Cool ICE data wizard

• US 6,295,531 B1
• Filed: 11/09/1998
• Issued: 09/25/2001
• Est. Priority Date: 11/09/1998
• Status: Expired due to Term

• Current Assignee: Unisys Corporation
• Original Assignee: Unisys Corporation
• Inventors: Bae, Seongho, Watts, Julian C.
• Primary Examiner(s): CHOULES, JACK M
• Application Number:
  US09/188,629
• Time in Patent Office: 1,051 Days
• Field of Search: 707/10, 707/3, 707/4, 707/5, 707/102
• US Class Current: 1/1
• 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 707/99934 Query formulation, input preparation, or translation

Abstract

An apparatus for and method of utilizing an internet terminal coupled to the world wide web using HTML communications protocol to access an existing proprietary data base management system having varying requirements for command language format. The user request is received by a web server from the world wide web. The command language script is generated in response to data supplied by the user as entries in HTML screens. The script writer, called data wizard converts these inputs into one or more sequenced commands in the command language of the data base management system. These data base management commands are sequentially presented to the data base management system and the intermediate products stored. After all of the sequenced data base management commands have been executed, the web server combines the intermediate products to form a complete response to the initial user request. The response is transferred to the user over the world wide web. The sequenced commands may be stored for future use.

Claims

1. In a data processing environment having a user terminal coupled to a publicly accessible digital communications network with service requests in a service-based structure and having a data base management system for responding to service requests in a command language script, the improvement comprising:

server responsively coupled to said user terminal via said publicly accessible digital communications network and responsively coupled to said data base management system wherein said server includes a data wizard for generating service requests in said command language script from said service requests in said service-based structure.

2. The improvement according to claim 1 wherein said server includes a repository for storing said command language script.

3. The improvement according to claim 2 wherein said publicly accessible digital communications network is the world wide web.

4. The improvement according to claim 3 including a second data base management system remote from said server and responsively coupled to said server via said world wide web and wherein said server further comprises a service handler for responding to said service requests using access to said second data base management system.

5. The improvement according to claim 4 wherein said data base management system is Classic MAPPER.

6. An apparatus comprising:

a. a user terminal;

b. a publicly accessible digital communications network having a service-based request language coupled to said user terminal;

c. a server responsively coupled to said user terminal via said publicly accessible digital communications network;

d. a data base management system having a command language script responsively coupled to said server; and

e. a data wizard located within said server and responsively coupled to said data base management system which translates said service-based request language into said command language script.

7. The apparatus of claim 6 wherein said server has a storage facility for storing said command language script.

8. The appaatus of claim 7 wherein said data base management system is responsively coupled to said server via said publicly accessible digital communications network.

9. The apparatus of claim 8 wherein said publicly accessible digital communications network is the world wide web.

10. The apparatus of claim 9 wherein said user terminal is an industry compatible personal computer having a commercially available web browser.

11. A method of using a user terminal utilizing service-based data requests to access a data base management system responding to command language script comprising:

a. transmitting a service-based request from said user terminal to a data wizard;

b. transmitting a request for input from said data wizard to said user terminal;

c. transmitting said input from said user terminal to said data wizard;

d. converting said service-based request and said input into an ordered sequence of said command language script;

e. transferring said ordered sequence of command language script to said data base management system;

f. receiving a subsequent response from data base management system corresponding to said ordered sequence of command language script; and

h. transferring a service-based response corresponding to said subsequent response to said user terminal.

12. A method according to claim 11 further comprising storing said ordered sequence of command language script for future use.

13. A method according to claim 12 further comprising accessing said stored order of command language script in response to a subsequent service-based request from said user.

14. A method according to claim 13 wherein said transmitting steps further comprise transmitting over the world wide web.

15. A method according to claim 14 wherein said data base management system includes a Cool ICE system.

16. An apparatus comprising:

a. means for permitting a user to interact with a digital data base;

b. means responsively coupled to said permitting means for providing said user with access to a publicly accessible digital communication network via service-based requests;

c. means responsively coupled to said permitting means for offering data processing services according to command language script; and

e. means responsively coupled to said offering means and said permitting means for converting service-based requests to said command language script.

17. An apparatus according to claim 16 wherein said publicly accessible digital communication network further comprises the world wide web.

18. An apparatus according to claim 17 wherein said converting means further comprises means for requesting further input from said user and utilizing said further input to write said command language script.

19. An apparatus according to claim 18 wherein said offering means further comprises Cool ICE system.

20. An apparatus according to claim 19 wherein said permitting means further comprises an industry standard personal computer.