved, but data integrity and referential integrity are lost
Solution Approach 1:
The system performs preliminary actions by maintaining referential integrity constraints during the migration process. Foreign key constraints are enforced on the destination database to ensure that parent-child relationships are preserved. This preliminary establishment of integrity rules prevents data loss while allowing parallel migration of parent and child records.
Solution Approach 2:
The patent introduces an intermediary mechanism in the form of referential integrity constraints that mediate between the source and destination databases. These constraints act as a bridge that maintains the relationship between parent and child records during migration, allowing independent migration while ensuring data integrity through enforced foreign key relationships.
2Reliability
If referential integrity constraints are enforced manually via database language, then data integrity is improved, but migration complexity and time increase
Solution Approach 1:
The system implements self-service by automatically enforcing referential integrity constraints through the database management system's built-in foreign key functionality. Instead of requiring manual intervention or complex custom code, the database itself handles the integrity enforcement, reducing migration complexity while maintaining data integrity.
Solution Approach 2:
The patent leverages the universal foreign key constraint mechanism that can be applied to any parent-child relationship scenario. This multi-functional approach allows the same referential integrity enforcement mechanism to handle various data migration cases without requiring custom solutions for each scenario, thereby reducing overall complexity.
3Reliability
If all parent-child records are migrated together, then data integrity is maintained, but migration time and cost increase significantly
Solution Approach 1:
The system performs preliminary setup of referential integrity constraints before migrating individual parent-child record pairs. This allows the migration process to proceed efficiently by enforcing integrity rules automatically during the transfer, rather than requiring sequential verification of each record relationship, thus reducing overall migration time while maintaining integrity.
Solution Approach 2:
Referential integrity constraints serve as an intermediary mechanism that enables independent migration of parent and child records while automatically ensuring their relationships are maintained. This mediator allows parallel processing of records without sacrificing data integrity, significantly reducing migration time compared to sequential processing.
4Productivity
If modernization is attempted all at once, then complete modernization is achieved, but undetected software flaws can cause substantial data loss
Solution Approach 1:
The patent applies segmentation by allowing modernization to proceed through independent migration of parent and child data records rather than requiring a single all-or-nothing operation. This segmentation enables the system to process and validate records in manageable units, reducing the risk of catastrophic data loss from software flaws while still achieving complete modernization over time.
Solution Approach 2:
The system implements beforehand cushioning by maintaining referential integrity constraints during the migration process. These constraints act as a protective mechanism that prevents data loss even if software flaws are present, as the constraints ensure that parent-child relationships are preserved. This cushioning allows the system to attempt complete modernization with reduced risk of substantial data loss.
Data Source
AI summary
A system and method for linking parent and child data records during data migration is disclosed. One embodiment comprises sequentially receiving a plurality of data records from an arbitrary source of records without running a query on the source of records, generating a destination store of records that contains the plurality of data records, and locating any records in the destination store of records that has a dangling key. In this way, the embodiment may correct dangling keys to generate a destination store of records with referential integrity.