Simplified entity relationship model to access structure data
AssigneeInternational Business Machines Corporation
InventorsAMIT BEHAL, YING CHEN, BIN HE
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Abstract
A method, system and program product for modeling data as an undirected graph is disclosed. A set of entities and a set of attributes are defined. A set of relationships is defined to represent semantic associations with each association connecting at least two entities. Attributes are associated with entities rather than with relationships. A hierarchical query language with a set of atomic operations on modeled data is employed. The modeled data is displayed on a display unit.
Claims18
A method comprising:
- modeling data by representing semantic associations using predefined sets of entities, attributes and relationships, with each association connecting at least two entities, by processing the modeling of data into first modeled data using a computer with a computer processor;
- associating the predefined attributes with the predefined entities and not with the predefined relationships;
- employing a hierarchical query language with a set of atomic operations on the first modeled data, in which the atomic operations include at least one of the following:
- projection, selection, union, difference, distinction, aggregation, functional mergence, and relationship creation, and wherein the language supports at least one of closed query operations and cross-concept queries;
- and
- outputting the first modeled data in a visual form, including at least one of displaying the first modeled data on a display unit and printing out the first modeled data on a printer.
A system comprising:
- a computer including a computer processor for modeling data;
- a computer user interface for a user inputting a set of entities, inputting a set of attributes, and inputting a set of relationships to represent semantic associations, with each association connecting at least two entities;
- a data modeling engine for creating first modeled data using role names to represent different functions of entity sets in at least one relationship in the set of relationships, the data modeling engine employing a hierarchical query language with a set of atomic operations on the first modeled data, wherein the language supports at least one of closed query operations and cross-concept queries in which the atomic operations include at least one of the following:
- projection, selection, union, difference, distinction, aggregation, functional mergence, and relationship creation, wherein the aggregation is scalar aggregation;
- and
- a computer display for displaying the first modeled data on a display unit.
A computer program product for modeling data, the computer program product comprising a computer readable storage medium having computer readable program code embodied therewith, the computer readable program code comprising:
- computer readable program code configured to create first modeled data by representing semantic associations using predefined entities, attributes, and relationships, with each of the associations connecting at least two entities;
- computer readable program code configured to create a partial relationship for one of the relationships with more than three entity sets;
- computer readable program code configured to employ a hierarchical query language with a set of atomic operations on the modeled data, in which the atomic operations include at least one of the following:
- projection, selection, union, difference, distinction, aggregation, functional mergence, and relationship creation, and wherein the language supports at least one of closed query operations and cross-concept queries;
- computer readable program code configured such that each of the atomic operations use a hierarchical path expression as an input parameter;
- computer readable program code such that the hierarchical path expression expresses a set of the predefined entities and their associations as a dynamic tree structure;
- and
- computer readable program code configured to output data in a visual form including displaying the first modeled data on a display unit.
Dependencies are inferred from the claim text.