Abstract:
An approach to managing a relational database. The relational database comprises a first table defining a primary key, and at least one other table with a foreign key constraint referencing the primary key. The data of the first table and at least one other table is divided into a plurality of partitions, each containing data associated with a subset of primary key values. Receiving a partition management policy, defining one or more conditions for the first table and at least one other table and an operation performed on the partitions of the first table and at least one other table. Determining if the first table and at least one other table satisfy the one or more conditions of the partition management policy, if not, performing the operation.

Description:
BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 
       [0001]    The present invention relates generally to the management of relational databases and more specifically to policy based automatic schema management for relational models. 
         [0002]    Table partitioning is a well-known technique for space and data management of relational databases, in particular where a table of a relational database contains data that changes in operational importance over time. The table stores time-dependent data, for example data about financial transactions, each of which will have an associated date and time on which the transaction occurred. It may be deemed that only the last  5  months data is required, and that any older data can be discarded or archived. 
         [0003]    In this way, the space required for the data of the table is managed. As an entire partition can be removed at once, this can be done much more efficiently than would be possible by deleting records individually. 
         [0004]    However, space management can only be defined for any particular table in isolation. In addition, partition management policies cannot be used for tables that have primary key constraints that are referenced by other tables. This is because discarding a partition could lead to primary keys being discarded that are referenced by data in the other tables, leaving the other tables with dangling rows (i.e. rows that reference a primary key that no longer exists in the referenced table), causing foreign key constraint violations. 
       SUMMARY 
       [0005]    According to an embodiment of the present invention, a computer-implemented method for managing a relational database, the relational database comprising: a first table on which is defined a primary key, wherein data associated with the first table is divided into a first plurality of partitions; at least one other table with a foreign key constraint that references the primary key of the first table, wherein data associated with the at least one other table is divided into a second plurality of partitions; wherein each of the first plurality of partitions and each of the second plurality of partitions comprises data associated with a subset of values of the primary key; and the method comprising: receiving a partition management policy, the partition management policy defining one or more conditions for the first table and the at least one other table and an operation to be performed upon the each of the first plurality of partitions and each of the second plurality of partitions; determining if the first table and the at least one other table satisfy the one or more conditions of the partition management policy; and responsive to determining the one or more conditions of the partition management policy are not satisfied, performing the operation upon each of the first plurality of partitions and each of the second plurality of partitions. 
         [0006]    According to another embodiment of the present invention, a computer system for managing a relational database, the computer system comprising: one or more computer processors; one or more non-transitory computer readable storage media; a relational database comprising: a first table on which is defined a primary key, wherein data associated with the first table is divided into a first plurality of partitions; and at least one other table with a foreign key constraint that references the primary key of the first table, wherein data associated with the at least one other table is divided into a second plurality of partitions; wherein each of the first plurality of partitions and each of the second plurality of partitions comprises data associated with a subset of values of the primary key; program instructions stored on the one or more computer readable storage media for execution by at least one of the one or more computer processors, the program instructions comprising: program instructions to receive a partition management policy, the partition management policy defining one or more conditions for the first table and the at least one other table and an operation to be performed upon each of the first plurality of partitions and each of the second plurality of partitions; program instructions to determine if the first table and the at least one other table satisfy the one or more conditions of the partition management policy; and responsive to determining the one or more conditions of the partition management policy are not satisfied, program instructions to perform the operation upon each of the first plurality of partitions and each of the second plurality of partitions. 
         [0007]    According to another embodiment of the present invention, a computer program product for managing a relational database, the computer program product comprising: one or more computer readable storage media and program instructions stored on the one or more computer readable storage media, the program instructions comprising: program instructions to receive a partition management policy, the partition management policy defining one or more conditions for a first table and at least one other table associated with the relational database, and an operation to be performed upon each of a first plurality of partitions and each of a second plurality of partitions; wherein the first table, on which is defined a primary key, has associated data divided into the first plurality of partitions and the at least one other table has a foreign key constraint that references the primary key, and associated data divided into the second plurality of partitions, and each of the first plurality of partitions and each of the second plurality of partitions comprises data associated with a subset of values of the primary key; program instructions to determine if the first table and the at least one other table satisfy the one or more conditions of the partition management policy; and responsive to determining the one or more conditions of the partition management policy are not satisfied, program instructions to perform the operation upon each of the first plurality of partitions and each of the second plurality of partitions. 
     
