Mobile data management using association table

• US 20070049246A1
• Filed: 08/31/2005
• Published: 03/01/2007
• Est. Priority Date: 08/31/2005
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: SAP SE
• Original Assignee: SAP AG (SAP SE)
• Inventors: Schreter, Ivan, Ludwig, Hans-Martin
• Granted Patent: US 7,831,554 B2
• Time in Patent Office: Days
• US Class Current: 455/406
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 9/465 Distributed object oriented systems remote method invocation [RMI] G06F9/548
• CPC Class Codes: H04W 4/08 User group management

Abstract

Middleware for mobile data management may include an association table and a message store. The middleware may operate to receive a business object instance from a backend system, determine one or more mobile devices associated with the business object instance, associate the business object instance with the one or more mobile devices and with an insert state in an association table, and associate, in the association table, the business object instance and the one or more mobile devices with a full-state message in the message store.

Claims

1. A method comprising:

receiving a business object instance;

determining one or more mobile devices associated with the business object instance;

associating the business object instance with the one or more mobile devices and with an insert state in an association table; and

associating, in the association table, the business object instance and the one or more mobile devices with a full-state message in a message store.

2. A method according to claim 1, further comprising:

receiving an instruction to synchronize with one of the one or more mobile devices;

determining that the insert state is associated with the one mobile device and the business object instance in the association table; and

transmitting the full-state message to the one mobile device.

3. A method according to claim 2, further comprising:

storing a message identifier in the association table;

storing the message identifier in the message store; and

associating the full-state message with the message identifier in the message store.

4. A method according to claim 1, further comprising:

receiving an update to the business object instance;

determining a second one or more mobile devices associated with the business object instance; and

for each one of the second one or more mobile devices;

determining a state associated with the business object instance and with the one of the second one or more mobile devices in the association table;

if the business object instance and the one of the second one or more mobile devices are associated with a current state in the association table, associating the business object instance and the one of the second one or more mobile devices with an update state and an update message data in the association table;

if the business object instance and the one of the second one or more mobile devices are associated with the update state in the association table, associating the business object instance and the one of the second one or more mobile devices with the update message data in the association table; and

if the business object instance and the one of the second one or more mobile devices are associated with the insert state in the association table, associating, in the association table, the business object instance and the one of the second one or more mobile devices with a new full-state message of the message store.

5. A method according to claim 4, further comprising:

receiving an instruction to synchronize with one of the second one or more mobile devices; and

for each business object instance associated with the one of the second one or more mobile devices in the association table;

determining a state associated with the business object instance and with the one of the second one or more mobile devices in the association table;

if the insert state is associated with the one of the second one or more mobile devices and the business object instance in the association table, transmitting the new full-state message to the one of the second one or more mobile devices; and

if the update state is associated with the one of the second one or more mobile devices and the business object instance in the association table, transmitting the update message associated with the business object instance and the one of the second one or more mobile devices to the one of the second one or more mobile devices.

6. A method according to claim 1, further comprising:

receiving an instruction to synchronize with one of the one or more mobile devices; and

for each business object instance associated with the one of the one or more mobile devices in the association table;

determining a state associated with the business object instance and with the one of the one or more mobile devices in the association table;

if the insert state is associated with the one of the one or more mobile devices and the business object instance in the association table, transmitting the full-state message associated with the one of the one or more mobile devices and the business object instance to the one of the one or more mobile devices; and

if an update state is associated with the one of the one or more mobile devices and the business object instance in the association table, transmitting an update message associated with the business object instance and the one of the one or more mobile devices to the one of the one or more mobile devices.

7. A method according to claim 1, further comprising:

receiving an instruction to remove the business object instance from the one or more mobile devices;

associating the business object instance and the one or more mobile devices with a remove state in the association table;

receiving an instruction to synchronize with one of the one or more mobile devices;

determining that the one mobile device and the business object instance are associated with the remove state in the association table;

transmitting an instruction to remove the business object instance from the one mobile device; and

removing the association between the one mobile device and the business object instance from the association table.

8. A method according to claim 7, further comprising:

decrementing a reference count associated with the business object instance and the one mobile device in the association table; and

removing the association between the one mobile device and the business object instance from the association table if the reference count equals zero.

