Configurable and customizable software application system and metadata

• US 7,721,259 B2
• Filed: 04/10/2006
• Issued: 05/18/2010
• Est. Priority Date: 11/15/2005
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Oracle International Corporation (Oracle Corporation)
• Original Assignee: Oracle International Corporation (Oracle Corporation)
• Inventors: Van Loben Sels, Chris, Horne, Charles, Heinke, Joel
• Primary Examiner(s): Khatri; Anil
• Application Number:
  US11/402,122
• Publication Number:
  US 20070168962A1
• Time in Patent Office: 1,499 Days
• Field of Search: 717120-126
• US Class Current: 717/121
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 9/44505 Configuring for program initiating, e.g. using registry, configuration files

Abstract

Systems and methods of generating and executing customized variants of a software application are provided. The customized variants include customization of user interfaces, data processing logic, and data models. Customization is accomplished by overlaying custom metadata on base metadata. The base metadata characterizes the software application and the custom metadata characterizes variants of the software application. The custom metadata and base metadata have an object-oriented relationship. Related variants are optionally applied as a set to assure compatibility between variants of the same software application.

Claims

1. A configurable software application system comprising:

a processor; and

a memory coupled to the processor and configured to store a software application configuration tool executable by the processor for generation of customized metadata variants of a software application, the software application configuration tool including;

base metadata configured to characterize data processing logic within the software application;

custom metadata configured to define a variant of the software application including custom data processing logic within the software application, the custom metadata data being configured to be overlaid on the base metadata and to inherit attributes of the base metadata;

a context evaluator configured to overlay the custom metadata on the base metadata in response to a request to execute the software application received from an end user, responsive to an execution context;

a runtime metadata interpreter configured to generate executable instructions for the software application using the base metadata and overlaid custom metadata at runtime;

wherein the configuration system includes a metadata packager configured to determine that the custom metadata and the base metadata are needed to generate an executable variant of the software application; and

a metadata analyzer configured to determine if the first custom metadata meets the requirements of relationship metadata when overlaid on the base metadata.

2. The system of claim 1, further including a configuration system configured for a user of the configuration system to define the custom metadata.

3. The system of claim 2, wherein the configuration system includes a metadata analyzer configured to assure that the custom metadata satisfies constraint metadata.

4. The system of claim 1, wherein the metadata packager is responsive to an execution context parameter of the execution context.

5. The system of claim 1, further including relationship metadata configured to characterize relationships among metadata instances and metadata variant instances of the software application.

6. The system of claim 5, wherein the constraint and/or relationship metadata is configured to limit customization of the software application.

7. The system of claim 1, wherein the execution context includes a particular subset of an organization, a particular industry, or a particular business profile.

8. The system of claim 1, further including package metadata configured for identifying which metadata is required by the variant of the software application.

9. The system of claim 1, further including package metadata configured for deploying an independent variant of the software application.

10. A configurable software application system comprising:

a processor; and

a memory coupled to the processor and configured to store a software application configuration tool executable by the processor for generation of customized metadata variants of a software application, the software application configuration tool including;

a context evaluator configured for selecting a first custom metadata from among a plurality of custom metadata responsive to an execution context of the software application, the first custom metadata configured to define a variant of the software application;

a metadata constructor configured to overlay the selected first custom metadata on base metadata, the first custom metadata being configured to inherit attributes of the base metadata, the base metadata characterizing the software application;

a metadata validator configured to assure that the base metadata and the overlaid first custom metadata are valid according to constraint metadata; and

a metadata analyzer configured to determine if the first custom metadata meets the requirements of relationship metadata when overlaid on the base metadata.

11. The system of claim 10, further including a metadata packager configured to determine which of the plurality of custom metadata is required to execute the variant of the software application.

12. The system of claim 10, wherein the metadata constructor is further configured to overlay second custom metadata on the first custom metadata and the base metadata in response to a request for execution of the software application.

13. The system of claim 10, wherein the first custom metadata is configured to customize data processing logic of the software application.

14. A method for generation of customized metadata variants of a software application, the method comprising:

generating, with a processor associated with a computing device, custom rule metadata configured to be overlaid on base rule metadata and to characterize a variant of the software application;

analyzing, with the processor associated with a computing device, the custom rule metadata and the base rule metadata with regard to constraint metadata; and

associating, with a processor associated with a computing device, the custom rule metadata with one or more execution context parameters, the execution context parameters being configured for selecting the custom rule metadata from among a plurality of custom rule metadata at runtime of the software application.

15. The method of claim 14, wherein the custom rule metadata and base rule metadata are configured to be converted to executable instructions using a runtime metadata interpreter.

16. The method of claim 14, further including analyzing the custom rule metadata and base rule metadata with regard to relationship metadata.

17. The method of claim 14, further including generating package metadata configured to identify metadata required to execute the variant of the software application.

18. The method of claim 14, further including providing the custom rule metadata as a patch to a software application.

19. A method for generation of customized metadata variants of a software application, the method comprising:

receiving, at a computing device, a request for execution of the software application from an end-user;

receiving, at a computing device, execution context parameters associated with the received request;

identifying, with a processor associated with the computing device, first custom metadata using the execution context parameters, the first custom metadata being configured to be overlaid on base metadata associated with the software application and being configured to define data processing logic;

overlaying, with a processor associated with the computing device, the identified first custom metadata on the base metadata;

determining, with a processor associated with the computing device, if the first custom metadata meets the requirements of relationship metadata when overlaid on the base metadata;

interpreting, with the processor associated with the computing device, the overlaid first custom metadata and base metadata at runtime of the software application, to generate executable instructions; and

executing the executable instructions with one or more processors associated with one or more computing devices.

20. The method of claim 19, wherein identifying custom metadata using the execution context parameters includes using package metadata.

21. The method of claim 19, wherein the data processing logic is independent of any interface provided to the end-user.

22. The method of claim 19, further including

identifying second custom metadata using the execution context parameters,

overlaying the second custom metadata on the base metadata and the first metadata, and

interpreting the overlaid second custom metadata along with the first custom metadata and the base metadata.

23. The method of claim 19, further including providing the executable instructions over a computer network to a user interface of the end-user.