Intelligent and event-based data population

• US 7,765,556 B2
• Filed: 04/30/2002
• Issued: 07/27/2010
• Est. Priority Date: 03/01/2002
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: SAP SE
• Original Assignee: SAP AG (SAP SE)
• Inventors: Hauser, Andreas, Stumpf, Dirk
• Primary Examiner(s): Cao; Diem K
• Application Number:
  US10/137,208
• Publication Number:
  US 20030167351A1
• Time in Patent Office: 3,010 Days
• Field of Search: 709/201, 713/300, 714/15, 717168-178, 717120-122, 707/10, 707/200, 707/203, 719310-320
• US Class Current: 719/318
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 9/45512 Command shells
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 9/542 Event management; Broadcasting; Multicasting; Notifications

Abstract

Methods and apparatus for populating one or more computer applications with data. The method includes storing events, automatically selecting one or more events from the stored events, and sending the selected one or more events to a computer application. The events are selected automatically in response to a start-up of the computer application after an occasion when the computer application does not run. Each event specifies an operation that the computer application performed and one or more data objects involved with the operation. The events are sent so that the computer application can produce updated results even when the contents of the data objects have been changed when the computer application was not running.

Claims

1. A computer-implemented method of populating one or more computer applications with data comprising events, the method comprising:

storing event data corresponding to the events received from the one or more computer applications, the event data specifying an operation and identifying at least one of one or more data objects involved with the operation;

in response to a start up of a computer application after an occasion when the computer application stopped running, automatically selecting event data of one or more events, wherein;

the event data of at least one event includes data specifying an update operation to a data object persistently stored by the computer application; and

selecting the event data includes selecting event data corresponding to;

events that were last sent and received by the computer application before the computer application stopped running; and

events that occurred while the computer application was not running; and

in further response to a start up of a computer application, sending the automatically selected event data to the computer application to cause the computer application to automatically perform an operation on the data object persistently stored by the computer application, the operation corresponding to events of the automatically selected event data and display updated results of the data object based on the performed operation.

2. The method of claim 1, further comprising:

when there are more than one computer applications to populate with data, defining an order with which to populate the computer applications.

3. The method of claim 1, wherein selecting the event data includes:

selecting the event data based on a user preference as specified by the user.

4. The method of claim 1, wherein selecting the event data includes:

selecting the event data based on a user profile that describes past user behavior.

5. The method of claim 1, wherein selecting the event data includes:

selecting the event data based on modifiable rules.

6. The method of claim 1, wherein storing event data includes:

storing the event data in a front end component of a computing system.

7. The method of claim 1, wherein storing event data includes:

storing the event data in a back-end component of a computing system.

8. The method of claim 1, wherein storing event data includes:

storing event data in a middleware component of a computing system.

9. The method of claim 1, further comprising:

receiving user input specifying event data of one or more events other than the selected event data, the user input overriding the selection; and

sending, to the computer application, the event data specified by the user input.

10. The method of claim 1, wherein:

a start up of the computer application after an occasion when the computer application stopped running includes a start up after a processor timeout.

11. The method of claim 1, wherein sending the event data to the computer application comprises:

sending the event data to a remote system.

12. The method of claim 1, further comprising:

identifying that the event data selected is relevant to the computer application.

13. The method of claim 12, wherein identifying that the event data selected is relevant comprises:

comparing the event data with a collection of relevant event data for the computer application.

14. A computer program product, stored on one or more machine readable media, for selecting events with which to populate one or more computer applications, the computer program product comprising instructions to cause one or more processing devices to:

maintain criteria that specify how to select events;

access stored event data corresponding to events received from the one or more computer applications, the event data specifying an update operation and one or more data objects involved with the update operation; and

in response to a start up of the computer application after an occasion when the computer application stopped running, automatically select one or more events included in the event data, the one or more events including events that were last sent and received by the computer application before the computer application stopped running and events that occurred while the computer application was not running, the selection being based on the criteria and such that the computer application can automatically perform an operation, without further human user input, on a data object stored by the computer application, the operation corresponding to the one or more automatically selected events and display updated results of the data object based on the performed operation.

15. The product of claim 14, further comprising instructions to:

when there are more than one computer applications to populate with data, define an order with which to populate the computer applications.

16. The product of claim 14, wherein the product comprises instructions to:

access an event stored at a remote system.

17. The product of claim 14, wherein the criteria include:

a user preference as specified by a user.

18. The product of claim 14, wherein the criteria include:

a user profile that describes a user'"'"'s past behavior.

19. The product of claim 14, wherein the criteria include:

modifiable rules; and

default rules.

20. The product of claim 19, wherein the rules specify which of a user preference and a user profile supersedes one other.

21. The product of claim 14, further comprising instructions to:

store the event data in a middleware component of a computing system.

22. The product of claim 14, further comprising instructions to:

store the event data in a back-end component of a computing system.

23. The product of claim 14, further comprising instructions to:

store the event data in a front-end component of a computing system.

24. The product of claim 14, further comprising instructions to:

receive user input specifying one or more events other than the selected on or more events, the user input overriding the selection; and

send the one or more events specified by the user input.

25. The product of claim 14, wherein:

a start up of the computer application after an occasion when the computer application stopped running includes a start up after a processor timeout.