System and method for data transfer with respect to external applications

• US 6,947,063 B1
• Filed: 09/07/2000
• Issued: 09/20/2005
• Est. Priority Date: 09/07/2000
• Status: Expired due to Term

• Current Assignee: Kyndryl Incorporated (Kyndryl Holdings, Inc.)
• Original Assignee: International Business Machines Corporation
• Inventors: Cirulli, Susan B., Sjostrom, William M., Modrak, Glenn P.
• Primary Examiner(s): Nguyen, Cao (Kevin)
• Application Number:
  US09/657,217
• Time in Patent Office: 1,839 Days
• Field of Search: 345/705, 345/749, 345/762, 345/763, 345/765, 345/853, 345/854, 345/851, 709/201, 709/202, 709/219, 709/229, 709/217
• US Class Current: 715/851
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 67/02 based on web technology, e.g. hypertext transfer protocol [HTTP]
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 67/1001 for accessing one among a plurality of replicated servers

Abstract

A hybird Notes/DB2 environment provides a requisition catalog on the Web. Client browsers are connected to a GWA infrastructure including a first network dispatcher and a virtual cluster of Domino.Go servers. The network dispatcher sprays out browser requests among configured .nsf servers in virtual server cluster. Communications from this virtual server cluster are, in turn, dispatched by a second network dispatcher servers in a Domino cluster. External objects, primarily for a GUI, are served in a .dfs and include graphic files, Java files, HTML images and net.data macros. The catalog is built from supplier provided flat files. A front end is provided for business logic and validation, as also is a relation database backend. HTML forms are populated using relational database agents. A role table is used for controlling access both to Notes code and DB2 data. Large amounts of data is quickly transferred using an intermediate agent and window.

Claims

1. Method for transferring to an application in a timely manner large quantities of data from web sites that exist outside of a firewall, or internal applications within the firewall but outside of said application, comprising the steps of:

operating said application executing a temporary frame in a first browser window to open a new window, said new window including the name of a first agent owned by said application;

operating said a web site to populate said new window with document content from a first database;

operating said new window to call said first agent; and

operating said first agent to overwrite said temporary frame with said document content.

2. The method of claim 1, further comprising the steps of:

operating said web site to provide catalog information to said new window document content; and

operating said first agent to call a second agent also owned by said application to access a second database and add content for submitting a requisition.

3. Method for data transfer from an externally owned user site to an application owned frame set, comprising the steps of:

opening a first window as a first browser session on an application server;

opening a supplier site URL from a temporary frame within said first window;

operating said temporary frame to open a supplier window as a second, separate browser session;

quiescing said primary application to a wait state;

selectively selecting or entering supplier data into said second window;

issuing a call to open a third window, said third window including a first agent having an HTML form command for defining an action program owned by said application server as authorized to act on the contents of said HTML form;

entering unique order identifying information; and

activating said HTML form command;

executing said first agent to the contents of said third window into said temporary frame; and

executing a second agent with respect to said first window activated from said quiesce state to selectively read and write data in said temporary frame.

4. Method for transferring data from a externally owned site to an application owned frame set, comprising the steps of:

opening an external site URL from a temporary frame of a first browser session owned by said application;

responsive to user selection of a go-to-external-site command, opening an external site window as a separate browser session and quiscing said first browser session to a wait state;

entering data to said external site window;

responsive to user selection of a submit command, formatting and populating a content page and calling said application to open a further window not in a frame having an application specified name of an application owned agent and said document content;

operating said application owned agent to overwrite said temporary frame with said document content.

5. The method of claim 4, said application owned agent including an HTML form command defining processing to be done on the contents of said further window.

6. The method of claim 5, said application owned agent calling a second agent for accessing application data, adding content, and submitting a requisition with reference to said document content.

7. The method of claim 6, said application being a requisition catalog application executing on a Notes server for managing and using catalog data on a relational database.

8. System for data transfer from a externally owned site to an application owned frame set, comprising:

a first browser session including a temporary data frame in a first window and an open URL button;

a second browser session opened in a second window by selection of said open URL button for formatting and populating a page with document content;

a third window opened responsive to a call from said second browser session and including a first agent named by said application for overwriting said temporary data frame with said document content.

9. A program storage device readable by a machine, tangibly embodying a program of instructions executable by a machine to perform method steps for transferring data from a externally owned site to an application owned frame set, said method steps comprising:

opening an external site URL from a temporary frame of a first browser session owned by said application;

responsive to user selection of a go-to-external-site command, opening an external site window as a separate browser session and quiscing said first browser session to a wait state;

entering data to said external site window;

responsive to user selection of a submit command, formatting and populating a content page and calling said application to open a further window not in a frame having an application specified name of an application owned agent and said document content;

operating said application owned agent to overwrite said temporary frame with said document content.

10. A computer program product or computer program element for executing method steps for transferring to an application in a timely manner large quantities of data from web sites that exist outside of a firewall, or internal applications within the firewall but outside of said application, said method steps comprising:

operating said application executing a temporary frame in a first browser window to open a new window, said new window including the name of a first agent owned by said application;

operating said a web site to populate said new window with document content from a first database;

operating said new window to call said first agent; and

operating said first agent to overwrite said temporary frame with said document content.