    
     
       BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS 
         [0008]      FIG. 1  is a schematic diagram of a computer system comprising a relational database management system, in accordance with an embodiment of the present invention; 
           [0009]      FIG. 2  is a schematic diagram of a database of the relational database management system of  FIG. 1 , in accordance with an embodiment of the present invention; 
           [0010]      FIG. 3  is a flowchart showing the operation of a partition management system of the relational database management system of  FIG. 2  when creating a cluster of database tables, in accordance with an embodiment of the present invention; 
           [0011]      FIG. 4  is a flowchart showing the operation of the partition management system of the relational database management system when managing a cluster of database tables, in accordance with an embodiment of the present invention; and 
           [0012]      FIG. 5  is a block diagram of components of a server computer suitable for executing a relational database management system and a data store suitable for a relational database, in accordance with an embodiment of the present invention. 
       
    
    
     DETAILED DESCRIPTION 
       [0013]    In describing embodiments in detail with reference to the figures, it should be noted that references in the specification to “an embodiment,” “other embodiments,” etc., indicate that the embodiment described may include a particular feature, structure, or characteristic, but every embodiment may not necessarily include the particular feature, structure, or characteristic. Moreover, such phrases are not necessarily referring to the same embodiment. Further, describing a particular feature, structure or characteristic in connection with an embodiment, one skilled in the art has the knowledge to affect such feature, structure or characteristic in connection with other embodiments whether or not explicitly described. 
         [0014]    A computer system  100  in accordance with an embodiment of the present invention is shown in  FIG. 1 . The computer system  100  comprises a server computer  102 , which is in communication with a data store  104  on which is stored data for one or more relational databases  110  via network  112 . The server computer  102  has running upon it a relational database management system (RDBMS)  106  that manages the relational databases  110  on the data store  104 , and which comprises a partition management system  108  which operates as described in more detail below. 
         [0015]    Data store  104  can be any type of computer system, e.g., client computer, server computer, workstation, etc., suitable for operation in a relational database environment and capable of communicating with a server computer  102  via network  112 . Data store  104  comprises one or more relational databases  110  configured for use in a policy based automatic schema management for relational models system. Data store  104  can include internal and external hardware components, as depicted and described in further detail with respect to  FIG. 4 . 
         [0016]    Network  112  can be, for example, a local area network (LAN), a wide area network (WAN) such as the Internet, or a combination of the two, and can include wired, wireless, or fiber optic connections. In general, network  112  can be any combination of connections and protocols that will support communications between data store  104  and server computer  102 . 
         [0017]    Server computer  102  can be a standalone computing device, management server, a web server, a mobile computing device, or any other electronic device or computing system capable of receiving, sending, and processing data. In other embodiments, server computer  102  can represent a server computing system utilizing multiple computers as a server system. In another embodiment, server computing device can be a laptop computer, a tablet computer, a netbook computer, a personal computer, a desktop computer, or any programmable electronic device capable of communicating with other computing devices (not shown) within computer system  100  environment via network  104 . In another embodiment, server computing device  102  represents a computing system utilizing clustered computers and components (e.g., database server computers, application server computers, etc.) that act as a single pool of seamless resources when accessed within computer system  100  environment. Server computer  102  can include internal and external hardware components, as depicted and described in further detail with respect to  FIG. 4 . 
         [0018]    Turning to  FIG. 2 , a relational database  110  managed by the relational database management system  106  comprises partitioned tables p  202  and c  204 , respectively defined as follows: 
         [0000]    
       