9. A method according to claim 1, further comprising:

associating each business object instance of the association table with a respective flag, the flag indicating if data associated with a respective business object instance is missing from middleware; and

determining if any of the flags indicate that data associated with a respective business object instance is missing from middleware.

10. A method according to claim 1, further comprising:

regenerating data for one of the one or more mobile devices by;

associating all business object instances associated with the one mobile device and with the update state or a current state in the association table with the insert state; and

removing all business object instances associated with the one mobile device and with a remove state or a delete state in the association table.

11. A system comprising:

middleware comprising an association table and a message store, the middleware to;

receive a business object instance from a backend system;

determine one or more mobile devices associated with the business object instance;

associate the business object instance with the one or more mobile devices and with an insert state in an association table; and

associate, in the association table, the business object instance and the one or more mobile devices with a full-state message in the message store.

12. A system according to claim 11, the middleware further to:

receive an instruction to synchronize with one of the one or more mobile devices;

determine that the insert state is associated with the one mobile device and the business object instance in the association table; and

transmit the full-state message to the one mobile device.

13. A system according to claim 12, the middleware further to:

store a message identifier in the association table;

store the message identifier in the message store; and

associate the full-state message with the message identifier in the message store.

14. A system according to claim 11, the middleware further to:

receive an update to the business object instance;

determine a second one or more mobile devices associated with the business object instance; and

for each one of the second one or more mobile devices;

determine a state associated with the business object instance and with the one of the second one or more mobile devices in the association table;

if the business object instance and the one of the second one or more mobile devices are associated with a current state in the association table, associate the business object instance and the one of the second one or more mobile devices with an update state and an update message data in the association table;

if the business object instance and the one of the second one or more mobile devices are associated with the update state in the association table, associate the business object instance and the one of the second one or more mobile devices with the update message data in the association table; and

if the business object instance and the one of the second one or more mobile devices are associated with the insert state in the association table, associate, in the association table, the business object instance and the one of the second one or more mobile devices with a new full-state message of the message store.

15. A system according to claim 14, the middleware further to:

receive an instruction to synchronize with one of the second one or more mobile devices; and

for each business object instance associated with the one of the second one or more mobile devices in the association table;

determine a state associated with the business object instance and with the one of the second one or more mobile devices in the association table;

if the insert state is associated with the one of the second one or more mobile devices and the business object instance in the association table, transmit the new full-state message to the one of the second one or more mobile devices; and

if the update state is associated with the one of the second one or more mobile devices and the business object instance in the association table, transmit the update message associated with the business object instance and the one of the second one or more mobile devices to the one of the second one or more mobile devices.

16. A system according to claim 11, the middleware further to:

receive an instruction to synchronize with one of the one or more mobile devices; and

for each business object instance associated with the one of the one or more mobile devices in the association table;

determine a state associated with the business object instance and with the one of the one or more mobile devices in the association table;

if the insert state is associated with the one of the one or more mobile devices and the business object instance in the association table, transmit the full-state message associated with the one of the one or more mobile devices and the business object instance to the one of the one or more mobile devices; and

if an update state is associated with the one of the one or more mobile devices and the business object instance in the association table, transmit an update message associated with the business object instance and the one of the one or more mobile devices to the one of the one or more mobile devices.

17. A system according to claim 11, the middleware further to:

receive an instruction from the backend system to remove the business object instance from the one or more mobile devices;

associate the business object instance and the one or more mobile devices with a remove state in the association table;

receive a second instruction to synchronize with one of the one or more mobile devices;

determine that the one mobile device and the business object instance are associated with the remove state in the association table; and

remove the association between the one mobile device and the business object instance from the association table.

18. A system according to claim 17, the middleware further to:

decrement a reference count associated with the business object instance and the one mobile device the association table; and

remove the association between the one mobile device and the business object instance from the association table if the reference count equals zero.

19. A system according to claim 11, the middleware further to:

associate each business object instance of the association table with a respective flag, the flag indicating if data associated with a respective business object instance is missing from middleware; and

determine if any of the flags indicate that data associated with a respective business object instance is missing from middleware.

