Systems and methods for business process plug-in development

• US 20040049481A1
• Filed: 04/01/2003
• Published: 03/11/2004
• Est. Priority Date: 05/01/2002
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Oracle International Corporation (Oracle Corporation)
• Original Assignee: BEA Systems Incorporated (Oracle Corporation)
• Inventors: Blevins, Mike
• Granted Patent: US 7,424,717 B2
• Time in Patent Office: Days
• US Class Current: 707/1
• CPC Class Codes: G06Q 10/06 Resources, workflows, human or project management; Enterprise or organisation planning; Enterprise or organisation modelling

Abstract

A plug-in framework can be used in an integration system to extend business process management functionality. A plug-in manager, which can be part of an integration process engine, is used to support configuration, design, and run-time management of the plug-ins. A plug-in API is used to provide support for configuration, design, and run-time interactions between the process engine and a deployed plug-in. The plug-in API can consist of components such as session beans, run-time management classes, and packages.

This description is not intended to be a complete description of, or limit the scope of, the invention. Other features, aspects, and objects of the invention can be obtained from a review of the specification, the figures, and the claims.

Claims

1. A method for developing a business plug-in for an integration framework, comprising:

creating a session bean to define plug-in classes and interfaces;

packaging the session bean; and

deploying the session bean on a server used by the integration framework.

2. A method according to claim 1, further comprising:

identifying design-time and run-time customization requirements.

3. A method according to claim 1, further comprising:

defining the plug-in session bean by implementing session bean interface methods.

4. A method according to claim 1, further comprising:

implementing plug-in home and remote interface methods.

5. A method according to claim 1, further comprising:

defining a run-time component class to define run-time execution characteristics.

6. A method according to claim 1, further comprising:

setting up notification management.

7. A method according to claim 1, further comprising:

implementing and registering an event handler to process incoming plug-in events.

8. A method according to claim 1, further comprising:

implementing a plug-in data interface in order to enable the reading and parsing of plug-in data.

9. A method according to claim 1, further comprising:

implementing a plug-in panel class to display a plug-in GUI within a design client.

10. A method according to claim 1, further comprising:

registering the plug-in as a notification listener to receive notifications.

11. A method according to claim 1, further comprising:

defining a plug-in deployment descriptor file to define the plug-in.

12. A method according to claim 1, wherein the step of packaging the session bean further includes:

creating a build directory and compiling source files into the directory in order to package the plug-in in a JAR file.

13. A method according to claim 1, further comprising:

deploying the session bean as part of an integration application by editing a configuration file for the application.

14. A method according to claim 1, further comprising:

setting a plug-in home interface allowing a process engine to detect the plug-in.

15. A method according to claim 1, further comprising:

implementing classes necessary for each component related to the plug-in in order to define the functionality for that component.

16. A method according to claim 1, further comprising:

defining a run-time interface for a plug-in component in order to define execution characteristics.

17. A method according to claim 1, further comprising:

including an admin session bean that acts as a primary interface for design clients.

18. A method according to claim 1, further comprising:

including an audit session bean allowing a user access to error and audit information.

19. A method according to claim 1, further comprising:

including a catalog session bean for classifying a bean deployed on a server.

20. A method according to claim 1, further comprising:

including a permission session bean for getting and setting security permissions.

21. A method according to claim 1, further comprising:

including a principal session bean for enabling clients to interface with realms and properties.

22. A method according to claim 1, further comprising:

including a worklist session bean to act as a primary interface for run-time management clients.

23. A method according to claim 1, further comprising:

including a client common package for providing common client-side classes used by a client.

24. A method according to claim 1, further comprising:

including a plug-in common package for providing common classes used to manage user-defined plug-ins.

25. A method for developing a business plug-in for an integration framework, comprising:

creating a session bean to define business plug-in classes and interfaces;

defining a run-time interface for a plug-in component in order to define execution characteristics;

creating a build directory and compiling source files into the directory in order to package the plug-in in a JAR file; and

deploying the session bean on a server used by the integration framework.

26. A method for developing a business plug-in for an integration framework, comprising:

creating a session bean to define business plug-in classes and interfaces;

setting a plug-in home interface allowing a process engine to detect the plug-in;

creating a build directory and compiling source files into the directory in order to package the plug-in in a JAR file; and

deploying the session bean on a server used by the integration framework.

27. A method for developing a business plug-in for an integration framework, comprising:

creating a session bean to define business plug-in classes and interfaces;

creating a build directory and compiling source files into the directory in order to package the plug-in in a JAR file; and

deploying the session bean as part of an integration application by editing a configuration file for the application.