Method and device for the automated production and provision of at least one software application

• US 10,296,305 B2
• Filed: 09/26/2014
• Issued: 05/21/2019
• Est. Priority Date: 09/27/2013
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Rudolf Markus Petri
• Original Assignee: Rudolf Markus Petri
• Inventors: Petri, Rudolf Markus
• Primary Examiner(s): Sough, S.
• Assistant Examiner(s): Wang, Ben C
• Application Number:
  US15/025,266
• Publication Number:
  US 20160239272A1
• Time in Patent Office: 1,698 Days
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 16/22 Indexing; Data structures therefor; Storage structures
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 8/10 Requirements analysis; Specification techniques
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 8/20 Software design
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 8/35 model driven
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 67/01 Protocols

Abstract

A method for automated generation and provision of at least one client/server-based software application having a user interface for a user is provided. The method provides at least the following: an application platform, which a user can log into, at least one client-specific database in which data can be stored, at least one application model stored in the client-specific database for generating the at least one software application, which application model is used to describe the functionality of the software application, a user interface and the data structure in a machine-processable form, and a model engine on the application platform for accessing data in the client-specific database.

Claims

1. A system for automated generation and simultaneous provision of at least one client/server-based software application at runtime, the at least one software application having a user interface for a user, which provides at least the following:

an application platform, including a processor and a memory configured to provide computer program instructions to the processor to execute the automated generation and simultaneous provision which a user can log into,

at least one client-specific database (CSD) in which data can be stored,

at least one application model (AM) stored in the client-specific database (CSD) for generating the at least one software application (AW), which application model (AM) is used to describe the functionality of the at least one software application (AW), a user interface (GUI) and data structure in a machine-processable form, and

a model engine (ME) on the application platform for accessing data in the client-specific database (CSD) via the user interface (GUI) of the at least one software application,

wherein the model engine (ME), after a user has logged in, uploads the application model (AM) at runtime, and not until runtime generates on the basis of the application model (AM) the at least one software application (AW) comprising application logic (AL) and user interface (GUI), wherein the application logic (AL) defines the processes that can be executed by the software application (AW) during operation, and the user can access data from the client-specific database (CSD) via the user interface (GUI), and

wherein commands from the user at the user interface (GUI) relating to a specific data object are passed to the model engine (ME) at runtime, and the model engine (ME), with recourse to the application model (AM) and the application logic (AL) created therefrom at runtime, grants the user access to the data belonging to the data object from the client-specific database (CSD), and

wherein for a user to access, via the user interface (GUI) of the at least one software application, a set of data (DS) belonging to a data object, which set of data is stored in the client-specific database (CSD), the model engine (ME);

uploads the application model (AM),

generates an object instance of the data object in a main memory,

uploads the set of data (DS) belonging to the data object from the client-specific database (CSD), and

generates on the user interface (GUI) of the at least one software application, at runtime, a visualization of the object instances on the basis of the uploaded data.

2. The system as claimed in claim 1, wherein the application model (AM) comprises at least a metamodel (MM) and an application configuration model (AKM), wherein

in the metamodel (MM) are defined generic metadata elements, and data field structures for the user interface (GUI), attributes and/or functions that belong to the metadata elements are specified, the application configuration model (AKM) is used to concretize the metamodel (MM) and to define data objects for the at least one software application (AW) that are derived from metadata elements of the metamodel (MM), this being done by metadata elements being assigned in the application configuration model (AKM) concrete roles for the at least one software application (AW) to be generated and provided at runtime.

3. The system as claimed in claim 2, wherein the metamodel (MM) comprises a scheme definition that defines the metadata elements, and/or it is defined in the application configuration model (AKM) which view types can be used to display a metadata element.

4. The system as claimed in claim 2, wherein at runtime the metamodel (MM) is loaded and a class instance of a specific type is generated for each metadata element in a given hierarchy level, and an attribute is generated for each meta-element attribute defined for a metadata element.

5. The system as claimed in claim 2, wherein in the application configuration model (AKM) is at least defined

what role a metadata element assumes in the at least one software application (AW), so that the functionality of a metadata element is given to a specific data object of the software application,

how object instances of a data object are displayed on the user interface (GUI).

6. The system as claimed in claim 2, wherein the model engine (ME) comprises

a first manager for handling the metamodel (MM),

a second manager for handling the application configuration model (AKM), and a higher-level generator,

wherein after the metamodel (MM) has been loaded by the first manager and after the application configuration model (AKM) has been loaded by the second manager into a main memory, the higher-level generator retrieves from the first and second managers information needed to generate the at least one software application, and generates the at least one software application at runtime.

7. The system as claimed in claim 6, wherein the application model (AM) comprises an organization model (OM), in which is stored at least one organization and process structure of the organization in which the at least one software application to be generated at runtime is meant to be used, and/or is stored a business process which is meant to be modeled by the at least one software application to be generated at runtime, and wherein the model engine (ME) additionally comprises a third manager for handling an organization model (OM), and the higher-level generator, in addition to generating the at least one software application, also retrieves information from the third manager once the organization model (OM) has been loaded by the third manager into a main memory, and generates at runtime the software application.

