Client object API and gateway to enable OLTP via the internet

• US 6,115,744 A
• Filed: 07/30/1996
• Issued: 09/05/2000
• Est. Priority Date: 07/30/1996
• Status: Expired due to Term

• Current Assignee: Oracle International Corporation (Oracle Corporation)
• Original Assignee: BEA Systems Incorporated (Oracle Corporation)
• Inventors: Lau, Vincent, Robins, Norman
• Primary Examiner(s): Rinehart, Mark H.
• Application Number:
  US08/688,339
• Time in Patent Office: 1,498 Days
• Field of Search: 395/200.33, 395/200.47, 395/200.48, 395/200.49, 395/200.57, 395/200.58, 395/200.59, 709/203, 709/217, 709/218, 709/219, 709/227, 709/228, 709/229
• US Class Current: 709/227
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 67/01 Protocols
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 67/02 based on web technology, e.g. hypertext transfer protocol [HTTP]
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 67/142 Managing session states for stateless protocols; Signalling session states; State transitions; Keeping-state mechanisms
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 9/40 Network security protocols

Abstract

An apparatus and method for use in a data processing system to connect a client application with a target service program over a network. An application programming interface presents available services as high-level behaviors to a client application program. A gateway executor on the server performs the detailed interfacing with the target service program, and maintains data about the state of interaction with the application program on the client. Messages passed between the gateway executor and the application programming interface utilize a facilitating protocol, and travel through a communications manager program residing on the client, and through the network. Legacy data systems can provide service across the Internet using some embodiments.

Claims

1. An apparatus for connecting a web browser-initiated user application program executing on a network-attached client processor to a target service program (TSP) coupled to a network-attached server processor, comprising:

a gateway executor executing on the server processor and coupled to the TSP, the gateway executor comprising a network connection serving as a first terminus point of a network path, a repository for storing information about one or more services requestable from the TSP, and a message handler coupled to the network connection and the TSP for presenting service requests to the TSP;

a client communication manager (CCM) executing on the client processor for establishing and operating a second terminus point of the network path; and

,

an application programming interface (API) executing on the client processor responsive to the user application program and coupled to the CCM, the API communicating with the gateway executor via the CCM to retrieve information from the gateway executor repository, and the API responsive to the user application program to communicate with the gateway executor via the CCM to request a service from the TSP.

2. The apparatus of claim 1 wherein the API affects its presentation to the user application program in accordance with retrieved repository information.

3. The apparatus of claim 1 wherein the logical network path between the first terminus point and the second terminus point exclusively conveys communications between the terminus points.

4. The apparatus of claim 1 wherein the gateway executor maintains client context data including a context identifier.

5. The apparatus of claim 4 wherein the context identifier is exchanged bidirectionally between the gateway executor and the CCM.

6. The apparatus of claim 1 wherein the gateway executor generates multiple requests to the TSP in response to a single request from the API.

7. The apparatus of claim 1 wherein the gateway executor stores a first representation of a service request in response to a service request message and a second representation of a service request corresponding to the identical service request message, the second representation conforming to the requirements of the TSP.

8. The apparatus of claim 1 wherein the logical network path between the first terminus point and the second terminus point exclusively conveys communications between the terminus points, and wherein the gateway executor maintains client context data including a context identifier, and wherein the context identifier is exchanged bidirectionally between the gateway executor and the CCM, and wherein the gateway executor generates multiple requests to the TSP in response to a single request from the API, and wherein the gateway executor stores a first representation of a service request in response to a service request message and a second representation of a service request corresponding to the identical service request message, the second representation conforming to the requirements of the TSP.

9. The apparatus of claim 1 wherein the gateway executor maintains client context data including a context identifier, and wherein the gateway executor generates multiple requests to the TSP in response to a single request from the API.

10. The apparatus of claim 9 wherein the context identifier is exchanged bidirectionally between the gateway executor and the CCM.

11. The apparatus of claim 1 wherein the gateway executor generates multiple requests to the TSP in response to a single request from the API, and wherein the gateway executor stores a first representation of a service request in response to a service request message and a second representation of a service request corresponding to the identical service request message, the second representation conforming to the requirements of the TSP.

12. The apparatus of claim 1 wherein the logical network path between the first terminus point and the second terminus point exclusively conveys communications between the terminus points, and wherein the gateway executor maintains client context data including a context identifier.

13. The apparatus of claim 12 wherein the context identifier is exchanged bidirectionally between the gateway executor and the CCM.

14. The apparatus of claim 1 wherein the logical network path between the first terminus point and the second terminus point exclusively conveys communications between the terminus points, and wherein the gateway executor generates multiple requests to the TSP in response to a single request from the API.

15. The apparatus of claim 1 wherein the logical network path between the first terminus point and the second terminus point exclusively conveys communications between the terminus points, and wherein the gateway executor stores a first representation of a service request in response to a service request message and a second representation of a service request corresponding to the identical service request message, the second representation conforming to the requirements of the TSP.

16. The apparatus of claim 1 wherein the logical network path between the first terminus point and the second terminus point exclusively conveys communications between the terminus points, and wherein the gateway executor maintains client context data including a context identifier, and wherein the gateway executor generates multiple requests to the TSP in response to a single request from the API.

17. The apparatus of claim 16 wherein the context identifier is exchanged bidirectionally between the gateway executor and the CCM.

