IMS MFS (message format service) metamodel

• US 6,948,174 B2
• Filed: 05/04/2001
• Issued: 09/20/2005
• Est. Priority Date: 08/08/2000
• Status: Expired due to Fees

• Current Assignee: eBay Inc.
• Original Assignee: International Business Machines Corporation
• Inventors: Halcrombe, Elvis B., Chiang, Chenhuei J., Ho, Shyh-Mei F., Sheats, Benjamin Johnson
• Primary Examiner(s): An, Meng-Al T.
• Assistant Examiner(s): CAO, DIEM K
• Application Number:
  US09/849,105
• Publication Number:
  US 20040221292A1
• Time in Patent Office: 1,600 Days
• Field of Search: 719/310, 719313-318, 719/319, 719/320, 719/328, 719/329, 709203-205
• US Class Current: 719/319
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 9/541 via adapters, e.g. between incompatible applications

Abstract

A method of and a system for processing an enterpise an application request on an end user application and an application server. This is accomplished by initiating the application request on the end user application in a first language (such as a markup language) with a first application program (such as a Web browser), and transmitting the application request to the server and converting the application from the first language of the first end user application to a language running on the application server, processing the application request on the application server, and transmitting the response from the application server back to the end user application, and converting the response from the language running on the application server to the language of the end user application. The end user application and the application server have at least one connector between them, and the steps of (i) converting the application request from the language of the end user application (as a source language) to the language running on the application server (as a target language), and (ii) converting the response to the application request from the language running on the application server (as a source language) to the language of the end user application (as a target language), each include the steps of invoking connector metamodels of the respective source and target languages, populating the connector metamodels with metamodel data of each of the respective source and target languages, and converting the source language to the target language.

Claims

1. A method of processing an application request on an end user application and an application server including a transaction message formatter, said method comprising:

a) initiating the application request on the end user application in a first language with a first application program;

b) transmitting the application request to the application server and converting the application request from the first language of the first end user application to a second language of a form for the transaction message formatter running on the application server;

c) processing said application request on the application server;

d) transmitting a response to the application request from the application server to the end user application, and converting the response to the application request from the second language of the transaction message formatter running on the application server to the first language of the first end user application; and

e) wherein the end user application and the application server have at least one connector therebetween, and the steps of (i) converting the application request from the first language of the first end user application as a source language to the second language running on the application server as a target language, and (ii) converting the response to the application request from second the language running on the application server as a source language to the first language of the first end user application as a target language, each comprise the steps of;

1) invoking connector metamodels of respective source and target languages;

2) populating the connector metamodels with metamodel data of each of the respective source and target languages; and

3) converting the source language to target language.

2. The method of claim 1 wherein the end user application is a web browser.

3. The method of claim 2 wherein the end user application is connected to the application server through a web server, and the web server comprises a connector.

4. The method of claim 1 wherein the metamodel comprises invocation metamodel data, application domain interface metamodel data, transaction message metamodel data, and type descriptor metamodel data.

5. The method of claim 1, further comprising populating the connector metamodels with metamodel data of the transaction message formatter, a message descriptor, logical page, password, segment, message field, device descriptor, device type, device division, device page and device field.

6. A transaction processing system comprising a client, a server, and at least one connector therebetween,

a) the client having an end user application, and being controlled and configured to initiate an application request with the server in a first language with a first application program and to transmit the application request to the server;

b) the connector being configured and controlled to receive the application request from the client, convert the application request from the first language of the first end user application running on the client to a second language of a form for a transaction message formatter running on the server;

c) the server being configured and controlled to receive the converted application request from the connector and processing the said application request in the second language with a second application program residing on the server, and to thereafter transmit a response to the application request through the connector back to the first application program on the client;

d) the connector being configured and controlled to receive the response to the application request from the server, to convert the response to the application request from the second language running on the server to the first language of the first application program running on the client; and

e) wherein connector between the client and the server is configured and controlled to (i) convert the application request from the first language of the client application on the client as a source language to the second language running on the server as a target language, and (ii) convert the response to the application request from the second language running on the server as a source language to the first language of the client application running on the client as a target language, each by a method comprising the steps of;

1) retrieving connector metamodels of respective source and target languages from a metamodel data repository;

2) populating the connector metamodels with metamodel data from the metamodel data repository for each of the respective source and target languages; and

3) invoking the retrieved, populated connector metamodels and converting the source language to the target language.

7. The system of claim 6 wherein the end user application is a web browser.

8. The system of claim 7 wherein the end user application is connected to the application server through a web server, and the web server comprises a connector.

9. The system of claim 6 wherein the metamodel data repository stores transaction message formatter metadata including a message descriptor, logical page, password, segment, message field, device descriptor, device type, device division, device page and device field.

10. A transaction processing system configured and controlled to interact with a client application, and comprising a server, and at least one connector between the server and the client application, wherein:

a) the client has an end user application, and is controlled and configured to initiate an application request with the server in a first language with a first application program and to transmit the application request to the server;

b) the connector being configured and controlled to receive the application request from the client, convert the application request from the first language of the first end user application running on the client to a second language running on the server;

c) the server being configured and controlled to receive the converted application request from the connector and process the application request in the second language with a second application program and a transaction message formatter residing on the server, and to thereafter transmit the response to the application request through the connector back to the first application program on the client;

d) the connector being configured and controlled to receive the response to the application request from the server, to convert the response to the application request from the second language running on the server to the first language of the first application program running on the client; and

e) wherein the connector between the client and the server is configured and controlled to (i) convert the application request from the first language of the client application on the client as a source language to the second language running on the server as a target language, and (ii) convert the response to the application request from the second language running on the server as a source language to the first language of the client application running on the client as a target language, each by a method comprising the steps of;

1) retrieving connector metamodel data of respective source and target languages from a metamodel data repository;

2) populating the connector metamodels with metamodel data of each of the respective source and target languages and the transaction message formattter, from the metamodel data repository, and invoking the retrieved, populated connector metamodels; and

3) converting the source language to the target language.

11. The system of claim 10 wherein the end user application is a web browser.

12. The system of claim 11 wherein the end user application is connected to the application server through a web server, and the web server comprises a connector.

13. The system of claim 10 wherein the transaction message formatter metadata includes a message descriptor, logical page, password, segment, message field, device descriptor, device type, device division, device page and device field.

14. A program product comprising a computer-readable storage medium having invocation metamodel data, application domain interface metamodel data, language metamodel data, and transaction message formatter metamodel data;

and computer instructions for building a metamodel data repository of source and target language metamodel data,

wherein said transaction message formatter metamodel data includes a message descriptor, logical page, password, segment, message field, device descriptor, device type, device division, device page and device field.

15. The program product of claim 14 wherein the metamodel data in the repository comprises invocation metamodel data, application domain interface metamodel data, transaction message formatter metamodel data, and type descriptor metamodel data.

16. The program produce of claim 14 wherein the computer-readable storage medium includes computer instructions for building connector stubs from said metamodel metadata.