System for documenting application interfaces and their mapping relationship

• US 6,662,237 B1
• Filed: 06/24/1999
• Issued: 12/09/2003
• Est. Priority Date: 06/24/1999
• Status: Expired due to Term

• Current Assignee: Liaison Technologies Incorporated (Open Text Corporation)
• Original Assignee: Contivo, Inc. (Open Text Corporation)
• Inventors: Leckie, Donald Albert
• Primary Examiner(s): COURTENAY III, ST JOHN
• Application Number:
  US09/344,182
• Time in Patent Office: 1,629 Days
• Field of Search: 709/310-320, 709/328-330, 707/100-104, 715/513-516, 345/764-769
• US Class Current: 719/320
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 16/258 Data format conversion from or to a database
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 2203/04803 Split screen, i.e. subdividing the display area or the window area into separate subareas
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 3/0481 based on specific properties of the displayed interaction object or a metaphor-based environment, e.g. interaction with desktop elements like windows or icons, or assisted by a cursor's changing behaviour or appearance

Abstract

A documentation system for improving the efficiency of maintaining the records of mapping among applications is described. The method of documenting linkage of applications to each other includes displaying source application objects and target application objects along different axis. At selected intersection points of the source application objects and the target application objects, the user of the system inserts cells which define the mapping rules relating the objects. The cells include a unique identification field which identifies the particular mapping relationship between designated fields in the objects.

Claims

1. A method of documenting linkage of at least two applications to each other comprising:

displaying on an electronically controlled display in a first direction source application objects;

displaying on the electronically controlled display in an orthogonal direction target application objects; and

at selected intersection points of the source application objects and the target application objects, inserting cells to define mapping rules relating the source application objects to the target application objects.

2. A method as in claim 1 wherein the source application objects and the target application objects each include fields, and the each cell comprises:

at least one mapping entry having a unique identification, which entry identifies a field in the source application object, a field in the target application object, and a desired relationship between the fields.

3. A method as in claim 2 wherein the source application objects and the target application objects each include fields which can be of various types, and the each cell comprises:

at least one mapping entry having a unique identification field, which entry identifies a field and its type in the source application object, a field and its type in the target application object, and a desired relationship between the fields.

4. A method as in claim 1 wherein the source application objects and the target application objects each include fields, and upon selecting a cell on the electronically controlled display an editor display appears having a first portion listing the fields of the corresponding source application object, and having a second portion listing the fields of the corresponding target application object.

5. A method as in claim 4 wherein the editor display includes:

a display of fields in the corresponding source application object;

a display of fields in the corresponding target application object;

a display of mapping entries, each entry having a unique identification field, which entry identifies a field in the source application object, a field in the target application object, and a desired relationship between the fields;

a first selector for designating a field in the corresponding source application object;

a second selector for designating a field in the corresponding target application object;

a third selector for designating that the fields selected by the first selector and the second selector are to be mapped to each other and displayed in the display of mapping entries; and

a fourth selector for selecting an entry in the display of mapping entries and designating that the selected entry is to be removed from the display of mapping entries.

6. A method as in claim 5 wherein the a display of fields in the source application object and the display of fields in the target application object each include information about the type of field displayed.

7. A method as in claim 1 further comprising assigning a unique identifier to the linkage documented between the at least two applications.

8. A method as in claim 1 further comprising:

assigning a first unique identifier to the source application objects;

assigning a second unique identifier to the target application objects; and

assigning a third unique identifier to the to the cells which define mapping rules relating the source application objects to the target application objects.

9. A method as in claim 7 further comprising assigning a unique identifier to each of the fields in each of the source and target objects.

10. A method as in claim 1 further comprising assigning a unique identifier to each mapping relating a source application object to a target application object.