Dynamic business process automation system using XML documents

• US 6,507,856 B1
• Filed: 01/05/1999
• Issued: 01/14/2003
• Est. Priority Date: 01/05/1999
• Status: Expired due to Term

• Current Assignee: International Business Machines Corporation
• Original Assignee: International Business Machines Corporation
• Inventors: Cohen, Mitchell A., Chung, Jen-Yao, Fu, Shiwa S., Gottemukkala, Vibby, Chen, Shyh-Kwei
• Primary Examiner(s): Feild, Joseph H.
• Assistant Examiner(s): DESAI, RACHNA SINGH
• Application Number:
  US09/225,814
• Time in Patent Office: 1,470 Days
• Field of Search: 707/513, 707/500, 707/75, 707/1, 707/2, 707/3, 707/10, 707/104.1
• US Class Current: 715/205
• CPC Class Codes: G06Q 30/04 Billing or invoicing
• CPC Class Codes: Y10S 707/99931 Database or file accessing
• CPC Class Codes: Y10S 707/99932 Access augmentation or optimizing
• CPC Class Codes: Y10S 707/99933 Query processing, i.e. searching
• CPC Class Codes: Y10S 707/99945 Object-oriented database structure processing

Abstract

A system for exchanging and merging messages over a network includes a server accessible by a plurality of remote browsers for transmitting a template including fields for information entry and a business system accessible by the server for generating a return document pursuant to information entered in the template on the browsers. The business system includes a first parser for receiving a document from a browser, the document including information about data characteristics of information entered into the template, and a second parser for receiving information about data characteristics to provide a return template. A merging algorithm is implemented to merge the document with the return template for providing a return document to the browser having portions of the return template with data entered therein.

Claims

1. A system for exchanging and merging messages over a network comprising:

a server accessible by a plurality of remote browsers for transmitting a template including fields for information entry; and

a business system accessible by the server for generating a return message pursuant to information entered in the template on the browsers, the business system including;

a first parser for receiving a first message from a browser, the first message including information about data characteristics of information entered into the template and name tags;

a second parser for receiving information about data characteristics to provide a return template, the return template including name tags; and

means for merging the first message with the return template for providing the return message to the browser, the return message having portions of the return template with data entered therein corresponding to at least some of the information entered into the first message, wherein the means for merging includes a name tag map for correlating the tag names of the first message with the tag names of the return template.

2. The system as recited in claim 1 wherein the message includes information having a name and a value and the first parser parses the first message into name and value pairs.

3. The system as recited in claim 1 wherein the first message is written in an extensible markup language (XML) and the data type information is included in a corresponding data type definition format (DTD).

4. The system as recited in claim 1 wherein the means for merging further includes a constraint set for identifying name tags used in multiple instances.

5. The system as recited in claim 4 wherein the constraint set includes higher level name tags to identify the name tags used in the multiple instances.

6. The system as recited in claim 1 wherein the network is an Internet.

7. The system as recited in claim 1 wherein the first parser parses the first message to provide tag name and value information in a format of one of a document object model tree and an array.

8. A system for exchanging and merging extensible makeup language (XML) documents over an Internet comprising:

a server accessible by a plurality of remote browsers for transmitting a template including fields for information entry; and

a business system accessible by the server for generating a return XML document pursuant to information entered in the template on the browsers, the business system including;

a first parser for receiving a-first XML document and a corresponding data type definition (DTD) file from a browser, the first XML document including name tags;

a second parser for receiving a return data type definition (DTD) file to provide a return template, the return template including name tags; and

means for merging the first XML document with the return template for providing the return XML document to the browser, the return XML document having portions of the return template with data entered therein corresponding to at least some of the information entered into the first XML document, wherein the means for merging includes a name tag map for correlating the name tags of the first XML document with the name tags of the return template.

9. The system as recited in claim 8 wherein the first XML document includes information having a name and a value and the first parser parses the first XML document into name and value pairs.

10. The system as recited in claim 8 wherein the means for merging further includes a constraint set for identifying name tags used in multiple instances.

11. The system as recited in claim 10 wherein the constraint set includes higher level name tags to identify the name tags used in the multiple instances.

12. The system as recited in claim 8 wherein the first parser parses the first XML document to provide tag name and value information in a format of one of a document object model tree and an array.