Agent system supporting building of electronic mail service system

• US 20030158724A1
• Filed: 01/31/2003
• Published: 08/21/2003
• Est. Priority Date: 05/15/2000
• Status: Abandoned Application

• Current Assignee: Atori Company Limited
• Original Assignee: Atori Company Limited
• Inventors: Uchida, Rie
• Application Number:
  US10/240,766
• Publication Number:
  US 20030158724A1
• Time in Patent Office: Days
• US Class Current: 704/7
• CPC Class Codes: G06Q 10/107 Computer-aided management of electronic mailing [e-mailing]
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 51/066 Format adaptation, e.g. format conversion or compression

Abstract

An agent system for assisting in construction of an e-mail service system comprises a means activated when e-mail is received at a mailbox for fetching the e-mail from the mailbox to extract a process request described in the e-mail, a means for translating the extracted process request into a language for accessing a database referring to a conversion rule dictionary, and passing the translated process request to a database management system, a means for receiving from the database management system a process result obtained by performing the process on the database in accordance with the translated process request and editing the received process result into an e-mail format referring to the conversion rule dictionary, and a means for sending the process result edited into the e-mail format to a desired user as e-mail. The conversion rule dictionary is created by a dictionary editing system.

Claims

1. An agent system for assisting in construction of an e-mail service system, the e-mail service system comprising a database management system for managing a database and a mail server provided on the Internet, the agent system comprising:

a conversion rule dictionary storing information for translating a request of a process to be performed on the database described in e-mail into a language for accessing the database, and information for editing a result of the process obtained from the database management system into e-mail;

a process request extraction means activated when e-mail is received at a predetermined mailbox provided on the mail server, the extraction means fetching the e-mail from the mailbox to extract a process request described in the e-mail;

a process request translation means for translating the extracted process request to the language for accessing the database referring to the conversion rule dictionary, the translation means passing the translated process request to the database management system;

a process result editing means for receiving from the database management system a process result obtained by performing the process on the database in accordance with the process request translated into the language for accessing the database, the editing means editing the received process result into an e-mail format referring to the conversion rule dictionary;

a sending means for sending the process result edited into the e-mail format to a desired user as e-mail.

2. A method for assisting in construction of an e-mail service system, the e-mail service system comprising a database management system for managing a database and a mail server provided on the Internet, the method comprising the steps of:

defining, in the conversion rule dictionary, information for translating a request of a process to be performed on the database described in e-mail into a language for accessing the database, and information for editing a process result obtained from the database management system into e-mail;

providing a mailbox on the mail server and configuring the mail server so that, when e-mail is received at the mailbox, a program is activated to fetch the e-mail from the mail box; and

constructing the agent system;

wherein the agent system comprises the functions of;

extracting a process request described in the fetched e-mail;

translating the extracted process request into the language for accessing the database referring to the conversion rule dictionary;

passing the translated process request to the database management system;

receiving from the database management system a process result obtained by performing the process on the database in accordance with the translated process request;

editing the received process result into an e-mail format referring to the conversion rule dictionary; and

sending the process result edited into the e-mail format to a desired user as e-mail.

3. A dictionary editing system comprising:

a conversion rule dictionary for storing information for translating contents described in e-mail into a language for accessing a database, and information for editing contents obtained from a database management system into e-mail, the database management system managing a database; and

a means for editing the conversion rule dictionary.

4. A computer-readable storage medium for storing information for translating contents described in e-mail into a language for accessing a database, and information for editing contents obtained from a database management system into e-mail, the database management system managing a database.