18. The apparatus of claim 1 wherein the logical network path between the first terminus point and the second terminus point exclusively conveys communications between the terminus points, and wherein the gateway executor generates multiple requests to the TSP in response to a single request from the API, and wherein the gateway executor stores a first representation of a service request in response to a service request message and a second representation of a service request corresponding to the identical service request message, the second representation conforming to the requirements of the TSP.

19. The apparatus of claim 2 wherein the logical network path between the first terminus point and the second terminus point exclusively conveys communications between the terminus points.

20. The apparatus of claim 2 wherein the gateway executor maintains client context data including a context identifier.

21. The apparatus of claim 20 wherein the context identifier is exchanged bidirectionally between the gateway executor and the CCM.

22. The apparatus of claim 2 wherein the gateway executor generates multiple requests to the TSP in response to a single request from the API.

23. The apparatus of claim 2 wherein the gateway executor stores a first representation of a service request in response to a service request message and a second representation of a service request corresponding to the identical service request message, the second representation conforming to the requirements of the TSP.

24. The apparatus of claim 2 wherein the logical network path between the first terminus point and the second terminus point exclusively conveys communications between the terminus points, and wherein the gateway executor maintains client context data including a context identifier, and wherein the context identifier is exchanged bidirectionally between the gateway executor and the CCM, and wherein the gateway executor generates multiple requests to the TSP in response to a single request from the API, and wherein the gateway executor stores a first representation of a service request in response to a service request message and a second representation of a service request corresponding to the identical service request message, the second representation conforming to the requirements of the TSP.

25. The apparatus of claim 2 wherein the gateway executor maintains client context data including a context identifier, and wherein the gateway executor generates multiple requests to the TSP in response to a single request from the API.

26. The apparatus of claim 25 wherein the context identifier is exchanged bidirectionally between the gateway executor and the CCM.

27. The apparatus of claim 2 wherein the gateway executor generates multiple requests to the TSP in response to a single request from the API, and wherein the gateway executor stores a first representation of a service request in response to a service request message and a second representation of a service request corresponding to the identical service request message, the second representation conforming to the requirements of the TSP.

28. The apparatus of claim 2 wherein the logical network path between the first terminus point and the second terminus point exclusively conveys communications between the terminus points, and wherein the gateway executor maintains client context data including a context identifier.

29. The apparatus of claim 28 wherein the context identifier is exchanged bidirectionally between the gateway executor and the CCM.

30. The apparatus of claim 2 wherein the logical network path between the first terminus point and the second terminus point exclusively conveys communications between the terminus points, and wherein the gateway executor generates multiple requests to the TSP in response to a single request from the API.

31. The apparatus of claim 2 wherein the logical network path between the first terminus point and the second terminus point exclusively conveys communications between the terminus points, and wherein the gateway executor stores a first representation of a service request in response to a service request message and a second representation of a service request corresponding to the identical service request message, the second representation conforming to the requirements of the TSP.

32. The apparatus of claim 2 wherein the logical network path between the first terminus point and the second terminus point exclusively conveys communications between the terminus points, and wherein the gateway executor maintains client context data including a context identifier, and wherein the gateway executor generates multiple requests to the TSP in response to a single request from the API.

33. The apparatus of claim 32 wherein the context identifier is exchanged bidirectionally between the gateway executor and the CCM.

34. The apparatus of claim 2 wherein the logical network path between the first terminus point and the second terminus point exclusively conveys communications between the terminus points, and wherein the gateway executor generates multiple requests to the TSP in response to a single request from the API, and wherein the gateway executor stores a first representation of a service request in response to a service request message and a second representation of a service request corresponding to the identical service request message, the second representation conforming to the requirements of the TSP.

36. The apparatus of claim 20 further comprising a context data store coupled to the message handler for storing information about client application program requests.

37. The apparatus of claim 36 wherein the context data store comprises storage for holding a context identifier corresponding to a particular client application program request.

35. A gateway executor apparatus for receiving and responding to requests from a Web browser-initiated client application program executing on a network-attached client machine, the requests for effecting transactional processing by a target service program (TSP) comprising:

a network connection;

a message handler coupled to the network connection and the TSP for transforming service requests received over the network connection into a format conforming to the requirements of the TSP;

a repository coupled to the message handler for storing information about one or more services requestable from the TSP.

38. A method for a client-resident application programming interface (API) to adapt itself at run time to present to a Web browser-initiated client application program an interface for requesting service over a network connection from a target service program (TSP) using the intermediate agency of a server-resident gateway executor, comprising:

requesting information from the gateway executor about one or more TSP transactions it can facilitate;

receiving TSP transaction information from the gateway executor;

presenting a behavior to a client application program in accordance with the received TSP transaction information.

39. A method for a client-resident applications programming interface (API) to request service over a network connection from a target service program (TSP) on behalf of a Web browser-initiated client application program, using the intermediate agency of a server-resident gateway executor, comprising:

requesting information from the gateway executor about one or more TSP transactions the gateway executor can facilitate;

receiving TSP transaction information from the gateway executor;

presenting a behavior to a client application program in accordance with the received TSP transaction information;

receiving from the client application program a request to effect the presented behavior;

sending a request to the gateway executor for effecting the TSP transaction associated with the presented behavior.