METHOD AND APPARATUS FOR MANAGING A DATABASE

摘要

A computing system is characterized by a database management system which provides method and apparatus for online definition of data descriptors (77) while maintaining the availability of data (76) and data descriptors not impacted by a concurrent definitional process. Under the control of the database management system (70) of the invention, the domain effected by the definitional process is determined, transactions which reference descriptors within the domain effected by the definitional process are marked for rebinding, prior-to-commit access by transactions which have not been prebound to objects within the domain effected by the definitional process is inhibited, and thereafter all accesses to objects in the domain are allowed.