Constructing a data accessing layer for in-memory data grid

In-memory data grid (IMDG) is a novel data processing middleware for Internetware. It provides higher scalability and performance compared with traditional rational database. However, because the data stored in IMDG must follow the key/value data model, new challenges have been proposed. One important aspect is that IMDG does not support standard data accessing languages such as JPA and SQL, and application developers must design their programs according to the peculiarities of an IMDG product. This results in complex and error-prone code, especially for the programmers who have no deep understanding of IMDG. In this paper, we propose a data accessing reference architecture for IMDG and a methodology to design and implement its data accessing layer. In this methodology, data accessing engine construction, data model designation and join operation supporting are presented. Moreover, following this methodology, we develop and implement a JPA compatible data accessing engine for Hazelcast as a case study, which proves the feasibility of our approach.