Business Network Access Protocol for the Business Network

• US 20130097320A1
• Filed: 10/14/2011
• Published: 04/18/2013
• Est. Priority Date: 10/14/2011
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: SAP SE
• Original Assignee: SAP AG (SAP SE)
• Inventors: Ritter, Daniel, Bhatt, Ankur, Herrmann, Christoph
• Granted Patent: US 8,655,989 B2
• Time in Patent Office: Days
• US Class Current: 709/226
• CPC Class Codes: G06Q 10/06 Resources, workflows, human or project management; Enterprise or organisation planning; Enterprise or organisation modelling

Abstract

The present disclosure describes methods, systems, and computer program products for providing access to business network data. One method includes identifying a logical graph from business network linked graph data to be transformed into a resource graph, the logical graph including at least two nodes and at least one edge connecting a pair of nodes and defining a connection between the nodes. Each node is converted into a resource. A resource graph associated with the logical graph can be generated, where generation comprises, for each identified node, associating at least one attribute associated with the identified node as a resource attribute of the corresponding resource, adding at least one node connected to the identified node via an edge in the logical graph as a resource attribute of the corresponding resource, and dissolving at least one connection between the identified node and at least one other entity in the logical graph.

Claims

1. A computer-implemented method performed by one or more processors for providing access to business network data, the method comprising the following operations:

identifying a logical graph from a set of linked graph data associated with a business network to be transformed into a resource graph, the logical graph including at least two nodes and at least one edge, each edge connecting a pair of nodes, the edge defining a connection between the pair of nodes;

converting each identified node into a resource;

generating a resource graph associated with the identified logical graph, where generating the resource graph comprises, and for each identified node in the identified logical graph;

associating at least one attribute associated with the identified node as a resource attribute of the corresponding resource;

adding at least one node connected to the identified node via an edge in the identified logical graph as a resource attribute of the corresponding resource associated with the identified node; and

dissolving at least one connection between the identified node and at least one other entity in the logical graph; and

storing the generated resource graph in memory.

2. The method of claim 1, wherein two or more identified nodes are combined into a single resource.

3. The method of claim 1, wherein the linked data graph defines relationships between at least two networks.

4. The method of claim 3, wherein the networks include one or more of the following:

a social network, a technical integration network, and a business process network.

5. The method of claim 1, wherein dissolving the at least one connection between the identified node and at least one other entity in the logical graph comprises:

identifying a particular connection to be dissolved, where the particular connection is associated with at least one entity in connecting the identified node is associated with at least one additional entity;

declaring at least one of the additional entities as a resource for the resource graph; and

replacing the connection with at least one of the declared resources associated with the at least one of the additional entities.

6. The method of claim 1, further comprising providing an interface for accessing the resource graph via a request.

7. The method of claim 6, wherein the interface comprises at least one application programming interface (API).

8. The method of claim 7, where the at least one API is operable to receive and process requests for at least one of the following operations:

traversing a set of resources in the resource graph;

querying the resource graph based on at least one defined resource attribute search request;

filtering query results associated with the resource graph;

deleting at least one resource from the resource graph;

modifying at least one attribute, resource attribute, or connection associated with at least one particular resource within the resource graph;

creating at least one new resource within the resource graph and connecting the at least one new resource to the resource graph via at least one connection or resource attribute; and

clustering the resource graph through at least one predefined algorithm at query-time and returning at least one temporarily-created resource based on the clustering.

9. The method of claim 8, where responses to received requests are returned in part using JavaScript Object Notation representations of at least one resource within the resource graph.

10. The method of claim 7, wherein requests received at the API define at least one resource within the resource graph for initial access.

11. A computer program product for providing access to business network data, the computer program product comprising computer readable instructions embodied on tangible, non-transitory media, the instructions operable when executed to:

identify a logical graph from a set of linked graph data associated with a business network to be transformed into a resource graph, the logical graph including at least two nodes and at least one edge, each edge connecting a pair of nodes, the edge defining a connection between the pair of nodes;

convert each identified node into a resource; and

generate a resource graph associated with the identified logical graph, where generating the resource graph comprises, and for each identified node in the identified logical graph;

associate at least one attribute associated with the identified node as a resource attribute of the corresponding resource;

add at least one node connected to the identified node via an edge in the identified logical graph as a resource attribute of the corresponding resource associated with the identified node; and

dissolve at least one connection between the identified node and at least one other entity in the logical graph.

12. The computer program product of claim 11, wherein two or more identified nodes are combined into a single resource.

13. The computer program product of claim 11, wherein the linked data graph defines relationships between at least two networks.

14. The computer program product of claim 13, wherein the networks include one or more of the following:

a social network, a technical integration network, and a business process network.

15. The computer program product of claim 11, wherein dissolving the at least one connection between the identified node and at least one other entity in the logical graph comprises:

identifying a particular connection to be dissolved, where the particular connection is associated with at least one entity in connecting the identified node is associated with at least one additional entity;

declaring at least one of the additional entities as a resource for the resource graph; and

replacing the connection with at least one of the declared resources associated with the at least one of the additional entities.

16. The computer program product of claim 11, further comprising providing an interface for accessing the resource graph via a request.

17. The computer program product of claim 16, wherein the interface comprises at least one application programming interface (API).

18. The computer program product of claim 17, where the at least one API is operable to receive and process requests for at least one of the following operations:

traversing a set of resources in the resource graph;

querying the resource graph based on at least one defined resource attribute search request;

filtering query results associated with the resource graph;

deleting at least one resource from the resource graph;

modifying at least one attribute, resource attribute, or connection associated with at least one particular resource within the resource graph;

creating at least one new resource within the resource graph and connecting the at least one new resource to the resource graph via at least one connection or resource attribute; and

clustering the resource graph through at least one predefined algorithm at query-time and returning at least one temporarily-created resource based on the clustering.

19. The computer program product of claim 17, wherein requests received at the API define at least one resource within the resource graph for initial access.

20. A system comprising:

one or more computers; and

a computer-readable medium coupled to the one or more computers having instructions stored thereon which, when executed by the one or more computers, cause the one or more computers to perform operations comprising;

identifying a logical graph from a set of linked graph data associated with a business network to be transformed into a resource graph, the logical graph including at least two nodes and at least one edge, each edge connecting a pair of nodes, the edge defining a connection between the pair of nodes;

converting each identified node into a resource; and

generating a resource graph associated with the identified logical graph, where generating the resource graph comprises, and for each identified node in the identified logical graph;

associating at least one attribute associated with the identified node as a resource attribute of the corresponding resource;

adding at least one node connected to the identified node via an edge in the identified logical graph as a resource attribute of the corresponding resource associated with the identified node; and

dissolving at least one connection between the identified node and at least one other entity in the logical graph.