MXPA02002351A - Method and system for transmitting messages for database - Google Patents

Abstract

When updating databases distributed over a subscriber network, a management centre sends messages addressed to each of said bases. When a large number of databases need to be addressed, the time for accessing each of them increases considerably in view of the fact that the information has to be repeated to ensure that the messages have been properly received. The invention concerns a method which consists in transmitting criteria wherein a certain number of databases will identify themselves and in updating said bases instead of addressing each database individually.

Description

PROCEDURE AND MESSAGE TRANSMISSION SYSTEM FOR DATABASE DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION The present invention relates to a process and a system for updating databases, in particular for a database with unidirectional access.

In a system comprising a management center that has a main database and a plurality of subscribers spread over a wide territory, each with a subscriber database, it is known to send information by telephone or by telephone. of updating the database of these subscribers, these messages are addressed to all subscribers or to a particular subscriber, which means that they contain a d. module subscriber address.

Due to the fact that systems of this type do not use a return path to the management center except, for example, the link by mc dem, the management center has difficulties to check whether the information sent has arrived correctly. In fact, you are forced to repeat these messages on a regular basis in order to make sure that the message has arrived at least once correctly at your destination.

REF: 136441 It is not difficult to imagine the consequences that this causes in a system that is used for a large number of subscribers, for example 2 or 3 million, since the repetition of these messages can quickly saturate the transmission capacity.

In a system of this type, the transmission channel that is used mostly for the transmission of useful data such as audio, video or data and the administration information, whose destination is the subscriber databases, can only occupy a very limited space .

This system is described in the European patent EP 0 616 714 and deals with the problem of the actuation of a database defined in an intelligent memory card. The orders are simple and all are intended to record the information in this database. Although this structure adds an advantage in relation to the previous solutions, ie based on a structure set by the program's provider, it does not allow for the most subtle customization or treatment.

Another example of the limits of the existing addressing is set forth in the document: EP 0 491 069. Each database comprises a unique identifier used to recognize the base. Thus, the update should be made sequentially when dealing with a large number of databases.

It is easy to check the 5 limitations that arise in case you want to use it. Hoisting more sophisticated functions, for example. offer a month free subscription to a new channel to all those who have been subscribed for at least one year. In this case, the list of the subscribers that meet this criterion is determined from the main database of the management center and according to the current transmission techniques and a message is formatted after its sending by the network to each chosen one, message that contains the address of the recipient.

It should not be forgotten that these messages must be repeated periodically to ensure that each subscriber has had the possibility of receiving it.

Currently these functions are practically impossible because they can completely saturate the system with the transmission of administration messages. The specific addressing has since been used for the commissioning of a subscriber and its repair in response to a call on his part to the management center.

When the subscriber databases are considered, according to the state of the art, it is found that these only they contain the information that allows access to the broadcasts transmitted, and the information called "systems", such as the subscriber number, are stored independently. Thanks to. These data systems can be determined if a message is destined to the database considered. No application is formulated inside the database since the test uses the information systems.

The purpose of the present invention is to propose a process that allows the transi tion of messages addressed to a subscriber set; that has not been previously defined.

This objective is fully achieved through a process of transmission of messages to update the database between a management center and a plurality of distributed databases, each database comprising data systems and useful data. According to the process of the invention, these messages comprise the data 3 and the orders that condition the updating of a database according to one or all of the data present or not in said database and that represent the useful data.

It is understood by useful data; the data for which the database has been foreseen by opposition to data systems that define the structure of the base and allow to define its address or identifier.

When a database is put into operation, it does not contain in principle any useful data when defining all the data systems.

According to the invention, the process allows direct operations to be performed directly on the useful data of each subscriber base in order to determine whether the transmitted data is destined to this database.

In the framework of the example, the data related to the authorization of access to the channel is conditioned by a request regarding the content of the database, in particular the date of subscription to the reference subscription. Thus, the operations carried out in the management center consisting of determining the subscribers who benefit from the promotional offer are also made in the database of each subscriber Thanks to this process, a previously unspecified set of subscribers (for example, 120,000 soccer fans) will be able to enjoy a new sports channel (for example during a trial period) by sending 1 single order on the network. Previously, it will have been necessary to send 120,000 orders in the network, each order being destined to a beneficiary subscriber.

The requests made by this command language can be simple, by e; the date of subscription to a subscription, or complex, for example, a selection operation according to several criteria.

It is known that pay television systems offer the possibility of buying the projection of recent movie broadcasts or the broadcast of a football match. The video service provider uploads to the user's account the display of the selected broadcast by means of the "pay-per-vie" function.

The database memorizes the emissions purchased for statistical purposes (for example financial) or for subsequent consultation by the subscriber. Thanks to the process according to the invention, it is possible to propose a reduction, for example of 50%, in the purchase of the next emission of the same type. This offer is contained in a message with a complex type request since it will mainly extract the information from the database that concerns the previously purchased emissions, will carry out the necessary verifications, according to the result of the verification, it will record in the base the information regarding this new offer. All these operations are contained in a single message.

In order to express this type of message, a new message format is proposed within the framework of this invention that allows the transmission of complex orders. It is expected that it would be difficult for the transfer of an order to contain the request described above. For this reason, a message is proposed that contains a set of order blocks, each control unit treating a unitary request and, depending on the result, being able to decide the answer that must be given.

According to this form of construction of the message, a control unit is composed of a request to the database that may cause various > 3 data contained in the database, a data or all the data of coruparación and an action according to the result of these comparisons.

By action according to the result of the comparison is understood the interruption of the treatment of the message (stop function), the treatment of the next control unit (continuous function) or the execution of block number x (jump function).

