System and method for logging and searching history events such as airline flight or crew history

• US 10,078,539 B1
• Filed: 10/29/2014
• Issued: 09/18/2018
• Est. Priority Date: 10/30/2013
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: American Airlines Incorporated (American Airlines Group Incorporated)
• Original Assignee: American Airlines Incorporated (American Airlines Group Incorporated)
• Inventors: Hawkins, Mark Alan, Wagner, Andrea Denise, Castle, Cary Andreas
• Primary Examiner(s): Dorais, Craig C
• Assistant Examiner(s): Jordan, Kimberly L
• Application Number:
  US14/527,420
• Time in Patent Office: 1,420 Days
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 16/248 Presentation of query results
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 16/252 between a Database Management System and a front-end application
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 16/26 Visual data mining; Browsing structured data
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 9/542 Event management; Broadcasting; Multicasting; Notifications
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 9/546 Message passing systems or structures, e.g. queues

Abstract

A system and method according to which history events, such as airline flight or crew history events, are logged and searched. In one embodiment, sequenced information is obtained from one or more applications. In one embodiment, a user can input a single query and obtain sequenced information from new and legacy applications using the single query. In some embodiments, audit trail-like tracking of changes made to airline information is provided. In one embodiment, the system includes: a message handling system adapted to transform an event message; a message processor adapted to receive the event message and parse the event message; a database to which history data of the event message is persisted; and a query processor adapted to read airline flight or crew history event data in response to a query request, the airline flight or crew history event data comprising the history data.

Claims

1. A method of interacting with a data center to log airline history events from multiple locations and types of sources to facilitate subsequent multiple and simultaneous secure searches of data associated with the airline history events, the method comprising:

generating a plurality of first event records using a Transaction Processing Facility (“

TPF”

) application,

wherein each of the first event records has an event type and comprises one or more data elements,

wherein the event type of the each first event record is either an airline flight event or an airline crew event, and

wherein a code is assigned to each of the one or more data elements of the each first event record, each of the codes identifying either a type of airline flight event or a type of airline crew event;

transmitting the first event record from the TPF application to a message handling system, the message handling system comprising;

first and second read queues at a first location, and

third and fourth read queues at a second location,

wherein the second location is different from, and is remotely located from, the first location; and

wherein neither the first location nor the second location is within the data center;

transforming, using the message handling system, each of the first event records so that the each first event record conforms to a standard Extensible Markup Language (“

XML”

) schema;

transmitting each of the first event records from the message handling system to an event logger application, wherein at least a portion of the event logger application is located within the data center,

wherein the message handling system further comprises a first node, the first node comprising one or more first processors and a first computer readable medium operably coupled thereto;

wherein at least one of the first event records is transmitted to the event logger application via the second read queue at the first location;

wherein at least one other of the first event records is transmitted to the event logger application via the fourth read queue at the second location;

wherein the event logger application comprises a second node, the second node comprising one or more second processors and a second computer readable medium operably coupled thereto; and

wherein the event logger application further comprises a first message-driven bean (“

MDB”

), a second MDB, a third MDB, and a fourth MDB;

reading, using the first MDB, the one or more data elements of the at least one of the first event records;

reading, using the second MDB, the one or more data elements of the at least one other of the first event records;

storing, in a database via a first write queue, the at least one of the first event records using a first session bean, which is in communication with the first MDB and which is in communication with the database via the first write queue;

storing, in the database via a second write queue, the at least one other of the first event records using a second session bean, which is in communication with the second MDB and which is in communication with the database via the second write queue;

wherein each of the first event records, as transmitted from the message handling system to the event logger application, conforms to the standard XML schema; and

wherein the method further comprises;

generating a plurality of second event records using a non-TPF application, wherein the second event record is generated independently of the first event record and thus the second event record is not based on the first event record;

wherein each of the second event records has an event type and comprises one or more data elements,

wherein the event type of the each second event record is either an airline flight event or an airline crew event, and

wherein a code is assigned to each of the one or more data elements of the each second event record, each of the codes identifying either a type of airline flight event or a type of airline crew event;

transmitting the second event record from the non-TPF application to the message handling system;

transforming, using the message handling system, each of the second event records so that the each second event record conforms to the same standard XML schema as the standard XML schema to which each of the first event records is conformed;

transmitting the second event record from the message handling system to the event logger application,

wherein at least one of the second event records is transmitted to the event logger application via the first read queue at the first location;

wherein at least one other of the second event records is transmitted to the event logger application via the third read queue at the second location;

