Method and system for performing automated transactions using a server-side script-engine

• US 20050262021A1
• Filed: 05/21/2004
• Published: 11/24/2005
• Est. Priority Date: 05/21/2004
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: SAP SE
• Original Assignee: SAP AG (SAP SE)
• Inventors: Wood, Eric, Tsyganskiy, Boris
• Granted Patent: US 8,402,433 B2
• Time in Patent Office: Days
• US Class Current: 705/44
• CPC Class Codes: G06Q 10/10 Office automation; Time management
• CPC Class Codes: G06Q 20/40 Authorisation, e.g. identification of payer or payee, verification of customer or shop credentials; Review and approval of payers, e.g. check credit lines or negative lists

Abstract

A method and an apparatus for performing automated transactions are disclosed. According to one aspect of the present invention, a script-engine associated with a particular server receives a request to execute a script. The script-engine executes a script and prompts a user to enter critical data directly related to the goal sought to be achieved by the script. After receiving the critical data related to the transaction, the script automatically executes and communicates commands to a server. The script automatically communicates the critical data to the server upon request by the server. In addition, the script retrieves and enters non-critical data without user interaction. The server performs operations according to the commands received from the script-engine to automatically carry out the transaction.

Claims

1. A method to perform an automated transaction having multiple operations, a subset of which are key operations, the method including:

responsive to a request to execute a first script on a first script-engine, executing the first script on the first script-engine, the first script having a plurality of script commands corresponding to multiple operations of the transaction;

prompting a user to input critical data, the critical data being directly associated with the key operations of the transaction;

capturing the critical data associated with the key operations of the transaction; and

,

automatically performing the multiple operations of the transaction on a first server without user interaction according to the plurality of script commands, using the critical data during the performance of the key operations.

2. The method of claim 1, wherein the execution of the first script on the first script-engine includes communicating script commands to the first server.

3. The method of claim 1, wherein key operations are those operations that require critical data to perform, the critical data being data that is directly related to the end-goal of the transaction.

4. The method of claim 1, wherein the automated transaction has one or more operations that require non-critical data, the operations that require non-critical data retrieve the non-critical data automatically and without user interaction.

5. The method of claim 4, wherein the non-critical data is retrieved from a source external to the first server.

6. The method of claim 5, wherein the source external to the first server is a second server, the second server being associated with a second script-engine.

7. The method of claim 6, wherein the first script communicates script commands to the first server via a server-specific command interface and the second script communicates commands to the second server via a server-specific command interface.

8. The method of claim 1, wherein the execution of the first script on the first script-engine causes a second script to be executed on a second script-engine, the second script communicating a result to the first script.

9. The method of claim 8, wherein the result communicated to the first script by the second script is non-critical data.

10. The method of claim 9, wherein the non-critical data is data that is not directly related to the end-goal of the transaction, but necessary to complete the transaction.

11. The method of claim 8, wherein the first script and the second script are stored in a library of scripts, the library of scripts accessible to both the first script-engine and the second script-engine.

12. The method of claim 1, wherein the prompting of the user to input critical data includes prompting a user to input a location of a file containing the critical data.

13. The method of claim 1, wherein the first script is stored on a client.

14. The method of claim 1, wherein the first script is stored on a server.

15. The method of claim 1, wherein the first script is one of a plurality of scripts stored in a library of scripts.

16. A system to perform an automated transaction having multiple operations, a subset of which are key operations, the system including:

a first script-engine, to execute a first script, the first script having a plurality of script commands corresponding to the multiple operations of the transaction;

a first script-engine interface to receive a request from a client application, and to prompt a user to input critical data, the critical data being associated with key operations of the transaction, and to capture the critical data associated with the key operations of the transaction; and

,

a first server connected to the first script-engine, the first server to automatically perform the multiple operations of the transaction without user interaction according to the plurality of script commands and using the critical data during the performance of the key operations.

17. The system of claim 16, wherein the first script-engine is to communicate script commands to the first server.

18. The system of claim 16, wherein key operations are those operations that require critical data to perform, the critical data being data that is directly related to the end-goal of the transaction.

19. The system of claim 16, wherein the automated transaction has one or more operations that require non-critical data, the operations that require non-critical data retrieve the non-critical data automatically and without user interaction.

20. The system of claim 19, wherein the non-critical data is retrieved from a source external to the first server.

21. The system of claim 20 including a second server, the second server to store non-critical data that is retrieved by the one or more operations that require non-critical data.

22. The system of claim 21, wherein the first script communicates script commands to the first server via a server-specific command interface and the second script communicates commands to the second server via a server-specific command interface.

23. The system of claim 16 including a second script-engine, the second script-engine, in response to the execution of the first script, executing a second script and communicating a result to the first script.

24. The system of claim 23, wherein the result communicated to the first script by the second script is non-critical data.

25. The system of claim 24, wherein the non-critical data is data that is not directly related to the end-goal of the transaction, but necessary to complete the transaction.

26. The system of claim 23 including a library of scripts, the library of scripts to store the first script and the second script.

27. The system of claim 16, wherein the first script-engine interface is to prompt a user to input a location of a file containing the critical data.

28. The system of claim 16 wherein the first script is stored on a client.

29. The system of claim 16 wherein the first script is stored on the first server.

30. The system of claim 16 wherein the first script is stored in a library of scripts.