System and method for providing access to an application through a common interface for application extensions

• US 7,860,890 B2
• Filed: 12/19/2007
• Issued: 12/28/2010
• Est. Priority Date: 09/30/2004
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: SAP SE
• Original Assignee: SAP AG (SAP SE)
• Inventors: Riemann, Steffen, Freising, Uwe
• Primary Examiner(s): Kim; Charles
• Assistant Examiner(s): Le; Jessica N
• Application Number:
  US11/959,572
• Publication Number:
  US 20080098036A1
• Time in Patent Office: 1,105 Days
• Field of Search: None
• US Class Current: 707/790
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 16/252 between a Database Management System and a front-end application
• CPC Class Codes: G06Q 20/203 Inventory monitoring

Abstract

A method and system to permit externally created business objects to access a business management application database without using direct database language statements. An add-on framework includes an add-on extension manager to start an add-on application, register a form from the add-on application, and receive and route an event from the business management application to the add-on application through a user interface application programming interface component object model interface. A persistency layer provides a set of programming language classes and interface definitions to develop a persistent business object in the add-on extension, and connect the persistent business object to a database through a data interface application programming interface component object model interface to read and write data from the database associated with the business management application.

Claims

1. A system for providing access by an add-on application to a server-based application and database associated with the server-based application, comprising:

a processor configured with an event sink component object model object connected to an add-on component object model (COM) object, a business management application, and the add-on application, the processor configured to execute instructions;

provide a set of C++ programming language classes and interface definitions in a persistency layer of the software architecture;

develop a persistent business object in an add-on application using the set of C++ programming language classes and interface definitions;

connect the persistent business object to a database through a data interface application programming interface (DI API) and a user application programming interface (UI API) to read data from and write data to the database associated with the server-based application,

execute the set of C++ programming language classes to implement the persistent business objects;

create a first database request based on a first request for data from the persistent business object by determining a type of the database containing the requested data, wherein the first database request is in a first format, and

reformat the first request for data from the persistent business object as the first database request using a structured query language (SQL) based on the type of the database, wherein the first request for data from the persistent business object has a second format;

receive a response to the first database request in the second format through the data interface application programming interface (DI API) and the user application programming interface (UI API) at a generic interface;

generate a response to the data request in the first format from the response to the database request; and

send the response to the data request in the first format to the add-on application, wherein the first format is a non-structured query language format and the second format is a structured query language format;

provide template classes enabling starting of the add-on application;

register a form from the add-on application; and

route an event from the server-based application to the add-on application through the user interface application programming interface (UI API) and the data application programming interface (DI API), wherein the event is at least one of a start of business management application event, a stop of business management application event, a form creation event, a menu event, a business management application administration event, a read event, a write event, an administration event, an application load event or an application unload event.

2. The system of claim 1, further comprising:

an add-on extension manager executing by the processor to start the add-on application, register the form from the add-on application, and receive and route the event from the business management application to the add-on application through the user interface application programming interface (UI API) and the data application programming interface (DI API).

3. The system of claim 2, further comprising:

a log component executing by the processor to store messages from the add-on extension manager.

4. The system of claim 2 wherein the add-on extension manager interacts with the persistency layer of the software architecture.

5. The system of claim 1 wherein differences between the first format and the second format provide data security between the add-on application and the business management application.