Proposal based architecture system

• US 6,158,044 A
• Filed: 05/20/1998
• Issued: 12/05/2000
• Est. Priority Date: 05/21/1997
• Status: Expired due to Fees

• Current Assignee: ePropose, Inc.
• Original Assignee: ePropose, Inc.
• Inventors: Tibbetts, John J.
• Primary Examiner(s): Hafiz, Tariq R.
• Assistant Examiner(s): BOOKER, KELVIN
• Application Number:
  US09/084,199
• Time in Patent Office: 930 Days
• Field of Search: 395/701
• US Class Current: 717/100
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 9/451 Execution arrangements for user interfaces
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 9/465 Distributed object oriented systems remote method invocation [RMI] G06F9/548
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 9/466 Transaction processing
• CPC Class Codes: Y10S 707/99931 Database or file accessing

Abstract

A proposal based architecture system that converts a transaction submission process into a generic object in a computer environment. A preferred embodiment of the invention provides a tool set which allows the user to create a set of Proposal Specifications which define the structure of the possible components of a Proposal. The user defines the complete characteristics (meta-data) for any kind of Proposal which define the hierarchy of domain relationships, interaction modes, validation references, and assumptions. The actual Proposal instance is formed using the definitions in the Proposal Specifications. A Proposal allows a user to add, change, and annotate data, is self aware and navigates between pages and skips to appropriate fields automatically and supports n-level undo/redo. It also tracks all versions of data updates and the user that is responsible for each data update, recognizes and corrects stale data, and enables long-lived transactions, off-line transaction processing, and collaborative transactions. A Proposal is accessed via multiple User Interfaces (UI), breaking the close coupling between the front-end and the back-end and allowing the user to add a Web or Graphical User Interface (GUI) front-end without having to rewrite the back-end application. A UI coordinator maps user input fields to components of the Proposal and communicates with different user interfaces such as: Internet; Graphical User Interface (GUI); Object Oriented User Interface (OOUI); proprietary interface; and devices such as bar code readers or keypads. The invention also provides a default UI and components. A set of Transaction Processing/Data Processing (TP/DP) interfaces are provided to communicate with back-end transactional interfaces such as Database Management Systems (DBMS), Transactional Processing (TP) Monitors, and Object Oriented Databases.

Claims

1. A process for converting a transaction submission process into a reusable, generic transaction-formation object, said object mediating between a front-end and a back-end of a transactional application in a computer environment, and said object including a plurality of components defined by metadata, said process comprising the steps of:

defining a set of specifications for each of the components;

creating said object by using a combination of said specifications to instantiate the transaction submission process; and

providing a back-end interface, wherein said object transmits data to at least one of a plurality of back-end resources through said back-end interface,

said specifications defining a hierarchy of domain relationships, interaction modes, and assumptions.

2. The process of claim 1, further comprising the step of providing said user interfaces and said components by default, wherein said coordinator communicates with said user interfaces.

3. The process of claim 1, further comprising the step of providing said user interfaces that are user-defined, wherein said coordinator communicates with said user interfaces.

4. The process of claim 1, further comprising the step of said coordinator communicating with user interfaces selected from a group consisting of an Internet Interface, Graphical User Interface (GUI), Object Oriented User Interface (OOUI), proprietary interface, bar code readers and keypads.

5. The process of claim 1, further comprising the step of providing a specification builder tool to create said specifications.

6. The process of claim 1, further comprising the step of said back-end interface communicating with said back-end resources selected from a group consisting of Database Management Systems, Transaction Processing Monitors, and Object Oriented Databases.

7. The process of claim 1, further comprising the step of selectively coupling said back-end interface to any of said back-end resources to thereby allow said object to be interrupted, temporarily pended, routed to another party, worked on overtime, and accessed for resumption of processing of the transaction submission process.

8. The process of claim 1, further comprising the step of selectively coupling said object to any of said user interfaces to thereby allow said object to be interrupted, temporarily pended, routed to another party, worked on over time, and accessed for resumption of processing of the transaction submission process.

9. The process of claim 1, wherein said object is self aware and navigates between pages and skips to appropriate fields automatically.

