B-tree based storage engine for storing hierarchical structures

A system comprising:

• one or more processors;
• and
• a non-transitory computer-readable medium storing instructions that when executed by the one or more processors, cause the one or more processors to perform operations including:
• receiving a query to access a data item from a non-relational database, wherein the non-relational database stores a plurality of unstructured-data records across one or more storage systems;
• executing the query to traverse a root node of a hierarchy-enhanced B-tree index to a particular leaf node of a set of leaf nodes connected to the root node, wherein the particular leaf node indicates a first unstructured-data record;
• determining that the particular leaf node includes a sequential data structure, wherein the sequential data structure identifies a hierarchical relationship between the first unstructured-data record and other unstructured-data records indicated by one or more other leaf nodes, and wherein the sequential data structure includes:
• a first set of pointers that originate from the first unstructured-data record and sequentially traverse through each of the other unstructured-data records;
• and
• a second set of pointers, wherein each of the second set of pointers originate from a corresponding unstructured-data record of the other unstructured-data records and point directly towards the first unstructured-data record;
• using at least one of the first and second sets of pointers of the sequential data structure to access the one or more other leaf nodes without additional path traversals of the hierarchy-enhanced B-tree index, wherein using the sequential data structure without the additional path traversals of the hierarchy-enhanced B-tree index increases efficiency of database-management systems in accessing the first unstructured-data record and other unstructured-data records having the hierarchical relationship;
• retrieving the data item by parsing the other unstructured-data records;
• and
• generating a response to the query that includes the data item.

A non-transitory computer-readable medium storing instructions that when executed by one or more processors, cause the one or more processors to perform operations including:

• receiving a query to access a data item from a non-relational database, wherein the non-relational database stores a plurality of unstructured-data records across one or more storage systems;
• executing the query to traverse a root node of a hierarchy-enhanced B-tree index to a particular leaf node of a set of leaf nodes connected to the root node, wherein the particular leaf node indicates a first unstructured-data record;
• determining that the particular leaf node includes a sequential data structure, wherein the sequential data structure identifies a hierarchical relationship between the first unstructured-data record and other unstructured-data records indicated by one or more other leaf nodes, and wherein the sequential data structure includes:
• a first set of pointers that originate from the first unstructured-data record and point towards each of the other unstructured-data records;
• and
• a second set of pointers, wherein each of the second set of pointers originate from a corresponding unstructured-data record of the other unstructured-data records and point directly towards the first unstructured-data record;
• using at least one of the second set of pointers of the sequential data structure to access the one or more other leaf nodes without additional path traversals of the hierarchy-enhanced B-tree index, wherein using the sequential data structure without the additional path traversals of the hierarchy-enhanced B-tree index increases efficiency of database-management systems in accessing the first unstructured-data record and other unstructured-data records having the hierarchical relationship;
• retrieving the data item by parsing the other unstructured-data records;
• and
• generating a response to the query that includes the data item.