Transforming data automatically between communications parties in a computing network

• US 20050144557A1
• Filed: 02/16/2005
• Published: 06/30/2005
• Est. Priority Date: 07/17/2001
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Sajan Sankaran, Spencer H. Shepard IV, Yih-Shin Tan, Yongcheng Li
• Original Assignee: Sajan Sankaran, Spencer H. Shepard IV, Yih-Shin Tan, Yongcheng Li
• Inventors: Li, Yongcheng, Tan, Yih-Shin, Sankaran, Sajan, Shepard, Spencer H. IV
• Granted Patent: US 7,120,703 B2
• Time in Patent Office: Days
• US Class Current: 715/234
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 16/84 Mapping; Conversion
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 16/986 Document structures and storage, e.g. HTML extensions
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 67/2895 Intermediate processing functionally located close to the data provider application, e.g. reverse proxies
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 67/306 User profiles
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 67/56 Provisioning of proxy services store-and-forward switching systems in data switching networks H04L12/54
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 67/564 Enhancement of application control based on intercepted application data
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 67/565 Conversion or adaptation of application format or content adding application control or application functional data H04L67/561
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 67/568 Storing data temporarily at an intermediate stage, e.g. caching
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 69/329 in the application layer [OSI layer 7]
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 9/40 Network security protocols

Abstract

Methods, systems, and computer program products for automatically transforming data or business messages to enable communication between parties in a distributed computing environment (e.g. between business partners who exchange data over a public network, and who do not necessarily use the same data formats), where this data transformation preferably occurs at the edge of the computing network. A set of transformation services is described, and include template registration, transformation, forward, and receive services. Services from this set may optionally be combined to create composite transformation services. A template defines how to transform one data format into another. Selection criteria may be provided to enable dynamically selecting a template at run-time. Using these services, one business partner simply hands its data off into the network to a network-accessible transformation service, where the data is automatically transformed into a format usable by its business partner and forwarded to that business partner.

Claims

1. A method of automatically transforming data or business messages between communications parties in a computing network, comprising steps of:

detecting that a data or business message transformation is needed;

creating a structured document representing the data or business message; and

sending a service request comprising the structured document to a network-accessible transformation service.

2. The method according to claim 1, further comprising the step of requesting delivery of a transformed document resulting from operation of the sent service request.

3. The method according to claim 1, wherein the sent service request specifies a particular transformation to be performed on the structured document.

22. A method of providing transformation creation and maintenance services, comprising steps of:

determining first output formats for data or business messages of a first business partner;

determining second input formats for data or business messages of one or more other business partners, where the first business partner intends to conduct business electronically in an automated manner with at least one of the other business partners;

creating or maintaining one or more transformation logic specifications adapted to transforming the first output formats into the second input formats; and

providing the created or maintained transformation logic specification to a registration service for automated transformation of the first output formats into the second input formats.

23. The method according to claim 22, further comprising steps of:

determining first input formats for the data or business messages of the first business partner;

determining second output formats for the data or business messages of one or more of the other business partners;

creating or maintaining one or more transformation logic specifications adapted to transforming the second output formats into the first input formats; and

providing the created or maintained transformation logic specification to a registration service for automated transformation of the second output formats into the first input formats.