reading, using the third MDB, the one or more data elements of at least one of the second event records;

reading, using the fourth MDB, the one or more data elements of the least one other of the second event records;

storing, in the database via the first write queue, the at least one of the second event records using the first session bean, which is in communication with the third MDB;

storing, in the database via the second write queue, the at least one other of the second event records using the second session bean, which is in communication with the fourth MDB;

wherein each of the second event records, as transmitted from the message handling system to the event logger application, conforms to the same standard XML schema as the standard XML schema to which each of the first event records is conformed,

and thus each of the first and second event records transmitted from the message handling system to the event logger application conforms to the same standard XML schema notwithstanding that;

each of the first event records is generated using the TPF application, and

each of the second event records is generated using the non-TPF application and the generation of the second event record is independent of the generation of the first event record and thus the second event record is not based on the first event record;

wherein the event logger application further comprises;

one or more traffic manager (“

TM”

) devices, wherein at least one of the one or more TM devices is located within the data center;

a first machine of which the first session bean, and the first and third MDBs, are a part;

a second machine of which the second session bean, and the second and fourth MDBs, are a part;

wherein each of the first and second machines is located within the data center;

wherein each of the first and second machines is in communication with the one or more TM devices;

wherein each of the first and second machines is in communication with the database via a fifth read queue;

wherein each of the first and second machines comprises;

a plugin from which a Hypertext Transfer Protocol (“

HTTP”

) header is adapted to be forwarded;

a graphical user interface (“

GUI”

) to which the HTTP header is adapted to be forwarded from the plugin;

a query processor in communication with the database via the fifth read queue, wherein the query processor is adapted to read airline flight or crew history data from the database in response to a query request from a user, the query request comprising a plurality of search parameters, the airline flight or crew history data being based on;

one or more of the first event records, and/or one or more of the second event records;

wherein the GUI is adapted to generate the query request and present to the user the airline flight or crew event history data read from the database in accordance with the search parameters;

wherein the method further comprises;

load balancing, using the one or more TM devices, respective query requests by the users, wherein the respective query requests by the users are load balanced between at least the first and second machines by the one or more TM devices;

validating a first query request of the load-balanced respective query requests, wherein a first user profile is associated with the first query request, and wherein validating the first query request comprises;

retrieving application group(s), of which the first user profile is a part, from a lightweight directory access protocol (“

LDAP”

) directory; and

passing the application group(s), of which the first user profile is a part, in the HTTP header from the plugin of one of the first and second machines;

determining, using the HTTP header from the plugin of the one of the first and second machines, privilege(s) for the application group(s) of which the first user profile is a part; and

determining that the first user profile does have requisite viewing privileges associated with the first query request;

validating a second query request of the load-balanced respective query requests, wherein a second user profile is associated with the second query request, and wherein validating the second query request comprises;

retrieving application group(s), of which the second user profile is a part, from the LDAP directory;

passing the application group(s), of which the second user profile is a part, in the HTTP header from the plugin of the other of the first and second machines;

determining, using the HTTP header from the plugin of the other of the first and second machines, privilege(s) for the application group(s) of which the second user profile is a part; and

determining that the second user profile does have requisite viewing privileges associated with the second query request;

retrieving, using the query processor of the one of the first and second machines and via the fifth read queue, airline flight history data from the database, wherein the airline flight history data is retrieved in response to the first query request of the load-balanced respective query requests;

retrieving, using the query processor of the other of the first and second machines and via the fifth read queue, airline crew history data from the database, wherein the airline crew history data is retrieved in response to the second query request of the load-balanced respective query requests;

presenting, using the GUI of the one of the first and second machines, the airline flight history data in accordance with search parameters of the first query request; and

presenting, using the GUI of the other of the first and second machines, the airline crew history data in accordance with search parameters of the second query request.

2. The method of claim 1, further comprising:

validating a third query request of the load-balanced respective query requests, wherein a third user profile is associated with the third query request, and wherein validating the third query request comprises;

retrieving application group(s), of which the third user profile is a part, from the LDAP directory;

passing the application group(s), of which the third user profile is a part, in the HTTP header from the plugin of either the first machine or the second machine; and

determining, using the HTTP header from the plugin of the either the first machine or the second machine, privilege(s) for application group(s) of which the third user profile is a part

determining that the third user profile does not have requisite viewing privileges associated with the third query request; and

presenting, using the GUI of the either the first machine or the second machine, a message indicating that the third user profile does not have the requisite viewing privileges associated with the third query request.