Method and system for displaying configurable text fields in web based business applications

• US 20050028083A1
• Filed: 06/23/2004
• Published: 02/03/2005
• Est. Priority Date: 06/30/2003
• Status: Abandoned Application

• Current Assignee: SAP AG (SAP SE)
• Original Assignee: SAP AG (SAP SE)
• Inventors: Kornmann, Tim, Kircher, Stefan
• Application Number:
  US10/873,212
• Publication Number:
  US 20050028083A1
• Time in Patent Office: Days
• US Class Current: 715/256
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 16/958 Organisation or management of web site content, e.g. publishing, maintaining pages or automatic linking

Abstract

This invention relates to the necessary processes and application enhancements to provide customer extension functionality in terms of displaying additional configurable text fields in a web application. When a message (310), describing the additional text fields on header and/or item level by means of name-value pairs, is received, the additional text fields are mapped into the database (250) of the business application. To get displayed the additional fields are mapped from the database (250) into an instance of a container class in the model component. By passing the instance of the container class from the model component to the view component, an HTTP response is created using the information provided by the instance of the container class. An HTML Browser (200) receiving the HTTP response displays the additional fields.

Claims

1. Method of displaying configurable text fields in database based business applications having a Web user interface component (220), the Web user interface component (220) consisting of a model component (380), a view component (390), and a controller component (400), the method including the steps of:

receiving a message (310), describing the configurable text fields on header and/or item level by means of name-value pairs,

mapping the configurable text fields into the database (250) of the business application by transforming the name-value pairs in the header and/or item information supplied by the message (310) into a table structure,

mapping the configurable text fields from the database (250) into an instance of a container class (450) in the model component (380) by transforming the table structure into name-value pairs,

passing the instance of the container class (450) from the model component (380) to the view component (390), and creating an HTTP response (500) using the information provided by the instance of the container class causing an HTML Browser (200) receiving the HTTP response (500) to display the configurable text fields.

2. The method of claim 1 wherein in a first step keys for the configurable text fields are added to a customizing data table (270).

3. The method of claim 1 wherein the message is a XML message.

4. The method of claim 1 wherein the instance of the container class contains several sub-instances of the same type to realize a 1:

N-relationship of header to items.

5. The method of claim 1 comprising further steps enabling the HTML Browser (200) to change changeable fields and send an HTTP request (510) containing the changed fields to the controller component (400).

6. The method of claim 5 wherein the changed fields send to the controller component (400) are mapped into another instance of the container class (450) and passed back to the model component (380).

7. The method of claim 6 wherein the changed fields passed back to the model component (380) are transferred to the backend system component (230).

8. The method of claim 7 wherein the changed fields transferred to the backend system component (230) are stored in database component (250) and processed into a further message (310).

9. Computer program product comprising program code means stored on a computer readable medium for performing the method of any one of the claims 1 to 8 when the program is run on a computer.

10. An article comprising a computer readable medium that stores executable instructions causing a computer system to:

provide a Web user interface component (220) consisting of a model component (380), a view component (390), and a controller component (400) to a database based business application,

enable the business application to receive a message (310), describing text fields of the business applications on header and/or item level by means of name-value pairs,

map the text fields into a database (250) of the business application by transforming the name-value pairs in the header and/or item information supplied by the message (310) into a table structure,

map the text fields from the database (250) into an instance of a container class (450) in the model component (380) by transforming the table structure into name-value pairs,

pass the instance of the container class (450) from the model component (380) to the view component (390), and to create an HTTP response (500) using the information provided by the instance of the container class causing an HTML Browser (200) receiving the HTTP response (500) to display the text fields.

11. The article of claim 10 comprising further instructions causing a computer system to add keys for the configurable text fields to a customizing data table (270) in a first step.

12. The article of claim 11 comprising further instructions causing a computer system to enable the business application to receive an XLM message.

13. The article of claim 11 comprising further instructions causing a computer system to create the instance of the container class to contain several sub-instances of the same type to realize a 1:

N-relationship of header to items.

14. The article of claim 11 comprising further instructions causing a computer system to enable the HTML Browser (200) to change changeable fields and send an HTTP request (510) containing the changed fields to the controller component (400).

15. The article of claim 14 comprising further instructions causing a computer system to map the changed fields send to the controller component (400) into another instance of the container class (450) and to pass the another instance of the container class (450) back to the model component (380).

16. The article of claim 15 comprising further instructions causing a computer system to transfer the changed fields from the model component (380) to the backend system component (230).

17. The article of claim 16 comprising further instructions causing a computer system to store the changed fields transferred to the backend system component (230) in database component (250).

18. The article of claim 17 comprising further instructions causing a computer system to process the changed fields into a outbound message (310).