Service Schema Cross-Referencing via Unidirectional References
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Solution Overview
Problem
Managing and coordinating updates to bi-directional relationships between network-based services is complex and difficult, especially as services expand, requiring two service calls and complex transactional behavior to maintain integrity, which can lead to consistency issues.
Innovation Solution
Network-based services publish a schema with resource and reference properties that allow for partitioning of data, enabling independent updates without bi-directional dependencies, using reference properties to access resources from related services through queries, thus simplifying the process and avoiding complex transaction logic.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Reliability
If bi-directional relationships are used to maintain integrity between services, then data consistency is improved, but system complexity increases due to requiring two service calls and complex transactional behavior
Solution Approach 1:
The patent segments the bi-directional relationship management into unidirectional references. Instead of maintaining full bi-directional links between services, each service independently defines references to resources in other services. This segmentation eliminates the need for coordinated updates and complex transaction management while maintaining data integrity through the reference structure.
Solution Approach 2:
The patent extracts the complexity of bi-directional relationship management by removing the requirement for automatic bidirectional updates. Services only need to define their outgoing references, and the system handles the reference resolution without requiring the target service to be updated in response. This extraction eliminates the need for complex transactional behavior and retry logic.
2Reliability
If bi-directional relationships are maintained between services, then data integrity is improved, but ease of operation deteriorates due to difficult coordination of updates
Solution Approach 1:
Instead of having services automatically update their partners to maintain bi-directional integrity, the patent inverts the approach by having services independently define unidirectional references. The integrity is maintained through the reference structure itself rather than through active coordination, making updates trivial and eliminating the operational difficulty of managing bidirectional relationships.
3Adaptability or versatility
If services expand in size, then functionality is improved, but difficulty of maintaining integrity between related services increases
Solution Approach 1:
The patent creates a universal reference mechanism that works across services of any size or complexity. The reference property structure is general-purpose and can represent any type of relationship between services without requiring service-specific coordination logic. This universal approach allows services to expand freely while maintaining integrity through the consistent reference mechanism.
Data Source
AI summary
A system can include a schema for cross referencing independent yet related services. The schema can utilize reference properties and resource properties to partition data is separate services and allow for services to be added or removed without affecting the integrity of existing services. Embodiments described herein also avoid the need for complex transaction logic to maintain consistency between services. In some embodiments, the services can also utilize different database management systems.