Versioned Data Collection Conversion via Protocol Metadata
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Solution Overview
Problem
In computing scenarios, data collections with evolving structures pose challenges for communication between components running different versions of an application, leading to misinterpretation and operational issues due to differing structural definitions.
Innovation Solution
Implementing a versioning technique where versioning information is shared among components, allowing for downconversion or upconversion of data collection instances to match the preferred structural version, thereby ensuring accurate representation and efficient communication.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Reliability
If structural metadata is included in data collections to identify element structure, then communication accuracy between components is improved, but data collection size increases and computing performance decreases
Solution Approach 1:
The patent extracts structural metadata from the data collection itself and places it in the communication protocol layer. Version identifiers and structural definitions are communicated separately through the protocol rather than being embedded within each data collection instance, reducing the size of individual data collections while maintaining communication accuracy.
Solution Approach 2:
The communication protocol acts as an intermediary that carries structural metadata between components. Instead of embedding metadata in each data collection, the protocol mediates the exchange by transmitting version identifiers and structural information separately, allowing components to interpret data collections correctly without increasing their size.
2Adaptability or versatility
If versioning information is communicated through metadata embedding, then compatibility between different application versions is improved, but communication efficiency and performance are reduced
Solution Approach 1:
The patent segments versioning information and structural metadata into separate communication protocol messages rather than embedding them within data collections. This segmentation allows version identifiers to be communicated efficiently at the protocol level while keeping data collections compact and fast to process.
Solution Approach 2:
The communication protocol establishes version information and structural definitions preliminarily before data collection exchange. Components communicate their supported versions and structural expectations through the protocol in advance, enabling efficient processing of subsequent data collections without repeated metadata embedding.
3Adaptability or versatility
If structural definitions are altered in newer application versions, then functionality and adaptability are improved, but compatibility with older versions deteriorates
Solution Approach 1:
The patent implements dynamic versioning where components can adapt to different structural definitions based on communicated version identifiers. The communication protocol enables components to dynamically adjust their interpretation of data collections based on the version information exchanged, allowing structural evolution while maintaining compatibility through version-aware processing.
Solution Approach 2:
The patent uses parameter changes in the communication protocol to convey version information and structural definitions. By changing protocol parameters to include version identifiers and structural metadata, the system enables components to adapt to different data collection structures while maintaining compatibility through version-aware interpretation.
Data Source
AI summary
Various computing components (such as devices, operating environments, and processes) may communicate by exchanging instances of a data collection, such as a class or data structure. However, the definition of the data collection may evolve to specify different numbers, types, properties, and orderings of the items in the data collection, and it may be difficult to verify the structure and contents of an instance received from another component and possibly of a different version. This difficulty may be mitigated by exchanging versioning information about the instance (e.g., as part of the communications wire protocol) and by allocating the converting such that the sender may downconvert to earlier versions requested by a recipient, while the recipient may upconvert to later versions than a version provided by a sender. These techniques may promote the accuracy and consistency of information exchange among many components that operate on different versions of the data collection.