Managing Consistent Interfaces for Business Objects Across Heterogeneous Systems

• US 20090248558A1
• Filed: 03/31/2008
• Published: 10/01/2009
• Est. Priority Date: 03/31/2008
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: SAP SE
• Original Assignee: SAP AG (SAP SE)
• Inventors: Janssen, Martin, Baust, Christian, Peichl, Andy, Hauschild, Karsten, Sharma, Pragya, Patodia, Pooja, Sr, Arun, Singh, Abhinava Pratap, Reisert, Corinne, Hollberg, Juergen
• Granted Patent: US 8,433,585 B2
• Time in Patent Office: Days
• US Class Current: 705/35
• CPC Class Codes: G06Q 10/067 Enterprise or organisation modelling
• CPC Class Codes: G06Q 40/00 Finance; Insurance; Tax strategies; Processing of corporate or income taxes
• CPC Class Codes: G06Q 40/06 Asset management; Financial planning or analysis

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 a funds management center, an individual material, and/or a measuring device business object.

Claims

1. A computer readable medium including program code for providing a message-based interface for performing a funds management center service, the service 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 related to funds management centers;

program code for invoking a funds management center business object, wherein the business object is a logically centralized, semantically disjointed object that represents the organizational structure of an organization within a financial management area, including subordinate financial management centers and attributes for different validity periods, and comprises data logically organized as;

a funds management center root node;

an authorization group subordinate node;

a contact subordinate node; and

a funds management center name 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 funds management center business object, the message comprising a funds management center enterprise resource planning create request message entity, a message header package, and a funds management center package.

10. 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 a funds management center service, the service 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 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 funds management center business object invoked by the second application, wherein the business object is a logically centralized, semantically disjointed object that represents the organizational structure of an organization within a financial management area, including subordinate financial management centers and attributes for different validity periods, and comprises data logically organized as;

a funds management center root node;

an authorization group subordinate node;

a contact subordinate node; and

a funds management center name subordinate node;

and the message comprising a funds management center enterprise resource planning create request message entity, a message header package, and a funds management center package; and

program code for receiving a second message from the second application, the second message associated with the invoked funds management center 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 creating, updating and retrieving information related to funds management centers 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 of a particular business object type and at least one of the business objects represents the organizational structure of an organization within a financial management area, including subordinate financial management centers and attributes for different validity periods, and comprises data logically organized as;

a funds management center root node;

an authorization group subordinate node;

a contact subordinate node; and

a funds management center name subordinate node; and

a graphical user interface remote from the memory for presenting data associated with an invoked instance of the funds management center 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 individual material service, the service 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 used for planning and executing maintenance activities on individual materials;

program code for invoking an individual material business object, wherein the business object is a logically centralized, semantically disjointed object for a material that occurs only once in the real world and is therefore uniquely identifiable, and comprises data logically organized as;

an individual material root node;

an individual material hierarchy relationship subordinate node;

an individual material manufacturer information subordinate node;

an individual material address information subordinate node;

an individual material property subordinate node and wherein the individual material property node contains;

a valuation subordinate node; and

an individual material attachment folder subordinate node and wherein the individual material attachment folder node contains;

a document 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 business object, the message comprising an individual material message entity, a message header package, an individual material package, and a log package.

5. A computer readable medium including program code for providing a message-based interface for performing an individual material service, the service 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 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 business object invoked by the second application, wherein the business object is a logically centralized, semantically disjointed object for a material that occurs only once in the real world and is therefore uniquely identifiable, and comprises data logically organized as;

an individual material root node;

an individual material hierarchy relationship subordinate node;

an individual material manufacturer information subordinate node;

an individual material address information subordinate node;

an individual material property subordinate node and wherein the individual material property node contains;

a valuation subordinate node; and

an individual material attachment folder subordinate node and wherein the individual material attachment folder node contains;

a document subordinate node;

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

program code for receiving a second message from the second application, the second message associated with the invoked individual material 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 creating, updating and retrieving information used for planning and executing maintenance activities on individual materials 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 of a particular business object type and at least one of the business objects is for a material that occurs only once in the real world and is therefore uniquely identifiable and, comprises data logically organized as;

an individual material root node;

an individual material hierarchy relationship subordinate node;

an individual material manufacturer information subordinate node;

an individual material address information subordinate node;

an individual material property subordinate node and wherein the individual material property node contains;

a valuation subordinate node; and

an individual material attachment folder subordinate node and wherein the individual material attachment folder node contains;

a document subordinate node; and

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

7. A computer readable medium including program code for providing a message-based interface for performing a measuring device service, the service 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 device that is used to take measurement readings of technical objects;

program code for invoking a measuring device business object, wherein the business object is a logically centralized, semantically disjointed object that represents a device that is used to take measurement readings of technical objects, including installation points and individual materials, and comprises data logically organized as;

a measuring device root 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 measuring device business object, the message comprising a measuring device enterprise resource planning create request message entity, a message header package, and a measuring device package.

8. A computer readable medium including program code for providing a message-based interface for performing a measuring device service, the service 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 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 measuring device business object invoked by the second application, wherein the business object is a logically centralized, semantically disjointed object for represents a device that is used to take measurement readings of technical objects, including installation points and individual materials, and comprises data logically organized as;

a measuring device root node;

and the message comprising a measuring device enterprise resource planning create request message entity, a message header package, and a measuring device package; and

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

9. A distributed system operating in a landscape of computer systems providing message-based services, the system processing business objects involving creating, updating and retrieving information for a device that is used to take measurement readings of technical objects 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 of a particular business object type and at least one of the business objects represents a device that is used to take measurement readings of technical objects, including installation points and individual materials, and comprises data logically organized as;

a measuring device root node; and

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