System and method for catalog administration using supplier provided flat files

• US 7,133,868 B1
• Filed: 09/07/2000
• Issued: 11/07/2006
• Est. Priority Date: 09/07/2000
• Status: Expired due to Fees

• Current Assignee: International Business Machines Corporation
• Original Assignee: International Business Machines Corporation
• Inventors: Cunningham, Candace M., Snavely, Amy J., Musa, Mark A., Ruest, David G.
• Primary Examiner(s): Ali, Mohammad
• Assistant Examiner(s): PANNALA, SATHYANARAYA R
• Application Number:
  US09/657,196
• Time in Patent Office: 2,252 Days
• Field of Search: 707 1- 10, 707100-200, 709/203
• US Class Current: 1/1
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 16/972 Access to data in other repository systems, e.g. legacy data or dynamic Web page generation
• 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
• CPC Class Codes: Y10S 707/99935 Query augmenting and refining, e.g. inexact access
• CPC Class Codes: Y10S 707/99943 Generating database or data structure, e.g. via user interface

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. A method for publishing a catalog as a relational database production table, comprising the steps of:

building a web catalog system including an application server, a catalog administration component, a requisition catalog component, a relational database including a relational database staging table and a relational database production table, a catalog administration browser, and a requester browser;

connecting said application server through a firewall to a supplier server;

connecting said application server, catalog administration browser and catalog administration component to said relational database staging table;

connecting said relational database staging table and said requester browser to said relational database production table, said relational database providing for each of a plurality of supplier catalogs a catalog profile including supplier name, start and end dates of catalog validity, and currency, and fields for each supplier catalog for describing catalog parts and a listing by part number of price;

in said supplier server, extracting and reformatting supplier source data to create a flat file catalog in a column delimited format specified by an enterprise;

receiving from said supplier server through said firewall via electronic data interchange (EDI) said flat file catalog containing catalog items in said column delimited format specified to suppliers by said enterprise;

accepting said flat file catalog in said column delimited format into an enterprise EDI mailbox;

reformatting and storing from said enterprise EDI mailbox said flat file catalog as a reformatted flat file-catalog into a generation data group store for retaining a last N iterations of flat file catalogs received by said enterprise from suppliers;

executing job scripts for reading said reformatted flat file catalog, alerting said buyer of receipt of a new flat file catalog, and loading said reformatted flat file catalog into said relational database staging table;

providing a single path connection for enabling requester access via said requester browser to said relational database production table and buyer access via said catalog administration browser to said relational database staging table, said requester and buyer being provided through an access control list respective requester and buyer levels of authority for accessing said relational database staging table and said relational database production table over said single path, said relational database staging table and said relational database production table having identical formats;

providing in said catalog administration function access list controls for controlling through a graphical user interface access presented by said requester browser and access presented by said administration browser to said relational database staging table and to said relational database production table, and further providing in said catalog administration function hard coded controls for selectively enabling and inhibiting access by a buyer at said administration browser to fields within said relational database staging table to allow allowing buyer audit control over first predetermined fields in said relational database staging table while restricting buyer access to second predetermined fields within said relational database staging table, said second Predetermined fields including unit price and unit of measure fields;

executing validation procedures in said database server for validating format of said flat file catalog and identifying and logging catalog changes, moving content of said flat file catalog in said relational database staging table to said relational database production table responsive to buyer acceptance of said changes as not including chances to fields to which said buyer is inhibited access by said hard coded controls; and

said catalog administration function operating said graphical user interface to enable said buyer to update said relational database production table from said relational database staging table while inhibiting access to said relational database staging table by said requester and allowing said requester read access to said relational database production table for reference in preparing a requisition for a catalog item.

2. System for building and using a web catalog, comprising:

a web catalog system including an application server, a catalog administration component, a requisition catalog component, a relational database, a catalog administration browser, and a requester browser;

a supplier catalog flat file for storing catalog items in an enterprise defined column delimited format;

said relational database providing for each of a plurality of supplier catalogs a catalog profile including supplier name, start and end dates of catalog validity, and currency, and for each supplier catalog fields for describing catalog parts and a listing by part number of price;

said relational database including a staging table and a production table;

said application server including an enterprise electronic data interchange (EDI) mailbox for receiving, converting and storing said flat file catalog to said staging table;

said application server further for reformatting and storing from said enterprise EDI mailbox said flat file catalog as a reformatted flat file catalog into a generation data group store for retaining a last N iterations of flat file catalogs received from suppliers to said enterprise, and for alerting said buyer of receipt of a new flat file catalog;

said catalog administration component including an administration function for controlling content of catalog information from a vendor stored to said staging table from said flat file;

said catalog administration component including a catalog administration procedure for presenting said staging table to said catalog administration function in a graphical user interface with fields of said staging table selectively enabled or disabled for auditing in accordance with role and authority of a user of said administration function; and

for publishing an administration audited catalog to said production table;

a requisition creation function operable by a user for creating a requisition with reference to said production table;

a single path connection for enabling requester access via said requester browser to said production table and buyer access via said catalog administration browser to said staging table;

an access control list for specifying respective requester and buyer levels of authority for accessing said staging table and said production table over said single path connection, said staging table and said production table having identical formats;

said catalog administration component further for providing access list controls for controlling access through a graphical user interface to said staging table and to said production table, and further for providing hard coded controls for selectively enabling and inhibiting access by a buyer to predetermined fields within said staging table;

said catalog administration component further for moving content of said flat file catalog from said staging table to said production table responsive to buyer acceptance of changes as not including changes to fields to which said buyer is inhibited access by said hard coded controls; and

a web catalog function for presenting said production table to said requisition creation function.