Abstract: Activities within a workflow are either data management activities (DMAs) or non-DMAs. A workflow is typically carried out by a system by executing one activity after the other. This can, however, be very time consuming. A method and system are provided for optimizing a group of activities (GOA) comprising a DMA, whereby the GOA is comprised in the workflow to improve the overall performance. The method determines the DMAs, and for each DMA, a data level statement (DLS). The GOA is determined and a process graph model (PGM) is determined from the GOA so that the DLS is comprised in the PGM and the semantics of the PGM are identical to those of the GOA. The PGM is optimized for which an optimized GOA is determined. The semantics of the optimized GOA are identical to those of the GOA. In the workflow, the GOA is replaced by the optimized GOA.

Abstract: Techniques are provided for processing a workflow. A workflow including one or more data management activities is received. A workflow description is generated from the workflow that includes a description of the one or more data management activities. One or more data management operations are generated from the workflow description. The one or more data management operations are executed against one or more data management systems.

Abstract: A centralized method for defining and enforcing strong-typing among domains in RDBMS or ORDBMS is provided to allow flexible, easy, and quick domain creation, as well as facilitating easy implementation and change control on domains. When an application requests data from the database, one or more domains are first identified in the SQL query. A determination is then made as to whether operators for each domain pair in the SQL query are authorized. A determination is also made as to whether functions in the SQL authorized. If the operators and functions in the SQL are authorized, the initial SQL request is rewritten to include a casting formula for each domain pair operation. The rewritten SQL request is then executed.

Abstract: A method, apparatus, and article of manufacture implementing the method, transparently archives data. One or more data sources store data. A first data mover moves a first subset of data from the one or more data sources to a first federated archive in accordance with a first set of rules. In another aspect of the invention, a query is processed to retrieve a second subset of data, and a portion of the second subset of data is retrieved from the first federated archive. In yet another aspect of the invention, the processing of the query determines whether any data that would satisfy the query is stored in the first federated archive.

Abstract: A method, apparatus and program storage device is provided for mapping data objects residing in multiple data sources, or generated dynamically, into a single or multiple, reusable software components, for integrated information access to multiple disparate data sources, residing on or generating the data dynamically on different hardware systems and possibly in different data formats. The method has steps for identifying data objects in multiple data sources, employing an information integration software facility for connecting to the data sources containing the data objects and registering the data objects, creating at least one virtual data object having at least one attribute from the selected registered data objects, and a step for wrapping access to the at least one virtual data object into a reusable software component, as though it was a single real data object, accessible directly from software applications.

Abstract: Systems, methods, and computer products that support techniques associated with highly reliable transaction protocol semantics in databases. Such techniques extend database transaction semantics that support a single-phase or a two-phase commit protocol to include user-defined operations while supporting the XA X/Open® Distributed Transaction Processing Protocol (“XA Transaction Protocol”). The preferred embodiment of the present invention novelly enables user-defined operations that access external resources by means of the XA Transaction Protocol to be included in database transaction processing features. Thereby user-level access to well-defined APIs is provided. Further, the preferred embodiment of the present invention novelly ensures atomicity for the results of the database transaction that includes both the user-defined operations and database operations. According to the preferred embodiment of the present invention the database acts, in part, as an XA transaction manager.