10. The process of claim 1, further comprising the step of said object supporting n-level undo/redo of versions of any of said data.

11. The process of claim 1, further comprising the step of said object allowing a user to add, change, and annotate any of said data.

12. The process of claim 1, further comprising the step of said object tracking

versions of updates made to any of said data in said object, and

an identity of a user providing said updates.

13. The process of claim 1, further comprising the step of said object including data security selected from a group consisting of authorization, authentication, and digital signatures.

14. The process of claim 1, further comprising the steps of said object:

accepting and recording messages originating external to the object relating to errors in the object;

tracking said errors for resolution thereof; and

managing and resolving said errors prior to said transaction submission process being completed.

15. The process of claim 1, further comprising the steps of said object:

recognizing any of said data that has become stale data; and

providing user options for responding to said stale data, said user options being selected from a group consisting of user correction, rule based correction, and error flagging.

16. The process of claim 1, further comprising the step of structuring said object as a quantified hierarchy tree with cardinality.

17. The process of claim 1, further comprising the step of providing a simple component-based assembly process for creating and customizing said user interfaces.

18. The process of claim 1, further comprising the step of providing a standard default visual editor for said object.

52. The method of claim 1, further comprising the step of providing a simple component-based assembly process for creating and customizing said user interfaces.

54. The process of claim 1, further comprising the step of using a coordinator for coordinating user interfaces with said object by

mapping user input fields to said components associated therewith,

accepting data in the user input fields, said data originating from users at the front end,

converting the data in said input fields to said components associated therewith, said user interfaces for viewing contents of the transaction submission process, and

outputting data from said object.

55. The process of claim 54, further comprising the step of organizing said data into a group consisting of user input fields, field groups, and additional reusable, generic transaction-formation objects.

56. The process of claim 1, wherein each of said back-end resources corresponds to a resource coordinator, said process further comprising the steps of organizing data into fields and grouping these fields into field groups, each said field group operating to exchange said data with at least one of said back-end resources through said back-end interface by

determining from the object a first operation that governs the exchange of data with at least one of the back-end resources,

determining from each of said field groups an interaction mode by which that field group exchanges data with at least one of the back-end resources,

determining a second operation to be implemented by a resource coordinator, said second operation being a function of said first operation and said interaction mode,

identifying from said second operation a particular back-end resource which exchanges said data with the field group,

implementing the first operation so that the particular resource coordinator associated with said particular back-end resource exchanges said data with the field group, and

implementing the second operation so that said particular back-end resource exchanges said data with said particular resource coordinator.

57. The process of claim 56, further comprising the step of selecting said first operation from a group consisting of Populate, Commit, Verify, and Check Assumptions.

58. The process of claim 1, further comprising the step of said specifications defining validation references.

70. The process of claim 55, further comprising the step of providing introspective control for automatically

determining characteristics of said metadata,

making decisions based on said characteristics, and

navigating among said input fields, field groups and objects.

73. The process of claim 1, further comprising the step of said object transmitting the data to asset managers through the back-end interface.

19. An apparatus for converting a transaction submission process into a reusable, generic transaction-formation object, said object mediating between a front-end and a back-end of a transactional application in a computer environment, and said object including a plurality of components defined by metadata, comprising:

a module for defining a set of specifications for each of the components;

a module for creating said object by using a combination of said specifications to instantiate the transaction submission process; and

a module for providing a back-end interface, wherein said object transmits data to at least one of a plurality of back-end resources through said back-end interface,

said specifications defining a hierarchy of domain relationships, interaction modes, and assumptions.

20. The apparatus of claim 19, further comprising a module for providing said user interfaces and said components by default, wherein said module for coordinating user interfaces communicates with said user interfaces.

21. The apparatus of claim 19, further comprising a module for providing said user interfaces that are user-defined, wherein said module for coordinating user interfaces communicates with said user interfaces.

22. The apparatus of claim 19, wherein said module for coordinating user interfaces communicates with user interfaces selected from a group consisting of an Internet Interface, Graphical User Interface (GUI), Object Oriented User Interface (OOUI), proprietary interface, bar code readers and keypads.

23. The apparatus of claim 19, further comprising a module for providing a specification builder tool to create said specifications.

