Patent ID: 7099887

Claim:
A computer-implemented method of implementing a relational schema comprising at least one many-to-many relationship in a hierarchical database supporting one-to-many relationships, the relational schema being defined by a plurality of entities including at least one first entity having N components and at least one second entity having M components, the first and the second entity having a many-to-many relationship, the method comprising: creating a bridging table to transform the many-to-many relationship between the first and the second entities into a one-to-many relationship between the first entity and the bridging table and a one-to-many relationship between the bridging table and the second entity; for each mapping between one of the N components and one of the M components: creating an entry in the bridging table, the entry comprising a mapping between the one of the N components and the one of the M components; and creating, using the bridging table, a joining table describing interconnections between the plurality of entities, the joining table having a plurality of entries, each defining a path between different entities of the plurality of entities.