System and method for building component applications using metadata defined mapping between message and data domains

• US 20050198100A1
• Filed: 02/27/2004
• Published: 09/08/2005
• Est. Priority Date: 02/27/2004
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Malikie Innovations Limited (Key Patent Innovations Limited)
• Original Assignee: Blackberry Limited
• Inventors: Shenfield, Michael, Vitanov, Kamen B., Goring, Bryan R., Bibr, Viera
• Granted Patent: US 7,698,383 B2
• Time in Patent Office: Days
• US Class Current: 709/200
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 9/546 Message passing systems or structures, e.g. queues

Abstract

It is desirable to drive down the complexity involved in developing the wireless application by reducing the need to do any explicit coding, as well as reducing device resources utilized by the application when provisioned. Having an intelligent wireless device runtime environment (Device Runtime) that provides a set of basic services to manage the wireless application as a series if application components, and their interactions, can simplify the development effort and reduce resource allocation. The wireless application is described as a set of components. The data domain for this category of applications is defined using atomic data components. The communication between the device and a server is defined using atomic message components. Both message and data components are described in metadata using a structured definition language such as XML. The relationships between the message and data components are embedded in the XML definitions in the form of message/data mappings. Typically, outgoing messages are derived from some underlying data component and incoming messages affect the current state (or data representation) of the application. It is therefore apparent that the metadata defined mapping relationship is preferable between the expression of data and message components.

Claims

1. A method for generating a communication message instance based on a data instance for interaction with an application executed on a device, the application including a data component having at least one data field definition and a message component having at least one message field definition, the component definitions expressed in a structured definition language, the method comprising the steps of:

selecting the message component corresponding to the message instance;

identifying at least one unique mapping present in the message component, the mapping for specifying a relationship between the message component and the data component as defined by a unique identifier representing the mapping;

selecting the data component mapped by the mapping according to the unique mapping identifier;

obtaining a data instance field value corresponding to the data field definition of the mapped data component;

generating a message field value of the message instance to include the data instance field value according to the format of the data field definition as defined in the mapped data component.

2. The method according to claim 1, wherein a plurality of the data field definitions of the data component is shared between the message component and the data component as represented by the mapping.

3. The method according to claim 2 further comprising the step of linking the plurality of data field definitions to corresponding ones of the message fields of the message component as represented by the unique identifier.

4. The method according to claim 2 further comprising the step of identifying additional processing code coupled to the message component for assisting in processing of the message instance.

5. The method according to claim 4, wherein the processing code specifies an address of a provisioning unit for handling the processing code.

6. The method according to claim 3 further comprising the step of identifying additional unmapped ones of the message field definitions in relation to the unique identifier.

7. The method according to claim 2, wherein the mapping is a field level mapping linking a first one of the message field definitions to a first one of the data field definitions and a second one of the message field definitions to a second one of the data field definitions.

8. The method according to claim 7, wherein the number of message field definitions of the message component is less that the number of data field definitions of the mapped data component.

9. The method according to claim 7, wherein the first message field definition is mapped by a first one of the unique identifiers to a first one of the data components and the second message field definition is mapped by a second one of the unique identifiers to a first one of the data components different from the first data component.

10. The method according to claim 8, wherein the first message field definition and the second message field definition are mapped to the same data component using the unique identifier.

11. The method according to claim 2, wherein the structured definition language is XML based.

12. The method according to claim 11, wherein the application is a wireless application and the device is a wireless device.

13. The method according to claim 2, wherein the unique identifier is a simple primary key.

14. The method according to claim 2, wherein the unique identifier is a composite key.

15. The method according to claim 2, wherein the message component defines a parent one of the message components coupled to a dependent one of rhe message components.

16. The method according to claim 15 further comprising the step of overriding one of the mappings of the parent message component by respective one of the mappings of the dependent message component.

