Patent ID: 7231396
Filing Date: 2007-06-12
Classification: G06F,Y10S

Abstract:
1. An abstraction layer embodied on a computer-readable storage media for a database containing database records each including a plurality of fields stored in one or more tables, the fields being associated with each associated record by a key disposed in at least one key column of each of the one or more tables, the abstraction layer comprising: a key column identifier table that identifies the at least one key column; and one or more metadata tables containing metadata relating to the database, the one or more metadata tables including at least: a controls table containing control records corresponding to fields of the database, the control record for each field including at least a control key associating the control record with the field and at least one metadatum corresponding to the field, wherein functionality of the database can be selectively extended by modification of the controls table; wherein the abstraction layer is separate from the database, and the abstraction layer provides an interface to the database independent of an underlying model and functionality of the database thereby providing extensible functionality for the database separate from the underlying model and functionality of the database.