System and a method for mediating within a network

• US 20060259605A1
• Filed: 04/17/2006
• Published: 11/16/2006
• Est. Priority Date: 04/19/2005
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: SAP SE
• Original Assignee: SAP AG (SAP SE)
• Inventors: Boerger, Egon, Lemcke, Jens, Altenhofen, Michael
• Granted Patent: US 7,984,188 B2
• Time in Patent Office: Days
• US Class Current: 709/223
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 69/08 Protocols for interworking; Protocol conversion

Abstract

A mediator system (and associated methods and computer program products) for mediating a communication between a client and a plurality of providers within a network is described. The mediator system may include logical machines including a first receiving machine configured to receive a request message from the client, a first sending machine configured to send answer messages back to the client, a processing machine configured to handle the received request message internally represented as a request object, a second sending machine configured to send outgoing request messages to the providers, and a second receiving machine configured to receive incoming answer messages from the providers. The machines can be scheduled separately from being executed, and the request object may be split into subrequests, where each of those subrequests may be further decomposed into subsubrequests that may be sent out in parallel to the providers.

Claims

1. A system for mediating a communication between a client and a plurality of providers within a network, wherein the client provides at least one request message, the mediator system comprising the following predefined and callable logical machines:

a first receiving machine configured to receive the request message from the client and to create therefrom a request object;

a first sending machine configured to send answer messages back to the client;

a processing machine configured to handle the received request message internally represented as the request object;

a second sending machine configured to send outgoing request messages to the providers; and

a second receiving machine configured to receive incoming answer messages from the providers,

wherein the machines are configured for being scheduled separately from being executed, such that the request object can be split into a sequence of subrequests where each of those subrequests can be further decomposed in a set of subsubrequests that can be sent out in parallel to the providers.

2. The mediator system according to claim 1, wherein the mediator system comprises a recording machine configured to record information about or related to the received request message which can be recognized and retrieved at a later stage.

3. The mediator system according to claim 1, wherein the mediator system comprises a scheduler which can call and therewith activate one of the machines which is ready to execute.

4. The mediator system according to claim 3, wherein the scheduler is configured to dynamically schedule an execution order of the machines when a plurality of request messages is provided.

5. The mediator system according to claim 3, wherein the scheduler includes an interleaving scheduler which is configured to non-deterministically call and therewith activate one of the machines which is ready to execute.

6. The mediator system according to claim 1, wherein the first receiving machine is configured to create from the request message, for further internal handling, a request object which is appropriately initialised by recording in an internal representation a request identity and request relevant parameters.

7. The mediator system according to claim 6, wherein the request object is decorated with several information variables, including a status variable. which are automatically updated during execution of the machines.

8. The mediator system according to claim 7, wherein the predefined and callable machines are activated depending on settings of the status variable.

9. The mediator system according to claim 1, wherein the first and second receiving machines are realized by and implemented as one receiving machine and/or the first and second sending machines are realized by and implemented as one sending machine.

10. The mediator system according to claim 1, wherein the client handles the at least one request message in a unified manner via a fixed interface.

11. The mediator system according to claim 1, wherein at least a part of the subrequests can be at least partially serviced internally by the processing machine, thus the processing machine acting as a provider itself.

12. The mediator system according to claim 1, wherein the subsubrequests are each be sent to and processed by different providers independently of each other.

13. The mediator system according to claim 1, wherein the processing machine comprises an iterator submachine which is configured to elaborate the sequential subrequests.

14. The mediator system according to claim 1, wherein an answer message to be sent back to the client is automatically compiled and transformed into a client compatible format.

15. The mediator system according to claim 1, wherein the mediator system includes a composition of a number of sub mediator systems which are appropriately connected with each other via corresponding interfaces.

16. The mediator system according to claim 1, wherein the processing machine is configured to prepare internally outgoing answer and/or outgoing request messages.

17. The mediator system according to claim 1, wherein the first and second sending machines are configured to do any sending and adapted to the communication medium used by the client and the providers, respectively.

18. A method for mediating a communication between a client and a plurality of providers within a network, wherein the client provides at least one request message with request relevant parameters, the method comprising:

receiving the request message from the client;

creating from the request message a request object;

splitting the request object into a sequence of subrequests with respect to the request relevant parameters;

processing the request object with respect to the sequence of subrequests;

sending request specific outgoing request messages with respect to the sequence of subrequests to the providers;

receiving incoming answers with respect to the outgoing request messages from the providers; and

processing the incoming answer messages.

19. The method according to claim 18, wherein the receiving, creating, splitting, processing, and sending operations are dynamically scheduled and executed as many times as needed for completion of the sequence of subrequests.

20. The method according to claim 18, wherein information about or related to the received request message is recorded so that the stored information can be retrieved at a later stage if required.

21. The method according to claim 18, wherein a scheduler is provided which is configured to call and therewith activate one of the machines which is ready to execute.

22. The method according to claim 21, wherein the scheduler is configured to dynamically schedule an execution order of the machines when a plurality of request messages is provided.

23. The method according to claim 18, further comprising:

creating from the request message of the client for further internal handling a request object which is appropriately initialised by recording in an internal representation a request identity and the request relevant parameters.

24. The method according to claim 23, wherein the request object is decorated with several information variables including a status variable.

25. The method according to claim 24, wherein the method is performed by predefined and separately callable logical machines which are activated depending on settings of the status variable.

26. The method according to claim 18, wherein each of the subrequests is further decomposed in a set of subsubrequests that are sent out to the providers in parallel.

27. The method according to claim 18, further comprising sending an answer message back to the client.

28. A computer program product, tangibly embodied on computer-readable media, the computer program product being operable to cause a data processing apparatus to:

receive a request message associated with request-relevant parameters from a client;

create from the request message a request object;

split the request object into a sequence of subrequests with respect to the request relevant parameters;

process the request object with respect to the sequence of subrequests;

send request-specific outgoing request messages with respect to the sequence of subrequests to a plurality of providers within a network;

receive incoming answers with respect to the outgoing request messages from the providers; and

process the incoming answer messages.