Component transaction server for developing and deploying transaction- intensive business applications

• US 6,266,666 B1
• Filed: 09/08/1998
• Issued: 07/24/2001
• Est. Priority Date: 09/08/1997
• Status: Expired due to Term

• Current Assignee: Sybase Incorporated (SAP SE)
• Original Assignee: Sybase Incorporated (SAP SE)
• Inventors: Ireland, Evan, Van Couvering, David W.
• Primary Examiner(s): Breene, John
• Assistant Examiner(s): RAYYAN, SUSAN F
• Application Number:
  US09/149,890
• Time in Patent Office: 1,050 Days
• Field of Search: 707/1-10, 707/102
• US Class Current: 707/770
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 16/972 Access to data in other repository systems, e.g. legacy data or dynamic Web page generation
• CPC Class Codes: Y10S 707/954 Relational

Abstract

A Component Transaction Server (CTS) is described, which provides a framework for deploying the middle-tier logic of distributed component-based applications. The CTS simplifies the creation and administration of Internet applications that service thousands of simultaneous clients. The CTS components, which execute on the middle-tier between end-user client applications and remote databases, provide efficient management of client sessions, security, threads, third-tier database connections, and transaction flow, without requiring specialized knowledge on the part of the component developer. The system'"'"'s scalability and platform independence allows one to develop application on inexpensive uniprocessor machines, then deploy the application on an enterprise-grade multiprocessor server. In its Result Set module, the CTS provides tabular result sets, thus making the environment very desirable for business applications. In most component-based systems, a component interface returns an object. CTS components can return either an object or a collection of objects called a “result set.” The format of a result set is based on the standard ODBC result set, and it is roughly equivalent to a database cursor. Because they return a result set, CTS components are much simpler and more efficient to work with. In this fashion, graphic user interface (GUI) development with CTS is nearly identical to traditional two-tier systems.

Claims

1. In a system comprising a computer network having a database server and a client, a method for providing the client with component-based access to tabular data from the database server, the method comprising:

providing a component-based transaction server, said transaction server in communication with both the client and the database server;

registering the particular component with the transaction server so that the particular component is accessible across the network to the client, said particular component comprising a plurality of methods; and

providing the client with component-based access to tabular data from the database server by;

(i) providing an interface allowing the client to request a tabular data set by invoking a particular method of the component; and

(ii) upon receiving such a request from the client to retrieve data from the database server, processing said request by creating at the transaction server a result set satisfying said request and transmitting said result set to the client as a tabular data set.

2. The method of claim 1, wherein said client resides on a first tier, said transaction server resides on a second tier, and said database server resides on a third tier.

3. The method of claim 1, wherein said tabular data comprises a data set arranged in row-based format.

4. The method of claim 1, wherein said database server comprises a relational database management system (RDBMS).

5. The method of claim 1, wherein said particular component comprises a selected one of a Java component, a Java Bean component, an ActiveX component, and a C/C++ component.

6. The method of claim 1, wherein said interface comprises a database connectivity interface supporting compatibility with Java Database Connectivity (JDBC) protocol.

7. The method of claim 1, wherein said particular method of the component comprises a data access method.

8. The method of claim 1, wherein step (ii) includes transmitting from the database server to the transaction server a tabular result set satisfying said request.

9. The method of claim 8, wherein said tabular result set is transmitted from the database server to the transaction server as a result of a database query transmitted from the transaction server to the database server.

10. The method of claim 9, wherein said database query is formulated based on information sought by the client.

11. The method of claim 1, wherein step (i) further comprises:

creating a proxy allowing the transaction server to process a request from the client to retrieve data.

12. The method of claim 1, wherein said request is transmitted at least in part using HyperText Transport Protocol (HTTP).

13. The method of claim 1, wherein said transaction server and said database server communicate at least in part using a tabular data streaming protocol.

14. The method of claim 1, wherein said transaction server optionally satisfies said request by returning an object.

15. The method of claim 1, wherein said client includes a data aware control and wherein said method further comprises binding said tabular data set to the data aware control.

16. A system for providing a client with component-based access to tabular data from a database server, the system comprising:

a network connected to at least one database server and at least one client;

a transaction server connected to the network and in communication with both a particular client and a particular database server, said transaction server for providing the particular client with component-based access to tabular data from the particular database server; and

a connectivity interface allowing the particular client to request a tabular data set by invoking a particular method of a component registered with the transaction server;

wherein upon receiving such a request from the particular client to retrieve data from the particular database server, the transaction server processes said request by retrieving from the particular database server a result set satisfying said request and transmitting said result set to the client as a tabular data set.

17. The system of claim 16, wherein said particular client resides on a first tier, said transaction server resides on a second tier, and said particular database server resides on a third tier.

18. The system of claim 16, wherein said tabular data comprises a data set arranged in row-based format.

19. The system of claim 16, wherein said particular database server comprises a relational database management system (RDBMS).

20. The system of claim 16, wherein the registered component comprises a selected one of a Java component, a Java Bean component, an ActiveX component, and a C/C++ component.

21. The system of claim 16, wherein said connectivity interface supports compatibility with Java Database Connectivity (JDBC) protocol.

22. The system of claim 16, wherein said particular method of the component comprises a data access method.

23. The system of claim 16, wherein transaction server processes said request, at least in part, by retrieving into a local buffer of the transaction server a tabular result set satisfying said request.

24. The system of claim 23, wherein said tabular result set is retrieved as a result of a database query transmitted from the transaction server to the database server.

25. The system of claim 24, wherein said database query is formulated based on information sought by the particular client.

26. The system of claim 16, wherein transaction server processes said request, at least in part, by creating a proxy allowing the transaction server to process a request from the particular client to retrieve data.

27. The system of claim 16, wherein said request is transmitted at least in part using HyperText Transport Protocol (HTTP).

28. The system of claim 16, wherein said transaction server and said database server communicate at least in part using a tabular data streaming protocol.

29. The system of claim 16, wherein said transaction server optionally satisfies said request by returning an object.

30. The system of claim 16, wherein said particular client includes a data aware control bound to said tabular data set.

31. The system of claim 16, wherein said network is connected to the Internet.

32. The system of claim 16, wherein said particular client comprises a Web-based client.

33. The system of claim 16, wherein said particular client comprises a Microsoft Windows-based client.

34. The system of claim 16, wherein the transaction server further processes said request by returning a database cursor.

35. The system of claim 34, wherein said database cursor comprises a Java Database Connectivity (JDBC) handle.