8. The system as claimed in claim 1, wherein the application model (AM) comprises an organization model (OM), in which is stored at least one organization and process structure of the organization in which the at least one software application to be generated at runtime is meant to be used, and/or is stored a business process which is meant to be modeled by the at least one software application to be generated at runtime.

9. The system as claimed in claim 1, wherein certain functions of the at least one software application (AW) that can be executed at runtime are defined in a machine-readable form by the application model (AM).

10. The system as claimed in claim 9, wherein generic function components are implemented in the application platform, which are particularized and configured by the application model (AM) at runtime in order to provide the executable functions.

11. The system as claimed in claim 1, wherein a plurality of client-specific databases (CSD) and/or a plurality of preconfigured application models are stored in a database (DB) of the application platform.

12. The system as claimed in claim 1, wherein at least one client-specific database (CSD) and/or at least one preconfigured application model (AM) is stored in a local database (DB) of a user, and the application platform is provided by a server system.

13. The system as claimed in claim 1, wherein different application models are stored for different software applications (AW) in a database (DB) of the application platform and/or in a local database (DB) of a user, so that to provide one of a plurality of different software applications (AW), the model engine (MM) uploads at runtime a specific application model (AM), and a user interface (GUI) is generated on the basis of this application model (AM).

14. The system of claim 1, wherein the system is implemented as a web server.

15. A non-transitory machine-readable storage medium comprising a machine-readable program code which is designed to be executed on a computer, and, when said program code is executed, to cause the computer to perform operations comprising:

implementing a software application that provides at least;

an application platform to execute automated generation of at least one client/server-based software application at runtime, and simultaneous provision which a user can log into,

at least one client-specific database (CSD) in which data can be stored,

at least one application model (AM) stored in the client-specific database (CSD) for generating the at least one client/server-based software application (AW), which application model (AM) is used to describe the functionality of the at least one client/server-based software application (AW), a user interface (GUI) and data structure, and

a model engine (ME) on the application platform for accessing data in the client-specific database (CSD) via the user interface (GUI) of the software application,

wherein the model engine (ME), after a user has logged in, uploads the application model (AM) at runtime, and not until runtime generates on the basis of the application model (AM) the at least one client/server-based software application (AW) comprising application logic (AL) and user interface (GUI), wherein the application logic (AL) defines the processes that can be executed by the at least one client/server-based software application (AW) during operation, and the user can access data from the client-specific database (CSD) via the user interface (GUI), and

wherein commands from the user at the user interface (GUI) relating to a specific data object are passed to the model engine (ME) at runtime, and the model engine (ME), with recourse to the application model (AM) and the application logic (AL) created therefrom at runtime, grants the user access to the data belonging to the data object from the client-specific database (CSD), and

wherein for a user to access, via the user interface (GUI) of the at least one client/server-based software application, a set of data (DS) belonging to a data object, which set of data is stored in the client-specific database (CSD), the model engine (ME);

uploads the application model (AM),

generates an object instance of the data object in a main memory,

uploads the set of data (DS) belonging to the data object from the client-specific database (CSD), and

generates on the user interface (GUI) of the at least one software application, at runtime, a visualization of the object instances on the basis of the uploaded data.

16. The non-transitory machine-readable storage medium as claimed in claim 15, in which an application model (AM) comprises at least a metamodel (MM) and an application configuration model (AKM), wherein the method comprises at least the following:

creating a metamodel (MM) via a first designer module (MMD), wherein in the metamodel (MM) are defined generic metadata elements, and data field structures for the user interface (GUI), attributes and/or functions that belong to the metadata elements are specified, and

creating an application configuration model (AKM) via a first designer module (AKMD), wherein the application configuration model (AKM) is used to concretize the metamodel (MM) and to define data objects for the software application (AW), which are derived from metadata elements in the metamodel (MM), this being done by metadata elements being assigned in the application configuration model (AKM) concrete roles for the software application (AW) to be generated and provided at runtime,

wherein at least one of the designer modules (MMD, AKMD) defines at least one graphical user interface, via which an operator can create a metamodel (MM) and/or an application configuration model (AKM).

17. The non-transitory machine-readable storage medium as claimed in claim 16, wherein the metamodel (MM) and/or the application configuration model (AKM) comprise at least one XML document, and the first and/or second designer module (MMD, AKMD) allow generation and/or modification of an XML document in order to create the corresponding model (MM, AKM).

18. The non-transitory machine-readable storage medium as claimed in claim 16, wherein the method additionally comprises creating an organization model (OM) via a third design module (OMD), wherein in the organization model (OM) are stored at least one organization and process structure of the organization in which the software application to be generated at runtime is meant to be used, and/or is stored a business process which is meant to be modeled by the software application to be generated at runtime.

19. The non-transitory machine-readable storage medium as claimed in claim 18, wherein

creating an organization model (OM) by an operator via the graphical user interface, and/or

generating or modifying of an XML document via the third designer module (OMD) in order to create the organization model (OM).