MANAGING CONSISTENT INTERFACES FOR BUSINESS OBJECTS ACROSS HETEROGENEOUS SYSTEMS

• US 20090222360A1
• Filed: 06/26/2008
• Published: 09/03/2009
• Est. Priority Date: 02/28/2008
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: SAP SE
• Original Assignee: SAP AG (SAP SE)
• Inventors: Schmitt, Bernd, ZUMBACH, KLAUS, SCHNEIDER, THOMAS
• Granted Patent: US 8,417,593 B2
• Time in Patent Office: Days
• US Class Current: 705/29
• CPC Class Codes: G06Q 10/0875 Itemisation or classification of parts, supplies or services, e.g. bill of materials
• CPC Class Codes: G06Q 20/14 specially adapted for billing systems
• CPC Class Codes: G06Q 30/06 Buying, selling or leasing transactions
• CPC Class Codes: G06Q 30/0635 Processing of requisition or of purchase orders

Abstract

A business object model, which reflects data that is used during a given business transaction, is utilized to generate interfaces. This business object model facilitates commercial transactions by providing consistent interfaces that are suitable for use across industries, across businesses, and across different departments within a business during a business transaction. In some operations, software creates, updates, or otherwise processes information related to an individual material bill of material and/or an order tracking view business object.

Claims

1. A computer readable medium including program code for providing a message-based interface for performing an individual material bill of material service, the interface exposing at least one service as defined in a service registry, wherein upon execution the program code executes in an environment of computer systems providing message-based services and comprises:

program code for receiving, from a service consumer, a first message for processing information for a list that comprises the elements defining and describing the components to assemble an individual material bill of material;

program code for invoking an individual material bill of material business object, wherein the business object is a logically centralized, semantically disjointed object for representing information for a list that comprises the elements defining and describing the components to assemble an individual material bill of material, and comprises data logically organized as;

an individual material bill of material root node; and

a variant subordinate node and wherein the variant node contains;

a location subordinate node; and

an item subordinate node and wherein the item node contains a change state subordinate node; and

program code for initiating transmission of a message to a heterogeneous second application, executing in the environment of computer systems providing message-based services, based on the data in the individual material bill of material business object, the message comprising an individual material bill of material message entity, a message header package, and an individual material bill of material package.

7. The program code of claim 1, wherein processing includes creating, updating and/or retrieving.

2. A computer readable medium including program code for providing a message-based interface for performing an individual material bill of material service, the software comprising computer readable instructions embodied on tangible media, wherein upon execution the software executes in a landscape of computer systems providing message-based services and comprises:

program code for initiating transmission of a message to a heterogeneous second application, executing in the environment of computer systems providing message-based services, based on data in an individual material bill of material business object invoked by the second application, wherein the business object is a logically centralized, semantically disjointed object for representing information for a list that comprises the elements defining and describing the components to assemble an individual material bill of material and comprises data logically organized as;

an individual material bill of material root node; and

a variant subordinate node and wherein the variant node contains;

a location subordinate node; and

an item subordinate node and wherein the item node contains a change state subordinate node;

and the message comprising an individual material bill of material message entity, a message header package, and an individual material bill of material package; and

program code for receiving a second message from the second application, the second message associated with the invoked individual material bill of material business object and in response to the first message.

3. A distributed system operating in a landscape of computer systems providing message-based services, the system processing business objects involving an individual material bill of material service and comprising:

memory storing a business object repository storing a plurality of business objects;

wherein each business object is a logically centralized, semantically disjointed object and at least one of the business objects is for representing information for a list that comprises the elements defining and describing the components to assemble an individual material bill of material and comprises data logically organized as;

an individual material bill of material root node; and

a variant subordinate node and wherein the variant node contains;

a location subordinate node; and

an item subordinate node and wherein the item node contains a change state subordinate node; and

a graphical user interface remote from the memory for presenting data associated with an invoked instance of the individual material bill of material business object, the interface comprising computer readable instructions embodied on tangible media.

4. A computer readable medium including program code for providing a message-based interface for performing an order tracking view service, the interface exposing at least one service as defined in a service registry, wherein upon execution the program code executes in an environment of computer systems providing message-based services and comprises:

program code for receiving, from a service consumer, a first message for processing information for all document information for the follow-on business transactions for tracking and completion of a specified order;

program code for invoking an order tracking view business object, wherein the business object is a logically centralized, semantically disjointed object for representing information for document information for the follow-on business transactions for tracking and completion of a specified order, and comprises data logically organized as;

an order tracking view root node; and

an item subordinate node and wherein the item node contains;

a product subordinate node;

a quantity subordinate node;

a party subordinate node;

a date subordinate node;

a predecessor business transaction document reference subordinate node;

a logistic package subordinate node; and

a schedule line subordinate node and wherein the schedule line node contains;

a quantity subordinate node; and

a date subordinate node; and

program code for initiating transmission of a message to a heterogeneous second application, executing in the environment of computer systems providing message-based services, based on the data in the order tracking view business object, the message comprising a purchase order tracking view enterprise resource planning by purchase order response message entity, a message header package, and a purchase order tracking view package, and a log package.

5. A computer readable medium including program code for providing a message-based interface for performing an order tracking view service service, the software comprising computer readable instructions embodied on tangible media, wherein upon execution the software executes in a landscape of computer systems providing message-based services and comprises:

program code for initiating transmission of a message to a heterogeneous second application, executing in the environment of computer systems providing message-based services, based on data in a order tracking view business object invoked by the second application, wherein the business object is a logically centralized, semantically disjointed object for representing information for document information for the follow-on business transactions for tracking and completion of a specified order and comprises data logically organized as;

an order tracking view root node; and

an item subordinate node and wherein the item node contains;

a product subordinate node;

a quantity subordinate node;

a party subordinate node;

a date subordinate node;

a predecessor business transaction document reference subordinate node;

a logistic package subordinate node; and

a schedule line subordinate node and wherein the schedule line node contains;

a quantity subordinate node; and

a date subordinate node;

and the message comprising a purchase order tracking view enterprise resource planning by purchase order response message entity, a message header package, and a purchase order tracking view package, and a log package; and

program code for receiving a second message from the second application, the second message associated with the invoked order tracking view business object and in response to the first message.

6. A distributed system operating in a landscape of computer systems providing message-based services, the system processing business objects involving an order tracking view service and comprising:

memory storing a business object repository storing a plurality of business objects;

wherein each business object is a logically centralized, semantically disjointed object and at least one of the business objects is for representing information for document information for the follow-on business transactions for tracking and completion of a specified order and comprises data logically organized as;

an order tracking view root node; and

an item subordinate node and wherein the item node contains;

a product subordinate node;

a quantity subordinate node;

a party subordinate node;

a date subordinate node;

a predecessor business transaction document reference subordinate node;

a logistic package subordinate node; and

a schedule line subordinate node and wherein the schedule line node contains;

a quantity subordinate node; and

a date subordinate node; and

a graphical user interface remote from the memory for presenting data associated with an invoked instance of the order tracking view business object, the interface comprising computer readable instructions embodied on tangible media.