20. A system according to claim 11, the middleware further to:

regenerate data for one of the one or more mobile devices by;

association of all business object instances associated with the one mobile device and with the update state or a current state in the association table with the insert state; and

removal of all business object instances associated with the one mobile device and with a remove state or a delete state in the association table.

21. A computer-readable medium storing program code, the program code comprising:

code to receive a business object instance from a backend system;

code to determine one or more mobile devices associated with the business object instance;

code to associate the business object instance with the one or more mobile devices and with an insert state in an association table; and

code to associate, in the association table, the business object instance and the one or more mobile devices with a full-state message in the message store.

22. A medium according to claim 21, the program code further comprising:

code to receive an instruction to synchronize with one of the one or more mobile devices;

code to determine that the insert state is associated with the one mobile device and the business object instance in the association table; and

code to transmit the full-state message to the one mobile device.

23. A medium according to claim 22, the program code further comprising:

code to store a message identifier in the association table;

code to store the message identifier in the message store; and

code to associate the full-state message with the message identifier in the message store.

24. A medium according to claim 21, the program code further comprising:

code to receive an update to the business object instance;

code to determine a second one or more mobile devices associated with the business object instance; and

for each one of the second one or more mobile devices;

code to determine a state associated with the business object instance and with the one of the second one or more mobile devices in the association table;

code to associate, if the business object instance and the one of the second one or more mobile devices are associated with a current state in the association table, the business object instance and the one of the second one or more mobile devices with an update state and an update message data in the association table;

code to associate, if the business object instance and the one of the second one or more mobile devices are associated with the update state in the association table, the business object instance and the one of the second one or more mobile devices with the update message data in the association table; and

code to associate in the association table, if the business object instance and the one of the second one or more mobile devices are associated with the insert state in the association table, the business object instance and the one of the second one or more mobile devices with a new full-state message of the message store.

25. A medium according to claim 24, the program code further comprising:

code to receive an instruction to synchronize with one of the second one or more mobile devices; and

for each business object instance associated with the one of the second one or more mobile devices in the association table;

code to determine a state associated with the business object instance and with the one of the second one or more mobile devices in the association table;

code to transmit, if the insert state is associated with the one of the second one or more mobile devices and the business object instance in the association table, the new full-state message to the one of the second one or more mobile devices; and

code to transmit, if the update state is associated with the one of the second one or more mobile devices and the business object instance in the association table, the update message associated with the business object instance and the one of the second one or more mobile devices to the one of the second one or more mobile devices.

26. A medium according to claim 21, the program code further comprising:

code to receive an instruction to synchronize with one of the one or more mobile devices; and

for each business object instance associated with the one of the one or more mobile devices in the association table;

code to determine a state associated with the business object instance and with the one of the one or more mobile devices in the association table;

code to transmit, if the insert state is associated with the one of the one or more mobile devices and the business object instance in the association table, the full-state message associated with the one of the one or more mobile devices and the business object instance to the one of the one or more mobile devices; and

code to transmit, if an update state is associated with the one of the one or more mobile devices and the business object instance in the association table, an update message associated with the business object instance and the one of the one or more mobile devices to the one of the one or more mobile devices.

27. A medium according to claim 21, the program code further comprising:

code to receive an instruction from the backend system to remove the business object instance from the one or more mobile devices;

code to associate the business object instance and the one or more mobile devices with a remove state in the association table;

code to receive a second instruction to synchronize with one of the one or more mobile devices;

code to determine that the one mobile device and the business object instance are associated with the remove state in the association table; and

code to remove the association between the one mobile device and the business object instance from the association table.

28. A medium according to claim 27, the program code further comprising:

code to decrement a reference count associated with the business object instance and the one mobile device the association table; and

code to remove the association between the one mobile device and the business object instance from the association table if the reference count equals zero.

29. A medium according to claim 21, the program code further comprising:

code to associate each business object instance of the association table with a respective flag, the flag indicating if data associated with a respective business object instance is missing from middleware; and

code to determine if any of the flags indicate that data associated with a respective business object instance is missing from middleware.

30. A medium according to claim 21, the program code further comprising:

code to regenerate data for one of the one or more mobile devices by associating all business object instances associated with the one mobile device and with the update state or a current state in the association table with the insert state, and removing all business object instances associated with the one mobile device and with a remove state or a delete state in the association table.