System and method for integrating entities via user-interactive rule-based matching and difference reconciliation

• US 6,407,753 B1
• Filed: 05/04/1999
• Issued: 06/18/2002
• Est. Priority Date: 05/04/1999
• Status: Expired due to Fees

• Current Assignee: International Business Machines Corporation
• Original Assignee: International Business Machines Corporation
• Inventors: Tarr, Peri L., Ossher, Harold L., Kruskal, Vincent J., Dobson, Steven R., Kaplan, Matthew, Budinsky, Frank J.
• Primary Examiner(s): Bayerl, Raymond J.
• Application Number:
  US09/304,606
• Time in Patent Office: 1,141 Days
• Field of Search: 345/764, 345/704, 345/700, 345/966, 345/967, 345/762, 345/763, 345/780, 345/809, 707/500.1, 707/101, 707/102, 707/103.Y, 707/104.1, 717/1, 717/4, 717/100, 717/110, 717/113, 717/124-127, 717/131, 706/59, 706/45, 706/60, 706/61
• US Class Current: 715/764
• CPC Class Codes: G06N 5/022 Knowledge engineering; Knowledge acquisition
• CPC Class Codes: Y10S 707/99942 Manipulating data structure, e.g. compression, compaction, compilation
• CPC Class Codes: Y10S 715/967 Visual or iconic programming

Abstract

A system and method for integrating entities using a graphic user interface (GUI) to provide user-interactive rule-based matching and difference reconciliation. In one aspect, a system for integrating entities employs a combination of default matching and reconciliation approaches and user tailoring to generate a composite entity from one or more input entities using a set of composition rules. The set of composition rules comprises a combination of default rules, as well as rules that represent user interactions that are performed via a graphical user interface when the user edits a composite result. The rules are captured and then stored persistently when the user requests that the composition be saved, such that the rules may be retrieved during a subsequent editing session associated with the same inputs. If the inputs change, the integration process (as specified by the rules) can automatically handle many changes. It is only when changed elements of the input are, or need to be, subject to specific rules that additional tailoring may be required.

Claims

1. A method for generating a result entity, comprising the steps of:

receiving as input at least one input entity;

automatically transforming the at least one input entity to a result entity;

displaying the at least one input entity and the result entity;

editing the displayed result entity by accepting at least one user command, if the result entity is not satisfactory to the user, wherein the input entity comprises input elements and the result entity comprises output elements;

selecting, by the user, at least one element of the displayed result entity; and

automatically indicating at least one element of the at least one input entity that corresponds to the at least one element selected by the user.

2. The method of claim 1, wherein the step of automatically transforming the at least one input entity comprises the step of applying a rule set having at least one composition rule to transform the at least one input entity to the result entity;

and wherein the step of editing the displayed result entity comprises the steps of modifying the rule set based on the at least one user command, and generating and displaying an edited result entity by applying the modified rule set to the at least one input entity.

3. The method of claim 2, further comprising the steps of:

repeating the editing step until the edited result entity is satisfactory to the user; and

saving to memory the modified rule set and associating it with the at least one input entity.

4. The method of claim 3, further comprising the steps of:

retrieving from memory the modified rule set;

applying the modified rule set to a modified version of the at least one input entity;

automatically disabling any rule in the modified rule set that is rendered ineffective due to the modified version of the at least one input entity.

5. The method of claim 2, wherein the step of modifying the rule set comprises the steps of:

generating at least one composition rule representing the at least one user command; and

incorporating the at least one generated composition rule into the rule set.

6. The method of claim 2, wherein the step of applying a rule set comprises the step of one of retrieving a previously stored rule set and selecting a default rule set.

7. The method of claim 2, wherein the step of applying the rule set comprises the steps of:

determining if the rule set includes any disabled rules; and

ignoring the disabled rules during the transform process.

8. The method of claim 2, wherein the step of applying the rule set comprises the steps of:

determining if the rule set includes at least one group of conflicting rules; and

automatically disabling all rules in the at least one group that are recorded earlier than the latest recorded rule in the group.

9. The method of claim 1, wherein the input elements of the at least one entity and the output elements of the result entity comprises one of run-time elements and element definitions.

10. The method of claim 1, wherein the step of editing the displayed result entity includes one of applying a set of default rules to at least one element of the input entity, specifying a match between elements of the input entities, retracting a match that was found by applying the rule set, adding a desired element to the displayed result entity, deleting an element of the displayed result entity, renaming an element of the displayed result entity, specifying a desired transformation to reconcile input elements, and any combination thereof.

17. The program storage device of claim 2, wherein the instructions for performing the step of applying the rule set comprise instructions for performing the steps of:

determining if the rule set includes any disabled rules; and

ignoring the disabled rules during the transform process.

11. A program storage device readable by a machine, tangibly embodying a program of instructions executable by the machine to perform method steps for generating a result entity, the method steps comprising:

receiving as input at least one input entity;

automatically transforming the at least one input entity to a result entity;

displaying the at least one input entity and the result entity;

editing the displayed result entity by accepting at least one user command, if the result entity is not satisfactory to the user, wherein the input entity comprises input elements and the result entity comprises output elements;

selecting, by the user, at least one element of the displayed result entity; and

automatically indicating at least one element of the at least one input entity that corresponds to the at least one element selected by the user.

