Content management system that retrieves data from an external data source and creates one or more objects in the repository

摘要

A content management system (CMS) provides a way to include data from an external source as an object in the repository managed by the CMS. The CMS includes an external data mechanism that processes a document with a query to a data source external to the repository. The external data mechanism executes the query, and creates one or more objects in the repository according to the type of data returned. Each object containing data returned from the query is linked to that query via a formal relationship in the CMS. When an object that has a formal relationship with a query is checked out of the repository, the query corresponding to the object may be executed, and the data returned from the query may be stored in the object. Alternatively, the data may be used directly if a corresponding lifecycle policy indicates the corresponding query should not be executed.

主权项

1. A computer-implemented method for a content management system that manages a plurality of objects in a repository to reference a data source external to the repository, the method comprising the steps of:
processing a document containing a query to the data source; executing the query; creating from the query a query object in the repository that is separate from the document and contains the query; creating from the data returned from the query a returned data object in the repository that is separate from the document, wherein the returned data object is created in the repository according to classification rules that determine from a type of the data returned from the query a corresponding type for the returned data object; creates a link between the query object and the returned data object; creating a lifecycle corresponding to the query object that specifies at least one condition; when the at least one condition is satisfied, the query in the query object is executed, the returned data object is updated with the query results, and the updated data in the returned data object is used; and when the at least one condition is not satisfied, the link between the query object and the returned data object is broken to lock down the returned data object to prevent the update, the query in the query object is not executed and existing data in the returned data object is used.