Portable business process deployment model across different application servers

• US 20090144729A1
• Filed: 11/30/2007
• Published: 06/04/2009
• Est. Priority Date: 11/30/2007
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Red Hat, Inc. (International Business Machines Corporation)
• Original Assignee: Red Hat, Inc. (International Business Machines Corporation)
• Inventors: Guizar, Alejandro
• Granted Patent: US 8,954,952 B2
• Time in Patent Office: Days
• US Class Current: 717/176
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 8/60 Software deployment

Abstract

A method and apparatus for providing portability of a business process deployment model across different application servers. In one embodiment, a method may include determining which application server will be used for deploying a business process as a web application, and invoking an implementation framework of application server interfaces that corresponds to this application server. The method may further include utilizing the invoked implementation framework to obtain application server information needed for deploying the business process as a web application, and generating a web application package using the application server information.

Claims

1. A computer-implemented method, comprising:

determining which application server from a plurality of application servers is to be used for deploying a business process as a web application;

invoking one of a plurality of implementation frameworks of a set of application server interfaces, the invoked implementation framework corresponding to the application server;

obtaining application server information needed for deploying the business process as the web application using the invoked implementation framework; and

generating a web application package using the application server information.

2. The method of claim 1 wherein the plurality of the application servers comprises different types of application servers.

3. The method of claim 1 wherein the plurality of the application servers comprises different versions of an application server type.

4. The method of claim 1 wherein the application server information comprises a location of each web service produced by the business process, and binding information for each web service produced by the business process.

5. The method of claim 4 wherein obtaining the application server information comprises:

sending a request for a web service location to a first application server class maintaining web service location information; and

sending a request for web service binding information to a second application server class maintaining web service binding information.

6. The method of claim 4 wherein the web service binding information comprises at least one of a format of messages to be sent by a web service, a transport layer to be used for sending the messages, and a protocol to be used for sending the messages.

7. The method of claim 1 wherein:

the business process is defined using a business process execution language (BPEL);

a definition of the business process includes a BPEL process definition document and one or more web services description language (WSDL) interface documents; and

the definition of the business process specifies one or more partner links and one or more roles associated with the partner links.

8. The method of claim 7 wherein generating the web application package comprises:

building a port component for each partner link associated with a role;

building a web archive for the web application using port components created for the partner links; and

deploying the web archive of the web application to the application server.

9. The method of claim 8 wherein building the port component comprises:

generating WSDL implementation documents using the definition of the business process, the WSDL implementation documents comprising an interface document, a SOAP binding document for each web service produced by the BPEL process, and a service element document; and

generating Java mapping artifacts using the WSDL implementation documents.

10. The method of claim 9 wherein the SOAP binding document and the service element document are generated using the application server information that includes a location of each web service and SOAP protocol details for each web service.

11. A system comprising:

a deployment server to determine which application server from a plurality of application servers is to be used for deploying a business process as a web application, and to invoke an implementation framework from a plurality of implementation frameworks of a set of application server interfaces, the invoked implementation framework corresponding to the application server; and

the implementation framework, coupled with the deployment server, to obtain application server information needed for deploying the business process as the web application, the application server information being used by the deployment server to generate a web application package.

12. The system of claim 11 wherein the plurality of the application servers comprises at least one of different types of application servers or different versions of an application server type.

13. The system of claim 11 wherein the application server information comprises a location of each web service produced by the business process, and binding information for each web service produced by the business process.

14. The system of claim 13 wherein the deployment server is to obtain the application server information by:

sending a request for a web service location to a first application server class maintaining web service location information; and

sending a request for web service binding information to a second application server class maintaining web service binding information.

15. The system of claim 13 wherein the web service binding information comprises at least one of a format of messages to be sent by a web service, a transport layer to be used for sending the messages, and a protocol to be used for sending the messages.

16. The system of claim 11 wherein:

the business process is defined using a business process execution language (BPEL);

a definition of the business process includes a BPEL process definition document and one or more web services description language (WSDL) interface documents; and

the definition of the business process specifies one or more partner links and one or more roles associated with the partner links.

17. The system of claim 16 wherein the deployment server is to generate the web application package by:

building a port component for each partner link associated with a role;

building a web archive for the web application using port components created for the partner links; and

deploying the web archive of the web application to the application server.

18. The system of claim 17 wherein the deployment server is to build the port component comprises:

generating WSDL implementation documents using the definition of the business process, the WSDL implementation documents comprising an interface document, a SOAP binding document for each web service produced by the BPEL process, and a service element document, the SOAP binding document and the service element document being generated using the application server information that includes a location of each web service and SOAP protocol details for each web service; and

generating Java mapping artifacts using the WSDL implementation documents.

19. A computer-readable storage medium including data that, when accessed by a machine, cause the machine to perform a method comprising:

determining which application server from a plurality of application servers is to be used for deploying a business process as a web application;

invoking one of a plurality of implementation frameworks of a set of application server interfaces, the invoked implementation framework corresponding to the application server;

obtaining application server information needed for deploying the business process as the web application using the invoked implementation framework; and

generating a web application package using the application server information.

20. The computer-readable storage medium of claim 19 wherein the plurality of the application servers comprises at least one of different types of application servers or different versions of an application server type.

21. The computer-readable storage medium of claim 19 wherein the application server information comprises a location of each web service produced by the business process, and binding information for each web service produced by the business process.

22. The computer-readable storage medium of claim 21 wherein obtaining the application server information comprises:

sending a request for a web service location to a first application server class maintaining web service location information; and

sending a request for web service binding information to a second application server class maintaining web service binding information.

23. The computer-readable storage medium of claim 22 wherein the web service binding information comprises at least one of a format of messages to be sent by a web service, a transport layer to be used for sending the messages, and a protocol to be used for sending the messages.