24. The apparatus of claim 19, wherein said back-end interface communicates with said back-end resources selected from a group consisting of Database Management Systems, Transaction Processing Monitors, and Object Oriented Databases.

25. The apparatus of claim 19, wherein said back-end interface is selectively coupled to any of said back-end resources to thereby allow said object to be interrupted, temporarily pended, routed to another party, worked on overtime, and accessed for resumption of processing of the transaction submission process.

26. The apparatus of claim 19, wherein said object is selectively coupled to any of said user interfaces to thereby allow said object to be interrupted, temporarily pended, routed to another party, worked on over time, and accessed for resumption of processing of the transaction submission process.

27. The apparatus of claim 19, wherein said object is self aware and navigates between pages and skips to appropriate fields automatically.

28. The apparatus of claim 19, wherein said object supports n-level undo/redo of versions of any of said data.

29. The apparatus of claim 19, wherein said object allows a user to add, change, and annotate any of said data.

30. The apparatus of claim 19, wherein said object tracks

versions of updates made to any of said data in said object, and

an identity of a user providing said updates.

31. The apparatus of claim 19, wherein said object includes data security selected from a group consisting of authorization, authentication, and digital signatures.

32. The apparatus of claim 19, wherein said object

accepts and records messages originating external to the object relating to errors in the object,

tracks said errors for resolution thereof, and

manages and resolves said errors prior to said transaction submission process being completed.

33. The apparatus of claim 19, wherein said object

recognizes any of said data that has become stale data, and

provides user options for responding to said stale data,

said user options being selected from a group consisting of user correction, rule based correction, and error flagging.

34. The apparatus of claim 19, wherein said object is structured as a quantified hierarchy tree with cardinality.

35. The apparatus of claim 19, further comprising a module for providing a simple component-based assembly process for creating and customizing said user interfaces.

36. The apparatus of claim 19, further comprising a module for providing a standard default visual editor for said object.

59. The apparatus of claim 19, further comprising a module for coordinating user interfaces with said object by

mapping user input fields to said components associated therewith,

accepting data in the user input fields, said data originating from users at the front end,

converting the data in said input fields to said components associated therewith, said user interfaces for viewing contents of the transaction submission process, and

outputting data from said object.

60. The apparatus of claim 59, wherein said data is organized into a group consisting of user input fields, field groups, and additional reusable, generic transaction-formation objects.

61. The apparatus of claim 19, wherein each of said back-end resources corresponds to a resource coordinator, said apparatus organizing data into fields and grouping these fields into field groups, each said field group operating to exchange said data with at least one of said back-end resources through said back-end interface by

determining from the object a first operation that governs the exchange of data with at least one of the back-end resources,

determining from each of said field groups an interaction mode by which that field group exchanges data with at least one of the back-end resources,

determining a second operation to be implemented by a resource coordinator, said second operation being a function of said first operation and said interaction mode,

identifying from said second operation a particular back-end resource which exchanges said data with the field group,

implementing the first operation so that the particular resource coordinator associated with said particular back-end resource exchanges said data with the field group, and

implementing the second operation so that said particular back-end resource exchanges said data with said particular resource coordinator.

62. The apparatus of claim 61, wherein said first operation is selected from a group consisting of Populate, Commit, Verify, and Check Assumptions.

63. The apparatus of claim 19, wherein said specifications further define validation references.

71. The apparatus of claim 60, further comprising providing introspective control for automatically

determining characteristics of said metadata,

making decisions based on said characteristics, and

navigating among said input fields, field groups and objects.

74. The apparatus of claim 19, wherein said object transmits the data to asset managers through the back-end interface.

37. A program storage medium readable by a computer, tangibly embodying a program of instructions executable by the computer to perform method steps for converting a transaction submission process into a reusable, generic transaction-formation object, said object mediating between a front-end and a back-end of a transactional application in a computer environment, and said object including a plurality of components defined by metadata, said method steps comprising:

defining a set of specifications for each of the components;

creating said object by using a combination of said specifications to instantiate the transaction submission process; and

providing a back-end interface, wherein said object transmits data to at least one of a plurality of back-end resources through said back-end interface,

said specifications defining a hierarchy of domain relationships, interaction modes, and assumptions.