         
               
               
             
           
               
                   
                   
               
             
             
               
                   
                 CREATE TABLE p(c1 int PRIMARY KEY, c2 char(20)) 
               
               
                   
                    FRAGMENT BY RANGE (c1) 
               
               
                   
                    INTERVAL (100) 
               
               
                   
                    STORE IN (p_dbs1, p_dbs2) 
               
               
                   
                    PARTITION p_1 VALUES &lt; 100 IN p_dbs1; 
               
               
                   
                 CREATE TABLE c(c1 int REFERENCES p, c2(char(20)) 
               
               
                   
                    FRAGMENT BY RANGE (c1) 
               
               
                   
                    INTERVAL (100) 
               
               
                   
                    STORE IN (c_dbs1, c_dbs2, c_dbs3) 
               
               
                   
                    PARTITION c_1 VALUES &lt; 100 IN c_dbs1; 
               
               
                   
                   
               
             
          
         
       
     
         [0019]    Accordingly, table p  202  contains a primary key c 1 , which is referenced by table c  204  and each of the tables  202 ,  204  are partitioned using primary key c 1 . 
         [0020]    In accordance with an embodiment of the present invention, the two tables  202 ,  204  could be declared to be a “cluster” p_cluster, using a statement such as: 
         [0021]    CREATE CLUSTER p_cluster ON p; 
         [0022]    In response to such a cluster declaration, partition management system  108  of relational database management system  106  operates as shown in the flowchart of  FIG. 3 . First, at step  302  of an embodiment, partition management system  108  finds all tables of database  110  that reference table p  202 , i.e. in the example of  FIG. 2  this is (only) table c  204 . Next, at step  304  of an embodiment, partition management system  108  checks that, table c  204  has the same partitioning strategy as table p  202 . In particular, the partition management system  108  checks that table p  202  is partitioned using its primary key and that table c  204  is partitioned using the foreign key referencing that primary key, that they are both fragmented by RANGE, have the same INTERVAL value, and have the same number of fragments over the same values. If all these prerequisites are satisfied, the cluster p_cluster is successfully established. Accordingly the embodiments described herein maintain referential integrity. It should be noted that other appropriate prerequisites can be checked such as, but not limited to, table p  202  and table c  204  do not belong to any existing clusters, table c  204  is not itself referenced by another table of the database  110  and table p  202  and table c  204  have a maximum number of partitions. Further, an indication of the identity of a table can be received from tables such as, but not limited to table p  202  and table c  204 . 
         [0023]    Once a cluster has been created, partitioning statements such as: 
         [0024]    ALTER FRAGMENT ON TABLE . . . [ADD|ATTACH|MODIFY|DROP|INIT] 
         [0000]    are prevented on the tables within the cluster. Instead, a policy for managing the table p and table c is applied to the cluster p_cluster as a whole, using a statement such as: 
         [0025]    ALTER FRAGMENT ON CLUSTER p_cluster MODIFY ROLLING (12) FRAGMENTS LIMIT TO 10 Gb DISCARD; 
         [0026]    It will be appreciated that as an alternative, the policy could have been applied to the cluster as it was created, using a statement such as: 
         [0027]    CREATE CLUSTER p_cluster ON p ROLLING (12) FRAGMENTS LIMIT TO 10 Gb DISCARD; 
         [0028]    When implementing a table management policy of the relational database  110  such as the example given above, the partition management system  108  of the relational database management system  106  operates as shown in the flowchart of  FIG. 4 . The partition management system  108  considers each table in the relational database  110  in turn. Thus, at step  402 , the partition management system  108  finds the next table in the database  110 . The partition management system  108 , at step  404 , determines if the table is part of a cluster and contains the primary key used to define the cluster. If the table is not part of a cluster, the table is skipped and the next table in the database  110  is considered at step  402 . 
         [0029]    If the table being considered is part of a cluster and contains the primary key, for example the table is table p  202  in the cluster p_cluster defined above, the partition management system  108  identifies any limit on the number of fragments in the tables in the cluster p_cluster specified by the table management policy. For example, in the table management policy defined above, the statement “ROLLING (12) FRAGMENTS” gives a limit of 12 fragments. Further, at step  406  the partition management system  108  checks if the fragment number limit is satisfied by the table p  202 , and also any other tables in the database  110  that reference the table p  202  (i.e. table c  204  in the cluster p_cluster). If the fragment number limit is not satisfied, i.e. table p  202  and/or table c  204  has more than 12 fragments, the lowest corresponding fragments from the tables are detached/discarded at step  408 . The partition management system  14  then checks if the fragment number limit is now satisfied at step  406 , and if not detaches/discards the lowest corresponding fragments again at step  408 . 
         [0030]    Once any fragment number limit is satisfied, the partition management system  108  identifies any limit on the size of the tables in the cluster p_cluster specified by the table management policy. In the table management policy defined above, the statement “LIMIT TO 10 Gb” gives a limit of  10 Gb for the combined size of tables in the cluster. Partition management system  108 , at step  410 , checks if the table size limit is satisfied by the tables in the cluster p_cluster, by determining their combined size. If the table size limit is not satisfied, e.g., the combined size of table p and table c is over 10 Gb, at step  412 , the lowest corresponding fragments from the tables are detached/discarded. Further, partition management system  108  checks if the table size limit is now satisfied, step  410 , and if not, detaches/discards the lowest corresponding fragments again at step  412 . 
         [0031]    Once the table size limit is satisfied, the policy for managing the cluster p_cluster is satisfied, and so partition management system  108  moves on to consider the next table in the database at step  402 . It will of course be appreciated that the tables in relational database(s)  110  could be considered, and the clusters managed, in parallel, rather than in strictly linear sequence. 
         [0032]    A pseudo-code algorithm syspurge( ) that implements the above behaviour is as follows: 
         [0000]    
       
