Efficient representation of data lineage information

1. A method for presenting data lineage information, the method comprising:

assigning, using a processor of a computer, a score to each data asset in a set of data assets along a data lineage path in a data lineage graph between a data source and a data destination by applying a scoring function to one or more characteristics of the data asset;

identifying a subset of the set of data assets whose score meets inclusion criteria, wherein each data asset whose score exceeds a first threshold is included in the subset and one or more additional data assets whose scores exceed a second threshold and are below the first threshold are included in the subset in response to determining that these one or more additional data assets are to be used to meet a certain depth for the data lineage path; and

presenting via a computer-controlled output medium a description of the data source, the data destination, and the path between the data source and the data destination, wherein the path includes the subset of the data assets.

2. The method of claim 1 wherein the assigning further comprises:

applying the scoring function to characteristics from the one or more characteristics of the data asset, wherein the score comprises an aggregation of values associated with the one or more characteristics.

3. The method of claim 1 and further comprising:

performing data lineage analysis on the set of data assets to produce data lineage analysis results.

4. A method for presenting data lineage information, the method comprising:

assigning, using a processor, a score to each data asset in a plurality of data assets included along a data lineage path in a data lineage graph between a data source and a data destination in data lineage analysis results by applying a scoring function to one or more characteristics of the data asset;

evaluating each score using data lineage filtering criteria;

based on the evaluating, identifying a subset of the plurality of data assets whose score meets the data lineage filtering criteria, wherein each data asset whose score exceeds a first threshold is included in the subset and one or more additional data assets whose scores exceed a second threshold and are below the first threshold are included in the subset in response to determining that these one or more additional data assets are to be used to meet a certain depth for the data lineage path; and

presenting the data lineage analysis results via a computer-controlled output medium as a filtered data lineage graph with the subset of the plurality of data assets.

5. The method of claim 4 wherein each score comprises an aggregation of values associated with the one or more characteristics of the data asset.

6. The method of claim 4 and further comprising;

performing data lineage analysis on the plurality of data assets to produce the data lineage analysis results.

7. A system for presenting data lineage information, the system comprising:

a processor;

storage coupled to the processor; wherein the storage stores computer program instructions, and wherein the computer program instructions are executed by the processor to perform operations, and wherein the operations comprise:

assigning, using a processor of a computer, a score to each data asset in a set of data assets along a data lineage path in a data lineage graph between a data source and a data destination by applying a scoring function to one or more characteristics of the data asset;

identifying a subset of the set of data assets whose score meets inclusion criteria, wherein each data asset whose score exceeds a first threshold is included in the subset and one or more additional data assets whose scores exceed a second threshold and are below the first threshold are included in the subset in response to determining that these one or more additional data assets are to be used to meet a certain depth for the data lineage path; and

presenting via a computer-controlled output medium a description of the data source, the data destination, and the path between the data source and the data destination, wherein the path includes the subset of the data assets.

8. The system of claim 7 wherein the operations further comprise:

applying the scoring function to characteristics from the one or more characteristics of the data asset, wherein the score comprises an aggregation of values associated with the one or more characteristics.

9. The system of claim 7 wherein the operations further comprise:

performing data lineage analysis on the set of data assets to produce data lineage analysis results.

10. A system for presenting data lineage information, the system comprising:

a processor;

storage coupled to the processor; wherein the storage stores computer program instructions, and wherein the computer program instructions are executed by the processor to perform operations, and wherein the operations comprise:

assigning a score to each data asset in a plurality of data assets included along a data lineage path in a data lineage graph between a data source and a data destination in data lineage analysis results by applying a scoring function to one or more characteristics of the data asset;

evaluating each score using data lineage filtering criteria;

based on the evaluating, identifying a subset of the plurality of data assets whose score meets the data lineage filtering criteria, wherein each data asset whose score exceeds a first threshold is included in the subset and one or more additional data assets whose scores exceed a second threshold and are below the first threshold are included in the subset in response to determining that these one or more additional data assets are to be used to meet a certain depth for the data lineage path; and

presenting the data lineage analysis results via a computer-controlled output medium as a filtered data lineage graph with the subset of the plurality of data assets.

11. The system of claim 10 wherein each score comprises an aggregation of values associated with the one or more characteristics of the data asset.

12. The system of claim 10 wherein the operations further comprise:

performing data lineage analysis on the plurality of data assets to produce the data lineage analysis results.

13. A computer program product for presenting data lineage information, the computer program product comprising a computer-readable storage device with computer-readable program code embodied in the computer-readable storage device, wherein the computer-readable program code, when executed by a processor of a computer, is configured to:

assign a score to each data asset in a set of data assets along a data lineage path in a data lineage graph between a data source and a data destination by applying a scoring function to one or more characteristics of the data asset;

identify a subset of the set of data assets whose score meets inclusion criteria, wherein each data asset whose score exceeds a first threshold is included in the subset and one or more additional data assets whose scores exceed a second threshold and are below the first threshold are included in the subset in response to determining that these one or more additional data assets are to be used to meet a certain depth for the data lineage path; and

present via a computer-controlled output medium a description of the data source, the data destination, and the path between the data source and the data destination, wherein the path includes the subset of the data assets.

14. A computer program product for presenting data lineage information, the computer program product comprising a computer-readable storage device with computer-readable program code embodied in the computer-readable storage device, wherein the computer-readable program code, when executed by a processor of a computer, is configured to:

assign a score to each data asset in a plurality of data assets included in data lineage analysis results by applying a scoring function to one or more characteristics of the data asset;

evaluate each score using data lineage filtering criteria;

based on the evaluating, identifying a subset of the plurality of data assets whose score meets the data lineage filtering criteria, wherein each data asset whose score exceeds a first threshold is included in the subset and one or more additional data assets whose scores exceed a second threshold and are below the first threshold are included in the subset in response to determining that these one or more additional data assets are to be used to meet a certain depth for the data lineage path; and

present the data lineage analysis results via a computer-controlled output medium as a filtered data lineage graph with the subset of the plurality of data assets.

15. The computer program product of claim 14 wherein each score comprises an aggregation of values associated with the one or more characteristics of the data asset.

16. The computer program product of claim 14 and wherein the computer-readable program code, when executed by the processor of the computer, is configured to:

perform data lineage analysis on the plurality of data assets to produce the data lineage analysis results.

17. The computer program product of claim 13 wherein the computer-readable program code, when executed by the processor of the computer, is configured to:

apply the scoring function to characteristics from the one or more characteristics of the data asset, wherein the score comprises an aggregation of values associated with the one or more characteristics.

18. The computer program product of claim 13 wherein the computer-readable program code, when executed by the processor of the computer, is configured to:

perform data lineage analysis on the set of data assets to produce data lineage analysis results.