Multi-tiered message parsing

• US 20080163245A1
• Filed: 12/29/2006
• Published: 07/03/2008
• Est. Priority Date: 12/29/2006
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: SAP SE
• Original Assignee: SAP AG (SAP SE)
• Inventors: Kaiser, Jens
• Granted Patent: US 8,522,255 B2
• Time in Patent Office: Days
• US Class Current: 719/313
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 9/541 via adapters, e.g. between incompatible applications
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 9/546 Message passing systems or structures, e.g. queues

Abstract

Methods and apparatus, including computer program products, for multi-tiered parsing of messages. A message that includes data characterizing values is received, the message is parsed to obtain the values as a first data type, and an instance of a value being of a second data type is generated in response to a request for the value. The requested value is one of the values characterized by the data in the message. The first and second data type are different, and, the second data type is associated with the requested value (e.g., the message may indicate that the first value is of the second data type). The parsing may be considered multi-tiered as parsing to obtain values as a first data type may be considered a first tier and generating an instance of a value as a second data type may be considered a second tier of an overall parsing technique.

Claims

1. A computer-implemented method comprising:

receiving a message comprising data characterizing values;

parsing the message to obtain the values as a first data type, the first data type being different than a second data type that is associated with a first value, the first value being one of the values, and the second data type indicated in the message as being a data type of the first value; and

generating an instance of the first value being of the second data type, the generating in response to a request for the first value.

2. A method in accordance with claim 1, wherein the parsing comprises generating the values as character strings, the first data type being a character string data type, and the generating the instance of the first value being of the second data type comprises generating the instance as a complex data type not being the character string data type.

3. A method in accordance with claim 1, further comprising:

buffering the first value in a table representing a business object instance;

receiving a request for the first value; and

returning an instance of the first value from the table.

4. A method in accordance with claim 1, further comprising:

buffering the first value in a table representing a business object instance, the table structured such that rows correspond to a business object node instance of the business object instance and columns correspond to one or more data elements of business object node instances, the columns being associated with a data type of data elements.

5. A method in accordance with claim 1, wherein the message is from a service provider providing services to a service consumer, the service consumer performing the receiving the message.

6. A method in accordance with claim 5, wherein the service provider is a business object instance in a service-oriented architecture.

7. A method in accordance with claim 1, wherein the second data type is a complex data being a data type in accordance with the Core Components Technical Specification.

8. A method in accordance with claim 1, wherein the generating the instance is in response to a client application requesting the first value and the method further comprises displaying the first value in a user interface to a user.

9. A method in accordance with claim 1, wherein the parsing the message comprises parsing an eXtensible Markup Language-formatted message to obtain character strings that represent data elements of a business object node instance.

10. A computer program product, tangibly embodied in an information carrier, the computer program product being operable to cause data processing apparatus to perform operations comprising:

receiving a message comprising data characterizing values;

parsing the message to obtain the values as a first data type, the first data type being different than a second data type that is associated with a first value, the first value being one of the values, and the second data type indicated in the message as being a data type of the first value; and

generating an instance of the first value being of the second data type, the generating in response to a request for the first value.

11. A product in accordance with claim 10, wherein the message is from a service provider providing services to a service consumer, the service consumer performing the receiving the message.

12. A product in accordance with claim 10, wherein the parsing comprises generating the values as character strings, the first data type being a character string data type, and the generating the instance of the first value being of the second data type comprises generating the instance as a complex data type not being the character string data type.

13. A product in accordance with claim 10, wherein the operations further comprise:

buffering the first value in a table representing a business object instance;

receiving a request for the first value; and

returning an instance of the first value from the table.

14. A product in accordance with claim 10, wherein the operations further comprise:

buffering the first value in a table representing a business object instance, the table structured such that rows correspond to a business object node instance of the business object instance and columns correspond to one or more data elements of business object node instances, the columns being associated with a data type of data elements.

15. A system comprising:

a first module to parse messages to generate values of a first data type; and

a second module to selectively transform a subset of the values of the first data type to instances of the values having data types associated with the values, at least some of the data types being different from the first data type, and the second module to selectively transform the subset of the values in response to a request for the subset of the values.

16. A system in accordance with claim 15, wherein the messages are from a service provider providing services to a service consumer, the service consumer receiving the messages and causing the first module to parse the messages.

17. A system in accordance with claim 15, wherein the first module to parse the messages comprises the first module to generate the values as character strings, the first data type being a character string data type, and the second module to selectively transform comprises the second module to selectively transform character strings to a complex data type not being the character string data type.

18. A system in accordance with claim 15, further comprising a third module to buffer the instances of the values having the associated data types in a table representing a business object instance, receive requests for instances of the values having the associated data types;

and return instances of the values having the associated data types from the table.

19. A system in accordance with claim 15, further comprising a third module to buffer the instances of the values having the associated data types in a table representing a business object instance, the table structured such that rows correspond to a business object node instance of the business object instance and columns correspond to one or more data elements of business object node instances, the columns being associated with a data type of data elements.