         
               
             
           
               
                   
               
             
             
               
                 syspurge( ) 
               
               
                 { 
               
               
                    -- Scan system catalogs 
               
               
                      -- For each ROLLING WINDOW table (ones with ROLLING and LIMIT 
               
               
                 TO clauses of the CREATE TABLE) 
               
               
                      -- if this table is part of a cluster and not the table with the primary key 
               
               
                        -- skip it (it will be handled as part of the referenced table) 
               
               
                      -- Analyse the ROLLING clause info with the number of partitions in the 
               
               
                 table. 
               
               
                        -- If the number of interval fragments is more than the specified 
               
               
                 policy, then 
               
               
                          -- for each interval fragment starting from the one with the 
               
               
                 lowest value 
               
               
                            -- if the table is part of a cluster 
               
               
                              -- for each table referencing this table 
               
               
                                -- DETACH/DISCARD the 
               
               
                 fragment in the target referencing table 
               
               
                            -- DETACH/DISCARD the fragment 
               
               
                      -- Analyse the LIMIT TO clause info with the total allocated size of the 
               
               
                 table and referencing tables, if part of a cluster 
               
               
                        -- while the size of the table or cluster is greater than the specified 
               
               
                 size limit, then 
               
               
                          -- identify qualifying partition (range or interval if ANY 
               
               
                 keyword used, interval if INTERVAL FIRST or ONLY keywords used, range if INTERVAL 
               
               
                 FIRST keywords used and no interval fragment found) 
               
               
                            -- if the table is part of a cluster 
               
               
                              -- for each table referencing this table 
               
               
                                -- DETACH/DISCARD the 
               
               
                 fragment in the target referencing table 
               
               
                            -- DETACH/DISCARD this fragment 
               
               
                          -- until size is within limits 
               
               
                 } 
               
               
                   
               
             
          
         
       
     
