Enabling access to an application through a network portal

• US 7,356,600 B2
• Filed: 12/20/2002
• Issued: 04/08/2008
• Est. Priority Date: 12/20/2002
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: SAP SE
• Original Assignee: SAP AG (SAP SE)
• Inventors: Offermann, Udo
• Primary Examiner(s): LIN, KENNY S
• Application Number:
  US10/325,651
• Publication Number:
  US 20040122925A1
• Time in Patent Office: 1,936 Days
• Field of Search: 709/229, 709/227, 709/218
• US Class Current: 709/229
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 2101/30 Types of network names
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 61/30 Managing network names, e.g. use of aliases or nicknames name-to-address mapping H04L61/45
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 67/02 based on web technology, e.g. hypertext transfer protocol [HTTP]
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 67/2895 Intermediate processing functionally located close to the data provider application, e.g. reverse proxies
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 67/561 Adding application-functional data or data for application control, e.g. adding metadata
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 67/563 Data redirection of data network streams
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 67/564 Enhancement of application control based on intercepted application data
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 67/567 Integrating service provisioning from a plurality of service providers

Abstract

Systems and techniques to enable access of an application through a network portal to integrate that network application into the portal services provided to a user. In general, in one implementation, the technique includes using a template to identify a correspondence between a first parameter associated with a portal and a second parameter associated with a network resource and to generate a network address for the network resource, where the network address includes a value for the first parameter.

Claims

1. A method comprising:

retrieving, at a portal, a template associated with a network resource, the template comprising a first parameter associated with a portal and a second parameter associated with the network resource, the first parameter comprising at least two of the following;

a transaction code, a client definition, an accessibility requirement, a style definition, and user credentials;

identifying, with the template at the portal, a correspondence between the first parameter associated with the portal and the second parameter associated with the network resource, the template representing a uniform resource locator comprising a network address and the first and second parameters; and

generating, using the template, the network address for the network resource, the network address concatenated to include a value inserted into the first parameter and to include the corresponding second parameter.

2. The method of claim 1 wherein generating further comprises:

parsing the template;

identifying the first parameter; and

determining the value for the first parameter.

3. The method of claim 2 wherein generating further comprises:

identifying a third parameter associated with the portal;

determining a second value for the third parameter; and

inserting the second value into the network address.

4. The method of claim 3 wherein inserting comprises concatenating.

5. The method of claim 2 wherein determining further comprises determining the value for the first parameter based on a user, a client device, or the portal.

6. The method of claim 1 wherein generating further comprises:

copying the template;

determining the value for the first parameter; and

replacing the first parameter with the value.

7. The method of claim 1 further comprising transmitting the network address to a network browser.

8. The method of claim 1 further comprising transmitting the network address to a network browser as part of source code.

9. The method of claim 8 further comprising generating a portion of a display associated with the portal using the source code.

10. The method of claim 1 wherein the format of the template comprises a Uniform Resource Locator (“

URL”

) format.

11. The method of claim 10 wherein the format of the template comprises a URL format in accord with http.

12. A system comprising:

a storage component having a template associated with a network resource, the template comprising a first parameter associated with a portal and a second parameter associated with the network resource, the template including a correspondence between the first parameter associated with the portal and the second parameter associated with the network resource, the template representing a uniform resource locator, the first parameter comprising at least two of the following;

a transaction code, a client definition, an accessibility requirement, a style definition, and user credentials; and

an integration component configured to use the template to generate the network address for the network resource wherein the network address is concatenated to include a value inserted into the first parameter and to include the corresponding second parameter.

13. The system of claim 12 wherein the integration component is further configured to parse the template, to identify the first parameter and to determine the value for the first parameter.

14. The system of claim 13 wherein the value is a first value and the integration component is further configured to identify a third parameter associated with the portal, to determine a second value for the third parameter, and to insert the second value into the network address.

15. The system of claim 14 wherein the integration component is further configured to concatenate the first value and the second value.

16. The system of claim 12 wherein the value for the first parameter is based on a user, a client device, or the portal.

17. The system of claim 12 wherein the integration component is further configured to copy the template, to determine the value for the first parameter, and to replace the first parameter with the value.

18. The system of claim 12 wherein the integration component is further configured to transmit the network address to a network browser.

19. The system of claim 12 wherein the integration component is further configured to transmit the network address to a network browser as part of source code.

20. The system of claim 19 further comprising a client configured to generate a portion of a display associated with the portal using the source code.

21. The system of claim 12 wherein the format of the template comprises a URL format.

22. The system of claim 21 wherein the format of the template comprises a URL format in accord with http.

23. An article comprising a machine-readable medium storing instructions operable to cause one or more machines to perform operations comprising:

retrieving, at a portal, a template associated with a network resource, the template comprising a first parameter associated with the portal and a second parameter associated with the network resource, the first parameter comprising at least two of the following;

a transaction code, a client definition, an accessibility requirement, a style definition, and user credentials;

identifying, with the template at the portal, a correspondence between the first parameter associated with the portal and the second parameter associated with the network resource, the template representing a uniform resource locator comprising a network address and the first and second parameters; and

generating, using the template, the network address for the network resource, the network address concatenated to include a value inserted into the first parameter and to include the corresponding second parameter.