Automatically generating web forms from database schema

At a computer system including a processor and system memory, a method for generating a Web based user-interface for interacting with a database, the method comprising:

• an act of accessing a schema that defines a plurality tables in the database, the schema also defining relationships between fields in the plurality of tables of the database, definition of field relationships by the schema including defining a foreign key relationship from a first table to a second table of the database indicative of a key field in the first table identifying records in the second table;
• an act of converting the schema, including the foreign key relationship, into source code, the source code including classes and subclasses that represent relationships between the plurality of tables and fields defined in accordance with the schema;
• annotating the source code with a metadata annotation representing the foreign key relationship from the first table to the second table, the metadata annotation indicating the basis for creation of any classes or subclasses based on the foreign key relationship indicative of a key field in the first table identifying records in the second table;
• an act of generating executable code from the source code, including:
• compiling classes and subclasses of the source code into executable code of a dynamic link library, the executable code obscuring any indication of the relationships between the plurality of tables and fields in the database in the source code;
• and
• retaining the metadata annotations from the source code in the executable code of the dynamic link library, including a metadata annotation representing the foreign key relationship indicative of a key field in the first table identifying records in the second table;
• an act of identifying the metadata annotations from within the executable code of the dynamic link library, including the metadata annotation representing the foreign key relationship indicative of a key field in the first table identifying records in the second table, for use in creating a database mapping for the database;
• an act of the processor creating a database mapping for the database from the identified metadata annotations the database mapping describing the configuration of the database such that the database mapping is based on the schema and retains an indication of the foreign key relationship indicative of a key field in the first table identifying records in the second table in a format processable by a Web site generator;
• an act of automatically formulating a dynamic query configured to query a database table included in the database, the dynamic query being executable in response to a user initiated command to change the arrangement of records from the database table within a Web based form, the dynamic query configured to request records from the first table that are to be presented in the Web based form in the order they are to be presented such that the entire database table need not be queried, the dynamic query for implementing one of:
• a pagination query, an addition query, a deletion query, and a modification query;
• and
• an act of automatically generating a Web site for the database in accordance with the database mapping, the Web site including a link for executing the automatically formulated dynamic query so as to allow users to query the database to automatically change the arrangement of records from the database presented at the Web site, the Web site including at least one navigable link from the second table back to the first table, the at least one navigable link implementing the inferred relationship from the second table back to the first table based on the metadata annotation representing the foreign key relationship indicative of a key field in the first table identifying records in the second table.

A computer system, the computer system comprising:

• one or more processors;
• system memory;
• one or more computer storage media having stored thereon computer-executable instructions representing in an object relational mapper, a compiler, and a Web site generator, wherein the object relational mapper is configured to:
• access a schema that defines a plurality tables in the database, the schema also defining relationships between fields in the plurality of tables of the database, definition of field relationships by the schema including defining a foreign key relationship from a first table to a second table of the database indicative of a key field in the first table identifying records in the second table;
• convert the schema, including the foreign key relationship, into source code the source code including classes and subclasses that represent relationships between the plurality of tables and fields defined in accordance with the schema;
• and
• annotate the source code with a metadata annotation representing the foreign key relationship from the first table to the second table, the metadata annotation indicating the basis for creation of any classes or subclasses based on the foreign key relationship indicative of a key field in the first table identifying records in the second table;
• wherein the compiler is configured to:
• generate executable code from the source code, including:
• compiling classes and subclasses of the source code into executable code of a dynamic link library, the executable code obscuring any indication of the relationships between the plurality of tables and fields in the database in the source code;
• and
• retaining the metadata annotations from the source code in the executable code of the dynamic link library, including a metadata annotation representing the foreign key relationship indicative of a key field in the first table identifying records in the second table;
• wherein the processor:
• identifies the metadata annotations from within the executable code of the dynamic link library, including the metadata annotation representing the foreign key relationship indicative of a key field in the first table identifying records in the second table, for use in creating a database mapping for the database;
• and
• creates a database mapping for the database from the metadata annotations, the database mapping describing the configuration of the database such that the database mapping is based on the schema and retains an indication of the foreign key relationship indicative of a key field in the first table identifying records in the second table in a format processable by the Web site generator;
• and
• wherein the Web site generator is configured to:
• infer, from the existence of the foreign key relationship from the first table to the second table that a relationship from the second table back to the first table is also relevant to navigating Web based forms that present data from the database, even though a relationship from the second table to the first table is not expressly described in the schema, the inferred relationship for use in generating additional functionality in a Web site for the database permitting traversal of a navigable link from the second table back to the first table;
• and
• generate a Web site for the database in accordance with the database mapping, the Web site including at least one navigable link from the second table back to the first table based on the inferred relationship, the at least one navigable link implementing the inferred relationship from the second table back to the first the Web site configured to provide a plurality of navigable linked Web based forms for interacting with the tables and fields of the database, including a first Web based form for interacting with rows of data from the second table, the first Web based form configured with a navigable link back to a second Web based form that utilizes the inferred relationship to provide a view back to the first table in the context of a row from the second table, wherein selecting the navigable link back to the second Web based form issues a dynamic query back to the database to change the arrangement of records that are displayed at the Web site so as to provide the view back to the first table in the context of a row from the second table, the dynamic query for implementing one of:
• a pagination query, an addition query, a deletion query, and a modification query.