SYSTEM AND METHOD FOR PROVIDING A FINE-GRAINED RESPONSE FROM A COARSE-GRAINED SERVICE OBJECT

• US 20090019109A1
• Filed: 07/13/2007
• Published: 01/15/2009
• Est. Priority Date: 07/13/2007
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: International Business Machines Corporation
• Original Assignee: International Business Machines Corporation
• Inventors: Bosma, John H., Selvage, Mei Y., Lane, Eoin, Wang, Ningning, Conallen, James
• Granted Patent: US 9,032,087 B2
• Time in Patent Office: Days
• US Class Current: 709/203
• CPC Class Codes: G06Q 10/00 Administration; Management

Abstract

A system and method for generating data at a fine level of detail based on a request to a service object that provides data at a coarse level of detail. The request to the service object includes a data request and a response template indicating the level of detail or selection required in the response. The service object server accesses data using the service object api and coarse level of detail. A navigator uses the data request to develop an information model of the data and then traverses the information model to extract the data needed for a response at the level of detail indicated by the response template. The service object is thus able to return data at a fine level of detail from an object that supports only coarse levels of detail.

Claims

1. A method for providing detailed data from a web service, the method comprising:

receiving a web service request at a server from a requester, said web service request containing a data request, and a desired data response model;

accessing data in response to said web service request;

determining a request information model from said data request;

traversing said request information model and creating a data response from said accessed data where said information model satisfies a data response model element; and

returning said data response to said requester.

2. The method of claim 1, further comprising:

determining whether said request object contains a filter and, if so, creating a response filter in said data response.

3. A system for providing data responses to a requesting client that sends a data request to a web service having a web service interface, said data response being at a finer level of detail than defined by said web service interface, the system comprising:

a web server for processing web service requests;

a data store storing data for a business process;

said web server further including;

a. execution logic for parsing said data request into a web service object request and a data response;

b. execution logic for accessing said data store to provide data according to said web service interface;

c. execution logic for traversing a data model represented by the data request to identify and select data in response to said data response to create a data response output; and

d. network communication services for returning the data response output to the requesting client.

4. A computer program product, comprising:

a. computer program logic for receiving a service object data request and associated response format;

b. computer program logic for accessing data from a service object in response to said service object data request;

c. computer program logic for determining an information model for said accessed data based on said service object data request;

d. computer program logic means for traversing said information model and generating a data response based on said associated response format, said data response containing data at a finer level of detail than said accessed data.