Thanks to this structure it is possible to perform evolved functions in a single message.

The present invention also comprises a system for preparing administration messages, preferably in an evolved language such as SQL and a message transmission system comprising a management center with its main database and a plurality of subscriber units, each unit computing a database, a management center that takes messages containing data and orders, the latter conditioning the updating of the database according to one or all of the criteria related to the content. of the database. The system according to the invention transmits the messages comprising the requests that condition the update of the database. This system consists of activating the process described above.

This invention also concerns an evolved language interpreter for a database designed to receive the conditional updating messages, to perform the comparison operations on one or all of the criteria contained in the database and to update the database according to the result of the comparison.

The subscriber module schematically purchases an audio, video or numeric data receiver, a decoder responsible for separating the data from the administration messages, these latter being oriented towards a security module that contains the subscribers' databases. In one embodiment, this module is directly installed in the subscriber module or, for reasons of safety and cost, this module is presented in the form of a removable smart card. The database of the subscriber and the interpreted one: they are in this smart card. The interpnitador receives on the part of the decoder the administration messages that serve to define the different rights related to the service or emission providers.

The interpreter according to the state of the art is responsible for the organization and updating of the database. Receive the update orders and determine where to store this information. An example of this interpreter is described in patent EP 0 616 714. The interpreter according to the invention, not only organizes the database, but also performs request operations for said database in order to verify the updating conditions and, if the format of the message is of the type of multiple control units, execute the condition associated with this comparison that thanks to the memory allows to finish the execution of the message search in the next block or jump to any block This type of interpreter can be installed as a manager of a database of a segmented type or a base of a relational type. Segmented type Dase is understood as a base for which a factor has been created per service provider and where the rights related to this supplier t are stored in this section. A relational database is understood as a base in which information is stored in any place and where only the link that allows it to be recovered is associated with the descriptor of the provider in question. It is verified that this type of iriterpretador does not depend on the type of base and can be applied in any basic structure.

In a particular form of the invention, the requests defining the conditional update are based on the unique subscriber number, the membership number of a group, for example the postal code or subscribed subscription (s).

According to one aspect of the invention, all the parameters called systems are stored in the database.

An advantage provided by this type of message is to suppress the effects caused by repetition. We have verified that the orders are sent multiple times to ensure that they have been received correctly by the subscriber unit. In such case, according to the state of the art, an update will be made many times, using uselessly the processing capabilities of the interpreter of the database. To avoid this, it is enough to add a condition so that the actuation is only carried out if it has not been carried out before 3 until it has been done.

Another advantage of this invention consists in being able to carry out verifications of the subscriber data base by sending messages whose mission is to carry out a certain number of operations according to the rights of this subscriber, and in case the result differ from the expected, you can order an action.

In a particular embodiment of the invention, the result of the request can generate a notification of the security module to the subscriber module for executing an action. By action is meant, for example, a display of a message on the screen, a ringing or more generally a signal of sound nature, or the formation of a telephone call thanks to a modem connected to the public telephone network.

It is noted that in relation to this date, the best method known to the applicant to carry out the aforementioned invention, is that which is clear from the present description of the invention.

Claims (13)

CLAIMS Having described the invention as above, the contents of the following claims are claimed as property:

1. Process for transmitting database update messages between a management block and a plurality of databases distributed to each database comprising the data systems and useful data, characterized in that these messages comprise the data and the orders that condition the updating of a database according to one or all of the useful data whether or not in said database.

2. Transmission process according to claim 1, characterized in that the link between the management center and the databases is mainly unidirectional type.

3. Transmission process according to claims 1 and 2, characterized in that the databases are integrated in the subscriber units of pay television reception and because the useful data ccjmpienden the reception rights of a subscriber.

4. Transmission process according to claims 1 to 3, characterized in that said update messages comprise a set of control units comprising data and orders, and that it is necessary to carry out comparison operations between the data > and the content of the database and in determining one; This consists in updating the database, in executing the next control unit, in jumping to another control unit or in finishing the processing of the message.

5. Transmission process according to claims 1 to 4, characterized in that the database is segmented type or relational type RDB.

6. Message transmission system comprising a management center and a plurality of databases distributed, each data base comprising data systems and useful data, characterized in that these messages comprise data and orders that condition the updating of a base of data. data according to one or all of the useful data present or not in said database.

7. Message transmission system according to claim 6, characterized in that the transmission between the management center and the databases is unidirectional.

8. Message transmission system according to claim 6, characterized in that these databases are integrated in the reception subscriber units of pay television and because the useful data include the rights of reception of a subscriber.

9. Message transmission system according to claims 6 a ._ > , characterized in that these update messages comprise control units that comprise data and order 3, these orders determining an action consisting in updating the databases, in executing the next control unit, in jumping to another control unit or in teritimar the treatment of the message.

10. Message transmission system according to claims 6 to 9, characterized in that the database is segmented type or relational type RDB.

11. Evolved language interpreter for database that treats a database in an environment that puts into operation a management center and a plurality of databases of distributed subscribers, each database comprising data systems and useful data, this interpreter receiving update messages, characterized in that it is designed to receive conditional update messages, to perform comparison operations on one or all useful data present or not in the database and to update the database according to the result of these comparisons. (rations.

12. Language interpreter * evolved according to claim 11, characterized in that these update messages comprise control units containing data and orders, which performs the operations of comparison between the data and the content of the databases and determines an action that consists in updating the databases, in executing the next bio, or in jumping to another control unit, or in terminating the processing of said message,

13. Evolved language interpreter for databases according to claim 12, characterized in that the database is connected to a pay-TV subscriber module and that the action consists of returning a message to the subscriber module for the execution of a action in this subscriber module