Query Translator for Fourth-Generation Language Compatibility
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Solution Overview
Problem
Existing database query systems face inefficiencies when interacting with non-native database systems, as they often return excessive data due to unsupported syntax, leading to increased processing costs and expenses, and current solutions are limited to specific standards or database systems, failing to provide a general solution across multiple platforms.
Innovation Solution
A system and method that analyzes and transforms queries initiated in a first fourth-generation language (4GL) to be compatible with a non-native database system by identifying and converting non-standard syntax into semantically equivalent expressions, allowing the query to be processed by the target database system, thereby reducing local processing requirements.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Productivity
If queries are issued with non-standard syntax to a non-native database system, then the query can be executed, but excessive data is returned leading to increased processing costs
Solution Approach 1:
The system performs preliminary analysis and transformation of the query syntax before execution. The query translator converts non-standard syntax into optimized standard SQL queries that include appropriate filtering conditions, so that the database system executes only the necessary data retrieval operations, preventing excessive data from being returned in the first place
Solution Approach 2:
The query translator acts as an intermediary between the client application and the database system. It translates high-level 4GL queries into optimized SQL queries that are compatible with the target database system, ensuring that the queries are executed efficiently and return only the necessary data without requiring additional client-side processing
2Productivity
If proprietary client applications use database-specific syntax, then queries can be optimized for specific databases, but the solution does not provide general compatibility across multiple platforms
Solution Approach 1:
The query translator provides universal functionality by supporting multiple fourth-generation languages (such as SAS, SPSS, R) and translating them into standard SQL that is compatible with various database systems. This multi-functional approach allows the same translation mechanism to work across different platforms and database types, providing both compatibility and optimized performance
3Ease of manufacture
If queries are transformed through format-based methods, then transformation is straightforward, but the solution is limited to specific syntax patterns and does not provide a general algorithmic solution
Solution Approach 1:
The query translator employs dynamic syntax analysis that adapts to different query patterns and languages. Rather than relying on fixed format substitutions, the system analyzes the semantic structure of queries and applies appropriate transformation rules based on the specific syntax encountered, enabling it to handle a wide variety of syntax patterns across different fourth-generation languages
Data Source
AI summary
A computer-implemented method and system allows generating a query and a first fourth generation language at a native system to a non-native database which is capable of processing queries in a second fourth generation language. A query initiated by a client applicant in a first fourth generation language is analyzed to determine if it can be processed by a non-native system capable of processing queries in a second fourth generation language. Non-standard syntax representative of a function and the query that cannot be evaluated by the non-native database system is identified. If the syntax is discovered, the query is transformed through the use of formats or through an algorithm process into an equivalent query expression that can be processed by the database system.