         [0033]    Once a cluster is no longer required, it can be discarded using a statement such as: 
         [0034]    DROP CLUSTER p_cluster; 
         [0035]    This reverts the tables within the cluster to be managed using their own fragmentation schemes; in this case the table management policy for the cluster is not used at all (i.e. not on any of the tables within the cluster), because it could not be applied to the tables in isolation without risking the occurrence of foreign key constraint violations. 
         [0036]    In an alternative embodiment, the fragmentation could be tied to the table containing the primary key when created, for example as follows: 
         [0000]    
       
         
               
               
             
           
               
                   
                   
               
             
             
               
                   
                 CREATE TABLE p(c1 int PRIMARY KEY, c2 char(20)) 
               
               
                   
                    FRAGMENT BY RANGE (c1) CLUSTER 
               
               
                   
                    INTERVAL (100) 
               
               
                   
                    STORE IN (p_dbs1, p_dbs2) 
               
               
                   
                    PARTITION p_1 VALUES &lt; 100 IN p_dbs1; 
               
               
                   
                   
               
             
          
         
       
     
         [0037]    Any tables being created that referenced this table would then not reference any fragmentation strategy, but would instead inherit the same strategy as the referenced table: 
         [0000]    
       
         
               
               
             
           
               
                   
                   
               
             
             
               
                   
                 CREATE TABLE c(c1 int REFERENCES p, c2(char(20)) 
               
               
                   
                    STORE IN (cdbs1, c_dbs2, c_dbs3) 
               
               
                   
                    PARTITION c_1 VALUES &lt; 100 IN c_dbs1; 
               
               
                   
                   
               
             
          
         
       
     
         [0038]    In this way, any tables referencing the table containing the primary key will necessarily have the same fragmentation scheme. A management policy could as in the previous embodiment be defined using a statement such as: 
         [0039]    ALTER FRAGMENT ON CLUSTER p_cluster MODIFY ROLLING (12) FRAGMENTS LIMIT TO 10 Gb DISCARD; 
         [0000]    or similarly to the previous embodiment, could be alternatively be applied when the table defining the cluster is created: 
         [0000]    
       
         
               
             
           
               
                   
               
             
             
               
                    CREATE TABLE p(c1 int PRIMARY KEY, c2 char(20)) 
               
               
                       FRAGMENT BY RANGE (c1) CLUSTER ROLLING (12) 
               
               
                 FRAGMENTS LIMIT TO 10Gb DISCARD 
               
               
                       INTERVAL (100) 
               
               
                       STORE IN (p_dbs1, p_dbs2) 
               
               
                       PARTITION p_1 VALUES &lt; 100 IN p_dbs1; 
               
               
                   
               
             
          
         
       
     