12. The program storage device of claim 11, wherein the instructions for performing the step of automatically transforming the at least one input entity comprise instructions for performing the step of applying a rule set having at least one composition rule to transform the at least one input entity to the result entity;

and wherein the instructions for performing the step of editing the displayed result entity comprise instructions for performing the steps of modifying the rule set based on the user command, and generating and displaying an edited result entity by applying the modified rule set to the at least one input entity.

13. The program storage device of claim 12, further comprising instructions for performing the steps of:

repeating the editing step until the edited result entity is satisfactory to the user; and

saving to memory the modified rule set and associating it with the at least one input entity.

14. The program storage device of claim 13, further comprising instructions for performing the steps of:

retrieving from memory the modified rule set;

applying the modified rule set to a modified version of the at least one input entity;

automatically disabling any rule in the modified rule set that is rendered ineffective due to the modified version of the at least one input entity.

15. The program storage device of claim 12, wherein the instructions for performing the step of modifying the rule set comprise instructions for performing the steps of:

generating at least one composition rule representing the at least one user command; and

incorporating the at least one generated composition rule into the rule set.

16. The program storage device of claim 12, wherein the instructions for performing the step of applying a rule set comprise instructions for performing the step of one of retrieving a previously stored rule set and selecting a default rule set.

18. The program storage device of claim 12, wherein the instructions for performing the step of applying the rule set comprise instructions for performing the steps of:

determining if the rule set includes at least one group of conflicting rules; and

automatically disabling all rules in the at least one group that are recorded earlier than the latest recorded rule in the group.

19. The program storage device of claim 11, wherein the input elements of the at least one entity and the output elements of the result entity comprises one of run-time elements and element definitions.

20. The program storage device of claim 11, wherein the instructions for performing the step of editing the displayed result entity comprise instructions for one of applying a set of default rules to at least one element of the input entity, specifying a match between elements of the input entities, retracting a match that was found by applying the rule set, adding a desired element to the displayed result entity, deleting an element of the displayed result entity, renaming an element of the displayed result entity, specifying a desired transformation to reconcile input elements, and any combination thereof.

21. A system for generating a result entity, comprising:

a builder engine for automatically transforming at least one input entity to a result entity; and

a graphical user interface (GUI) for displaying the at least one input entity and the result entity and editing the displayed result entity by accepting at least one user command, wherein when at least one element of a displayed entity is selected, each corresponding element of the displayed entities is automatically highlighted.

22. The system of claim 21, wherein the builder engine is a matching/reconciliation (MR) engine which is configured for automatically transforming the at least one input entity by applying a rule set having at least one composition rule to transform the at least one input entity to the result entity;

and wherein the GUI is configured for editing the displayed result entity by accepting at least one user command that is processed to modify the rule set based on the at least one user command, whereby the MR engine generates an edited result entity by applying the modified rule set to the at least one input entity.

23. The system of claim 22, wherein the input entity comprises input elements and the result entity comprises output elements.

24. The system of claim 23, wherein the at least one user command includes one of applying a set of default rules to at least one element of the input entity, specifying a match between elements of the input entities, retracting a match that was found by applying the rule set, adding a desired element to the displayed result entity, deleting an element of the displayed result entity, renaming an element of the displayed result entity, specifying a desired transformation to reconcile input elements, and any combination thereof.

25. The system of claim 23, wherein the MR engine comprises:

means for determining if the rule set includes any disabled rules; and

means for ignoring the disabled rules during the transform process.

26. The system of claim 23, wherein the MR engine comprises:

means for determining if the rule set includes at least one group of conflicting rules; and

means for automatically disabling all rules in the at least one group that are recorded earlier than the latest recorded rule in the group.

27. A graphical user interface (GUI) for editing a result entity that is generated by the integration of a plurality of input entities, comprising:

an input portion for displaying elements of at least one of the input entities;

an output portion for displaying elements of the result entity; and

means for selecting, by the user, at least one element of the displayed result entity; and

means for automatically indicating at least one element of the at least one displayed input entity that corresponds to the at least one selected element of the displayed result entity, whereby a user can edit the selected at least one element of the displayed result entity by selecting at least one user command via the GUI.

28. The GUI of claim 27, further comprising:

means for selecting, by the user, at least one element of the displayed input entity; and

means for automatically indicating at least one element of the displayed result entity that corresponds to the at least one input element selected by the user, whereby a user can edit the displayed result entity in accordance with the selected at least one input element by selecting at least one user command via the GUI.

29. The GUI of claim 28, wherein the at least one user command further includes one of applying a set of default rules to the selected at least one element of the input entity, specifying a match between selected elements of displayed input entities, specifying a desired transformation to reconcile selected input elements, retracting a transformation that generated the selected element of the displayed result entity, adding a desired element to the displayed result entity, deleting the selected element of the displayed result entity, renaming the selected element of the displayed result entity, and any combination thereof.