38. The method of claim 37, further comprising the step of providing said user interfaces and said components by default, wherein said coordinator communicates with said user interfaces.

39. The method of claim 37, further comprising the step of providing said user interfaces that are user-defined, wherein said coordinator communicates with said user interfaces.

40. The method of claim 37, further comprising the step of said coordinator communicating with user interfaces selected from a group consisting of an Internet Interface, Graphical User Interface (GUI), Object Oriented User interface (OOUI), proprietary interface, bar code readers and keypads.

41. The method of claim 37, further comprising the step of providing a specification builder tool to create said specifications.

42. The method of claim 37, further comprising the step of said back-end interface communicating with said back-end resources selected from a group consisting of Database Management Systems, Transaction Processing Monitors, and Object Oriented Databases.

43. The method of claim 37, further comprising the step of selectively coupling said back-end interface to any of said back-end resources to thereby allow said object to be interrupted, temporarily pended, routed to another party, worked on over time, and accessed for resumption of processing of the transaction submission process.

44. The method of claim 37, further comprising the step of selectively coupling said object to any of said user interfaces to thereby allow said object to be interrupted, temporarily pended, routed to another party, worked on over time, and accessed for resumption of processing of the transaction submission process.

45. The method of claim 37, wherein said object is self aware and navigates between pages and skips to appropriate fields automatically.

46. The method of claim 37, further comprising the step of said object supporting n-level undo/redo of versions of any of said data.

47. The method of claim 37, further comprising the step of said object allowing a user to add, change, and annotate any of said data.

48. The method of claim 37, further comprising the step of said object tracking

versions of updates made to any of said data in said object, and

an identity of a user providing said updates.

49. The method of claim 37, further comprising the step of said object including data security selected from a group consisting of authorization, authentication, and digital signatures.

50. The method of claim 37, further comprising the steps of said object:

accepting and recording messages originating external to the object relating to errors in the object,

tracking said errors for resolution thereof; and

managing and resolving said errors prior to said transaction submission process being completed.

51. The method of claim 37, further comprising the step of structuring said object as a quantified hierarchy tree with cardinality.

53. The method of claim 37, further comprising the step of providing a standard default visual editor for said object.

64. The method of claim 37, further comprising the step of using a coordinator for coordinating user interfaces with said object by

mapping user input fields to said components associated therewith,

accepting data in the user input fields, said data originating from users at the front end,

converting the data in said input fields to said components associated therewith, said user interfaces for viewing contents of the transaction submission process, and

outputting data from said object.

65. The method of claim 64, further comprising the step of organizing said data into a group consisting of user input fields, field groups, and additional reusable, generic transaction-formation objects.

66. The method of claim 37, wherein each of said back-end resources corresponds to a resource coordinator, said method further comprising the steps of organizing data into fields and grouping these fields into field groups, each said field group operating to exchange said data with at least one of said back-end resources through said back-end interface by

determining from the object a first operation that governs the exchange of data with at least one of the back-end resources,

determining from each of said field groups an interaction mode by which that field group exchanges data with at least one of the back-end resources,

determining a second operation to be implemented by a resource coordinator, said second operation being a function of said first operation and said interaction mode,

identifying from said second operation a particular back-end resource which exchanges said data with the field group,

implementing the first operation so that the particular resource coordinator associated with said particular back-end resource exchanges said data with the field group, and

implementing the second operation so that said particular back-end resource exchanges said data with said particular resource coordinator.

67. The method of claim 66, further comprising the step of selecting said first operation from a group consisting of Populate, Commit, Verify, and Check Assumptions.

68. The method of claim 37, further comprising the step of said specifications defining validation references.

69. The method of claim 37, further comprising the steps of said object:

recognizing any of said data that has become stale data; and

providing user options for responding to said stale data, said user options being selected from a group consisting of user correction, rule based correction and error flagging.

72. The method of claim 65, further comprising the step of providing introspective control for automatically

determining characteristics of said components,

making decisions based on said characteristics, and

navigating among said input fields, field groups and objects.

75. The method of claim 37, further comprising the step of said object transmitting the data to asset managers through the back-end interface.