         [0040]    The tables can then be managed as described in the previous embodiment. 
         [0041]    In the present embodiment, partitioning statements such as: 
         [0042]    ALTER FRAGMENT ON TABLE . . . [ADD|ATTACH|MODIFY|DROP|INIT] 
         [0000]    are permitted, but only against the table in a cluster that contains the primary key, with the changes then being applied to all tables within the cluster rather than only to a single table in isolation. 
         [0043]      FIG. 5  depicts computer system  500 , an example computer system representative of cruise control computer  502 . Computer system  500  includes communications fabric  502 , which provides communications between computer processor(s)  504 , memory  506 , persistent storage  508 , communications unit  510 , and input/output (I/O) interface(s)  512 . Communications fabric  502  can be implemented with any architecture designed for passing data and/or control information between processors (such as microprocessors, communications and network processors, etc.), system memory, peripheral devices, and any other hardware components within a system. For example, communications fabric  502  can be implemented with one or more buses. 
         [0044]    Computer system  500  includes processors  504 , cache  516 , memory  506 , persistent storage  508 , communications unit  510 , input/output (I/O) interface(s)  512  and communications fabric  502 . Communications fabric  502  provides communications between cache  516 , memory  506 , persistent storage  508 , communications unit  510 , and input/output (I/O) interface(s)  512 . Communications fabric  502  can be implemented with any architecture designed for passing data and/or control information between processors (such as microprocessors, communications and network processors, etc.), system memory, peripheral devices, and any other hardware components within a system. For example, communications fabric  502  can be implemented with one or more buses or a crossbar switch. 
         [0045]    Memory  506  and persistent storage  508  are computer readable storage media. In this embodiment, memory  506  includes random access memory (RAM). In general, memory  506  can include any suitable volatile or non-volatile computer readable storage media. Cache  516  is a fast memory that enhances the performance of processors  504  by holding recently accessed data, and data near recently accessed data, from memory  506 . 
         [0046]    Program instructions and data used to practice embodiments of the present invention may be stored in persistent storage  508  and in memory  506  for execution by one or more of the respective processors  504  via cache  516 . In an embodiment, persistent storage  508  includes a magnetic hard disk drive. Alternatively, or in addition to a magnetic hard disk drive, persistent storage  508  can include a solid state hard drive, a semiconductor storage device, read-only memory (ROM), erasable programmable read-only memory (EPROM), flash memory, or any other computer readable storage media that is capable of storing program instructions or digital information. 
         [0047]    The media used by persistent storage  508  may also be removable. For example, a removable hard drive may be used for persistent storage  508 . Other examples include optical and magnetic disks, thumb drives, and smart cards that are inserted into a drive for transfer onto another computer readable storage medium that is also part of persistent storage  508 . 
         [0048]    Communications unit  510 , in these examples, provides for communications with other data processing systems or devices. In these examples, communications unit  510  includes one or more network interface cards. Communications unit  510  may provide communications through the use of either or both physical and wireless communications links. Program instructions and data used to practice embodiments of the present invention may be downloaded to persistent storage  508  through communications unit  510 . 
         [0049]    I/O interface(s)  512  allows for input and output of data with other devices that may be connected to each computer system. For example, I/O interface  512  may provide a connection to external devices  518  such as a keyboard, keypad, a touch screen, and/or some other suitable input device. External devices  518  can also include portable computer readable storage media such as, for example, thumb drives, portable optical or magnetic disks, and memory cards. Software and data used to practice embodiments of the present invention can be stored on such portable computer readable storage media and can be loaded onto persistent storage  508  via I/O interface(s)  512 . I/O interface(s)  512  also connect to display  520 . 
         [0050]    Display  520  provides a mechanism to display data to a user and may be, for example, a computer monitor. 
         [0051]    While the present invention has been described and illustrated with reference to particular embodiments, it will be appreciated by those of ordinary skill in the art that the invention lends itself to many different variations not specifically illustrated herein. 
         [0052]    The present invention may be a system, a method, and/or a computer program product. The computer program product may include a computer readable storage medium (or media) having computer readable program instructions thereon for causing a processor to carry out aspects of the present invention. 
