Systems and methods that synchronize data with representations of the data

Abstract

The present invention provides systems and methods that synchronize modifications between electronic data and one or more associated data representations. Synchronization comprises translating modification made to the data or a representation to the representations or the data and other representations. A mapping engine is employed to facilitate modification translation, wherein the mapping engine utilizes data-representation relationships, which declaratively described the relationship between data and respective representations. Such relationships can be stored in markup language (e.g., xml) or as a memory string, for example. Modifications can be translated via a continuous technique, wherein translation occurs upon transaction commitment or via an explicit technique, wherein translation occurs upon an explicit request. The systems and methods further employ an adapter that facilitates communication between the mapping engine and the representation and a handler store that provides various handlers that facilitates communication between the mapping engine and data.