Self-describing business objects
First Claim
1. A method implemented as instructions for execution by a computer, the method comprising:
- representing, in a repository, services from a server, the services comprising a first service for operating on a first collection of data elements and a second service for operating on a second collection of data elements, the repository comprising metadata describing attributes and operations available on the first collection and the second collection, the metadata organized according to a meta model that defines a syntax for requesting the services;
storing the first collection of data elements in a first format and the second collection of data elements in a second format, the first collection and second collection being stored separately from the repository, the second format being different than the first format;
receiving a first request from a software entity to request the first service represented in the repository, the first service representing a first operation on a data element in the first collection;
receiving a second request from the software entity to request the second service represented in the repository, the second service representing a second operation on a data element in the second collection; and
using a processor to execute the first service to perform the first operation on the data element in the first collection, the first operation comprising either reading the data element from the first collection, modifying the data element in the first collection, or locking the data element in the first collection to prevent the data element in the first collection from being read or modified; and
using a processor to execute the second service to perform the second operation on the data element in the second collection;
wherein the first request and the second request both conform with the syntax defined by the meta-model, the first service maps the first request to the first format, and the second service maps the second request to the second format.
3 Assignments
0 Petitions
Accused Products
Abstract
Methods and apparatus, including computer program products, that include representing, in a repository, services from a server, the services including interacting with one or more collections of data elements using a set of operations on the data elements in the collections, the repository comprising descriptions of the collections and common attributes for each collection, the repository organized according to a meta model. The method also includes enabling a software entity to request a service represented in the repository, the service representing a first operation on one or more data elements in a first collection from the collections, and executing the first operation on the one or more data elements in the first collection.
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Citations
27 Claims
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1. A method implemented as instructions for execution by a computer, the method comprising:
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representing, in a repository, services from a server, the services comprising a first service for operating on a first collection of data elements and a second service for operating on a second collection of data elements, the repository comprising metadata describing attributes and operations available on the first collection and the second collection, the metadata organized according to a meta model that defines a syntax for requesting the services; storing the first collection of data elements in a first format and the second collection of data elements in a second format, the first collection and second collection being stored separately from the repository, the second format being different than the first format; receiving a first request from a software entity to request the first service represented in the repository, the first service representing a first operation on a data element in the first collection; receiving a second request from the software entity to request the second service represented in the repository, the second service representing a second operation on a data element in the second collection; and using a processor to execute the first service to perform the first operation on the data element in the first collection, the first operation comprising either reading the data element from the first collection, modifying the data element in the first collection, or locking the data element in the first collection to prevent the data element in the first collection from being read or modified; and using a processor to execute the second service to perform the second operation on the data element in the second collection; wherein the first request and the second request both conform with the syntax defined by the meta-model, the first service maps the first request to the first format, and the second service maps the second request to the second format. - View Dependent Claims (2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10, 11, 12, 13)
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14. A system comprising:
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a first computer configured to execute a client program, the client program tangibly embodied on a computer readable storage medium; a second computer configured to execute a server program, the server program tangibly embodied on a computer readable storage medium; a network linking the first and second computers such that the server program is configured to execute the following; represent, in a repository, services from the server program, the services comprising a first service for operating on a first collection of data elements and a second service for operating on a second collection of data elements, the repository comprising metadata describing attributes and operations available on the first collection and the second collection, the metadata organized according to a meta model that defines a syntax for requesting the services; store the first collection of data elements in a first format and the second collection of data elements in a second format, the first collection and second collection being stored separately from the repository, the second format being different than the first format; receive, from the client program, a first request to the first service represented in the repository, the first service representing a first operation on a data element in the first collection; receive, from the client program, a second request to the second service represented in the repository, the second service representing a second operation on a data element in the second collection; execute the first service to perform the first operation on the data element in the first collection, the first operation comprising either reading the data element from the first collection, modifying the data element in the first collection, or locking the data element in the first collection to prevent the data element in the first collection from being read or modified; and execute the second service to perform the second operation on the data element in the second collection; wherein the first request and the second request both conform with the syntax defined by the meta-model, the first service maps the first request to the first format, and the second service maps the second request to the second format. - View Dependent Claims (15, 16, 17, 18, 19, 20, 21, 22, 23, 24, 25, 26)
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27. A machine-readable storage medium comprising a method implemented as instructions for execution by a computer, the method comprising:
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representing, in a repository, services from a server, the services comprising a first service for operating on a first collection of data elements and a second service for operating on a second collection of data elements, the repository comprising metadata describing attributes and operations available on the first collection and the second collection, the metadata organized according to a meta model that defines a syntax for requesting the services; storing the first collection of data elements in a first format and the second collection of data elements in a second format, the first collection and second collection being stored separately from the repository, the second format being different than the first format; receiving a first request from a software entity to request the first service represented in the repository, the first service representing a first operation on a data element in the first collection; receiving a second request from the software entity to request the second service represented in the repository, the second service representing a second operation on a data element in the second collection; executing the first service to perform the first operation on the data element in the first collection, the first operation comprising either reading the data element from the first collection, modifying the data element in the first collection, or locking the data element in the first collection to prevent the data element in the first collection from being read or modified; and executing the second service to perform the second operation on the data element in the second collection; wherein the first request and the second request both conform with the syntax defined by the meta-model, the first service maps the first request to the first format, and the second service maps the second request to the second format.
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Specification