         [0053]    The computer readable storage medium can be a tangible device that can retain and store instructions for use by an instruction execution device. The computer readable storage medium may be, for example, but is not limited to, an electronic storage device, a magnetic storage device, an optical storage device, an electromagnetic storage device, a semiconductor storage device, or any suitable combination of the foregoing. A non-exhaustive list of more specific examples of the computer readable storage medium includes the following: a portable computer diskette, a hard disk, a random access memory (RAM), a read-only memory (ROM), an erasable programmable read-only memory (EPROM or Flash memory), a static random access memory (SRAM), a portable compact disc read-only memory (CD-ROM), a digital versatile disk (DVD), a memory stick, a floppy disk, a mechanically encoded device such as punch-cards or raised structures in a groove having instructions recorded thereon, and any suitable combination of the foregoing. A computer readable storage medium, as used herein, is not to be construed as being transitory signals per se, such as radio waves or other freely propagating electromagnetic waves, electromagnetic waves propagating through a waveguide or other transmission media (e.g., light pulses passing through a fiber-optic cable), or electrical signals transmitted through a wire. 
         [0054]    Computer readable program instructions described herein can be downloaded to respective computing/processing devices from a computer readable storage medium or to an external computer or external storage device via a network, for example, the Internet, a local area network, a wide area network and/or a wireless network. The network may comprise copper transmission cables, optical transmission fibers, wireless transmission, routers, firewalls, switches, gateway computers and/or edge servers. A network adapter card or network interface in each computing/processing device receives computer readable program instructions from the network and forwards the computer readable program instructions for storage in a computer readable storage medium within the respective computing/processing device. 
         [0055]    Computer readable program instructions for carrying out operations of the present invention may be assembler instructions, instruction-set-architecture (ISA) instructions, machine instructions, machine dependent instructions, microcode, firmware instructions, state-setting data, or either source code or object code written in any combination of one or more programming languages, including an object oriented programming language such as Smalltalk, C++ or the like, and conventional procedural programming languages, such as the “C” programming language or similar programming languages. The computer readable program instructions may execute entirely on the user&#39;s computer, partly on the user&#39;s computer, as a stand-alone software package, partly on the user&#39;s computer and partly on a remote computer or entirely on the remote computer or server. In the latter scenario, the remote computer may be connected to the user&#39;s computer through any type of network, including a local area network (LAN) or a wide area network (WAN), or the connection may be made to an external computer (for example, through the Internet using an Internet Service Provider). In some embodiments, electronic circuitry including, for example, programmable logic circuitry, field-programmable gate arrays (FPGA), or programmable logic arrays (PLA) may execute the computer readable program instructions by utilizing state information of the computer readable program instructions to personalize the electronic circuitry, in order to perform aspects of the present invention. 
         [0056]    Aspects of the present invention are described herein with reference to flowchart illustrations and/or block diagrams of methods, apparatus (systems), and computer program products according to embodiments of the invention. It will be understood that each block of the flowchart illustrations and/or block diagrams, and combinations of blocks in the flowchart illustrations and/or block diagrams, can be implemented by computer readable program instructions. 
         [0057]    These computer readable program instructions may be provided to a processor of a general purpose computer, special purpose computer, or other programmable data processing apparatus to produce a machine, such that the instructions, which execute via the processor of the computer or other programmable data processing apparatus, create means for implementing the functions/acts specified in the flowchart and/or block diagram block or blocks. These computer readable program instructions may also be stored in a computer readable storage medium that can direct a computer, a programmable data processing apparatus, and/or other devices to function in a particular manner, such that the computer readable storage medium having instructions stored therein comprises an article of manufacture including instructions which implement aspects of the function/act specified in the flowchart and/or block diagram block or blocks. 
         [0058]    The computer readable program instructions may also be loaded onto a computer, other programmable data processing apparatus, or other device to cause a series of operational steps to be performed on the computer, other programmable apparatus or other device to produce a computer implemented process, such that the instructions which execute on the computer, other programmable apparatus, or other device implement the functions/acts specified in the flowchart and/or block diagram block or blocks. 
         [0059]    The flowchart and block diagrams in the Figures illustrate the architecture, functionality, and operation of possible implementations of systems, methods, and computer program products according to various embodiments of the present invention. In this regard, each block in the flowchart or block diagrams may represent a module, segment, or portion of instructions, which comprises one or more executable instructions for implementing the specified logical function(s). In some alternative implementations, the functions noted in the block may occur out of the order noted in the figures. For example, two blocks shown in succession may, in fact, be executed substantially concurrently, or the blocks may sometimes be executed in the reverse order, depending upon the functionality involved. It will also be noted that each block of the block diagrams and/or flowchart illustration, and combinations of blocks in the block diagrams and/or flowchart illustration, can be implemented by special purpose hardware-based systems that perform the specified functions or acts or carry out combinations of special purpose hardware and computer instructions.