29. The method according to claim 16, wherein the unique identifier is a simple primary key.

17. A method for generating a data instance based on a message instance corresponding to an application executed on a device, the application including a data component having at least one data field definition and a message component having at least one message field definition, the component definitions expressed in a structured definition language, the method comprising the steps of:

selecting the message component corresponding to the message instance;

identifying at least one unique mapping present in the message component, the mapping for specifying a relationship between the message component and the data component as defined by a unique identifier representing the mapping;

selecting the data component mapped by the mapping according to the unique mapping identifier;

obtaining a message instance field value from the message instance corresponding to the mapped data component;

assigning the message instance field value to a data field value of the data instance according to the format of the data field definition as defined in the mapped data component.

18. The method according to claim 17, wherein a plurality of the data field definitions of the data component is shared between the message component and the data component as represented by the mapping.

19. The method according to claim 18 further comprising the step of linking the plurality of data field definitions to corresponding ones of the message fields of the message component as represented by the unique identifier.

20. The method according to claim 18 further comprising the step of identifying additional processing code coupled to the message component for assisting in processing of the message instance.

21. The method according to claim 20, wherein the processing code specifies an address of a provisioning unit for handling the processing code.

22. The method according to claim 19 further comprising the step of identifying additional unmapped ones of the message field definitions in relation to the unique identifier.

23. The method according to claim 18, wherein the mapping is a field level mapping linking a first one of the message field definitions to a first one of the data field definitions and a second one of the message field definitions to a second one of the data field definitions.

24. The method according to claim 23, wherein the number of message field definitions of the message component is less that the number of data field definitions of the mapped data component.

25. The method according to claim 23, wherein the first message field definition is mapped by a first one of the unique identifiers to a first one of the data components and the second message field definition is mapped by a second one of the unique identifiers to a first one of the data components different from the first data component.

26. The method according to claim 24, wherein the first message field definition and the second message field definition are mapped to the same data component using the unique identifier.

27. The method according to claim 18, wherein the structured definition language is XML based.

28. The method according to claim 27, wherein the application is a wireless application and the device is a wireless device.

30. The method according to claim 18, wherein the unique identifier is a composite key.

31. The method according to claim 18, wherein the message component defines a parent one of the message components coupled to a dependent one of rhe message components.

32. The method according to claim 31 further comprising the step of overriding one of the mappings of the parent message component by respective one of the mappings of the dependent message component.

33. A method for generating a communication message instance based on a data instance for interaction with an application executed on a device, the application including a data component and a message component having at least one message field definition and at least one data field definition, the component definitions expressed in a structured definition language, the method comprising the steps of:

selecting the data component corresponding to the data instance;

identifying a unique mapping present in the data component, the mapping for specifying a relationship between the message component and the data component as defined by a unique identifier representing the mapping;

selecting the message component mapped by the mapping according to the unique mapping identifier;

obtaining a data instance field value corresponding to the message field definition of the mapped message component;

generating a message field value of the message instance to include the data instance field value according to the format of the data field definition as defined in the mapped message component.

34. A method for generating a data instance based on a message instance corresponding to an application executed on a device, the application including a data component and a message component having at least one message field definition and at least one data field definition, the component definitions expressed in a structured definition language, the method comprising the steps of:

selecting the message component corresponding to the message instance;

identifying a unique mapping present in the data component, the mapping for specifying a relationship between the message component and the data component as defined by a unique identifier representing the mapping;

selecting the message component mapped by the mapping according to the unique mapping identifier;

obtaining a message instance field value from the message instance corresponding to the data field definition of the mapped message component;

assigning the message instance field value to a data field value of the data instance according to the format of the data field definition as defined in the mapped message component.

35. A device for generating a communication message instance based on a data instance for interaction with an application executed on the device, the application including a data component having at least one data field definition and a message component having at least one message field definition, the component definitions expressed in a structured definition language, the method comprising the steps of:

means for selecting the message component corresponding to the message instance;

means for identifying at least one unique mapping present in the message component, the mapping for specifying a relationship between the message component and the data component as defined by a unique identifier representing the mapping;

means for selecting the data component mapped by the mapping according to the unique mapping identifier;

means for obtaining a data instance field value corresponding to the data field definition of the mapped data component;

means for generating a message field value of the message instance to include the data instance field value according to the format of the data field definition as defined in the mapped data component.