Systems and methods for providing an automated validity check of transactional data postings

• US 20070168356A1
• Filed: 11/27/2006
• Published: 07/19/2007
• Est. Priority Date: 11/25/2005
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: SAP SE
• Original Assignee: SAP AG (SAP SE)
• Inventors: Osterloh, Martin, Schachner, Thomas
• Granted Patent: US 8,495,040 B2
• Time in Patent Office: Days
• US Class Current: 1/1
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 16/1865 Transactional file systems
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 2209/541 Client-server
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 9/54 Interprogram communication
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 67/02 based on web technology, e.g. hypertext transfer protocol [HTTP]

Abstract

Systems and methods are provided for providing an automated validity check of transaction data postings. In one implementation, a method is provided that includes entering at least one code for specifying at least one posting to be performed for a transactional data processing operation. The method may also include starting the transactional data processing operation, sending a request to a service component for performing a validity check of the at least one code, buffering one or more posting requests resulting from execution of the transactional data processing operation. Further, the method may include sending, in response to receipt of a first signal indicative of code validity from the service component, the one or more buffered posting requests with the at least one code to a posting component.

Claims

1. A data processing method comprising:

entering at least one code for specifying at least one posting to be performed for a transactional data processing operation;

starting the transactional data processing operation;

sending a request to a service component for performing a validity check of the at least one code; and

in response to receipt of a first signal indicative of code validity from the service component, sending one or more posting requests with the at least one code to a posting component.

2. The data processing method of claim 1, further comprising buffering the one or more posting requests resulting from execution of the transactional data processing operation in a buffer memory, wherein the one or more buffered posting requests are sent from the buffer memory to the posting component.

3. The data processing method of claim 2, further comprising sending one or more additional posting requests resulting from execution of the transactional data processing operation after receipt of the first signal to the posting component without the buffering.

4. The data processing method of claim 1, further comprising in response to the receipt of a second signal indicative of code invalidity:

prompting a user to enter a correction of the at least one code;

sending a request for performing a validity check of the at least one corrected code to the service component; and

wherein the posting requests resulting from execution of the transactional data processing operation after receipt of the second signal are continued to be buffered until receipt of the first signal.

5. The data processing method of claim 1, wherein the service component is a web service and the request is sent to the web service via a network.

6. The data processing method of claim 5, wherein the web service is coupled to storage means holding valid codes and/or valid code ranges.

7. The data processing method of claim 1, further comprising providing a user interface including at least a first data entry field for entry of transactional data, a second data entry field for the at least one code, and an enter button, wherein the transactional data processing operation and the sending of the request is initiated by a user'"'"'s selection of the enter button.

8. A computer-readable medium including program instructions for performing, when executed by a processor, a data processing method comprising:

entering at least one code for specifying at least one posting to be performed for a transactional data processing operation;

starting the transactional data processing operation;

sending a request to a service component for performing a validity check of the at least one code; and

in response to receipt of a first signal indicative of code validity from the service component, sending one or more posting requests with the at least one code to a posting component.

9. The computer-readable medium of claim 8, further comprising program instructions for performing in response to the receipt of a second signal indicative of code invalidity:

prompting a user to enter a correction of the at least one code;

sending a request for performing a validity check of the at least one corrected code to the service component; and

wherein the posting requests resulting from execution of the transactional data processing operation after receipt of the second signal are continued to be buffered until receipt of the first signal.

10. The computer-readable medium of claim 8, further comprising program instructions for providing a user interface including at least a first data entry field for entry of transactional data, a second data entry field for the at least one code, and an enter button, wherein the transactional data processing operation and the sending of the request is initiated by a user'"'"'s selection of the enter button.

11. A data processing system comprising:

a user interface for entering at least one code, the code specifying at least one posting to be performed for a transactional data processing operation;

an application program for performing the transactional data processing operation;

means for sending a request for performing a validity check of the at least one code to a service component;

a buffer memory for buffering one or more posting requests resulting from execution of the transactional data processing operation; and

program instructions for sending the one or more buffered posting requests to a posting component via the network in response to receipt of a first signal indicative of code validity from the service component.

12. The data processing system of claim 11, wherein the program instructions are adapted to send one or more additional posting requests resulting from execution of the transactional data processing operation after receipt of the first signal to the posting component without the buffering.

13. The data processing system of claim 11, wherein the program instructions are adapted to perform the following steps in response to receipt of a second signal indicative of code invalidity:

prompting a user to enter a correction of the at least one code,

sending a request for performing a validity check of the at least one corrected code to the service component,

wherein the posting requests resulting from execution of the transactional data processing operation after receipt of the second signal are continued to be buffered until receipt of the first signal.

14. The data processing system of claim 11, further comprising a user interface having at least a first data entry field for entry of transactional data, a second data entry field for the at least one code, and an enter button, wherein the transactional data processing operation and the sending of the request is initiated by a user'"'"'s selection of the enter button.

15. The data processing system of claim 14, further comprising first data descriptive of a set of data entry fields for entry of the at least one code and second data descriptive of a sub-set of the data entry fields for display on the user interface.

16. The data processing system of claim 11, wherein the service component is constituted by a central web service being coupled to the application program by a network and program instructions for local execution.

17. The data processing system of claim 16, wherein the central web service is coupled to an accounting data processing system, the accounting data processing system comprising a posting component for execution of the posting requests received from the transactional data processing system.

18. The data processing system of claim 16, further comprising a first central database for use by the central web service, the first database containing a first sub-set of a set of valid codes, and a local second database for use by the program instructions, the second database containing a second sub-set of the set of valid codes.

19. The data processing system of claim 11, further comprising storage means for storing at least one of valid codes and valid code ranges.

20. A web service for performing a code validity check, the web service comprising:

means for receiving a request for performing a validity check of at least one code from a transactional data processing system, the at least one code specifying at least one posting to be performed for a transactional data processing operation;

means for checking the validity of the at least one code;

means for generating a first signal indicative of code validity and for generating a second signal indicative of code invalidity; and

means for sending a response to the transactional data processing system carrying the first or the second signal depending on the result of the validity check.