System and method for exchanging information among exchange applications

• US 7,979,569 B2
• Filed: 12/01/2006
• Issued: 07/12/2011
• Est. Priority Date: 12/01/2005
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: FireStar Software Incorporated
• Original Assignee: FireStar Software Incorporated
• Inventors: Eisner, Mark, Oancea, Gabriel
• Primary Examiner(s): Bayard; Djenane M
• Application Number:
  US11/566,186
• Publication Number:
  US 20070171924A1
• Time in Patent Office: 1,684 Days
• Field of Search: 709/201, 709/213, 709/217, 709/218, 709/231
• US Class Current: 709/231
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 15/16 Combinations of two or more digital computers each having at least an arithmetic unit, a program unit and a register, e.g. for a simultaneous processing of several programs coordinating program control therefor G06F9/52; in regulating and control system G05B
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 2209/548 Queue
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 9/546 Message passing systems or structures, e.g. queues
• CPC Class Codes: G06Q 10/10 Office automation; Time management
• CPC Class Codes: G06Q 20/027 involving a payment switch or gateway
• CPC Class Codes: G06Q 20/223 based on the use of peer-to-peer networks
• CPC Class Codes: G06Q 30/00 Commerce
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 2463/102 applying security measure for e-commerce
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 49/3009 Header conversion, routing tables or routing tags
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 49/309 Header conversion, routing tables or routing tags
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 49/9042 Separate storage for different parts of the packet, e.g. header and payload
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 51/00 User-to-user messaging in packet-switching networks, transmitted according to store-and-forward or real-time protocols, e.g. e-mail
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 63/0209 Architectural arrangements, e.g. perimeter networks or demilitarized zones
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 63/0823 using certificates cryptographic mechanisms or cryptographic arrangements for entity authentication involving certificates H04L9/3263
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 63/102 Entity profiles
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 63/12 Applying verification of the received information cryptographic mechanisms or cryptographic arrangements for data integrity or data verification H04L9/32
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 63/123 received data contents, e.g. message integrity
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 63/126 the source of the received data
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 67/10 in which an application is distributed across nodes in the network software deployment G06F8/60; multiprogramming arrangements G06F9/46
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 67/147 Signalling methods or messages providing extensions to protocols defined by standardisation
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 67/56 : Provisioning of proxy services store-and-forward switching systems in data switching networks H04L12/54
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 67/561 : Adding application-functional data or data for application control, e.g. adding metadata
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 67/565 : Conversion or adaptation of application format or content adding application control or application functional data H04L67/561
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 69/161 : Implementation details of TCP/IP or UDP/IP stack architecture; Specification of modified or new header fields
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 69/22 : Parsing or analysis of headers
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 69/329 : in the application layer [OSI layer 7]

Abstract

In a system and method for processing messages, from one or more applications, in a gateway, an application payload is obtained from an application. A raw message is created from the obtained application payload, the raw message including a raw message header and a payload, the raw message header including a message type block, the payload including content of the application payload. A gateway message is created from the raw message in accordance with the message type provided in the message type block, the gateway message including a gateway message header and the payload, the gateway message header including a unique message identifier block, a target block identifying where the gateway message is going, and a history block providing a log of what has happened to the gateway message. Each block includes one or more values.

Claims

1. A method for processing messages, from one or more applications, in a gateway, comprising:

standardizing an interface between the one or more applications and the gateway using an abstract queue;

receiving, with the abstract queue, an application payload;

obtaining at the gateway the application payload from the abstract queue;

creating a raw message from the obtained application payload, the raw message including a raw message header and a payload, the raw message header including a message type block, the payload including content of the application payload; and

creating a gateway message from the raw message in accordance with the message type provided in the message type block, the gateway message including a gateway message header and the payload, the gateway message header including a unique message identifier block, a target block identifying a simple transaction type associated with the gateway message, and a history block providing a log of what has happened to the gateway message.

2. The method according to claim 1, further comprising:

determining a target for the gateway message; and

providing the gateway message to the determined target, wherein the determined target is the gateway or another gateway.

3. The method according to claim 2, wherein the gateway message is persisted in a data store of the gateway and then placed on an out abstract queue of the gateway and then sent to an in abstract queue of a target gateway.

4. The method according to claim 1, wherein an attachment is associated with the application payload, the raw message header including an attachment block providing a location of the attachment.

5. The method according to claim 4, further comprising adding an attachment block to the gateway message header providing the location of the attachment included in the raw message header.

6. The method according to claim 4, further comprising:

accessing the location of the attachment based on the location of the attachment provided in the attachment block of the raw message header;

copying content of the attachment into a data store in the gateway; and

adding an attachment block to the gateway message header providing the location of the attachment in the data store of the gateway.

7. The method according to claim 1, further comprising identifying a process from a plurality of processes to create the gateway message from the raw message based on information in the raw message.

8. The method according to claim 7, wherein the process is identified based on the message type block of the raw message header.

9. The method according to claim 7, wherein the identified process is configured to validate and error check the gateway message.

10. The method according to claim 7, wherein the identified process includes a sequence of procedures.

11. The method according to claim 10, further comprising adding a procedure to the sequence of procedures in the identified process that meets requirements of a defined programming interface.

12. The method according to claim 10, further comprising changing a procedure in the sequence of procedures in the identified process that meets requirements of a defined programming interface.

13. The method according to claim 10, wherein a procedure in the sequence of procedures in the identified process includes a declarative collection of business rules.

14. The method according to claim 1, further comprising providing the gateway message to the gateway in which the gateway message is created or to an out queue based on information in the gateway message, the out queue providing the gateway message to a target gateway.

15. The method according to claim 14, wherein the gateway message is provided to the gateway in which the gateway message is created or to the out queue based on the target block in the gateway message header.

16. The method according to claim 1, further comprising sending the gateway message to a target gateway based on information in the gateway message using a messaging mechanism.

24. The method according to claim 1, wherein the application payload includes financial transaction data.

25. The method according to claim 1, wherein the application payload includes medical or patient data.

26. The method according to claim 1, wherein the application payload includes security and access control data.

27. The method according to claim 1, wherein the application payload includes compliance and regulatory data.

28. The method according to claim 1, wherein the application payload includes communication protocols and network data.

17. A method for processing messages;

from one or more applications, in a gateway, comprising;

obtaining at the gateway an application payload from an application;

creating a raw message from the obtained application payload, the raw message including a raw message header and a payload, the raw message header including a message type block, the payload including content of the application payload; and

creating a gateway message from the raw message in accordance with the message type provided in the message type block, the gateway message including a gateway message header and the payload, the gateway message header including a unique message identifier block, a target block identifying a simple transaction type associated with the gateway message, and a history block providing a log of what has happened to the gateway message;

identifying a payload type from the raw message;

determining if the payload is structured based on the payload type;

applying a formatter to transform the payload into a non-normative XML formatted payload if the payload is determined to be structured; and

applying a mapper to transform the non-normative XML formatted payload into a normative XML formatted payload.

18. The method according to claim 17, wherein the applied formatter is selected from a plurality of formatters based on the payload type.

19. The method according to claim 17, wherein the applied mapper is selected from a plurality of mappers based on the payload type.

20. The method according to claim 17, wherein the normative XML formatted payload has a structure and an associated set of rules that are expected by a target gateway.

21. The method according to claim 17, wherein the formatter transforms each element of the payload into an element of a non-normative XML formatted payload.

22. The method according to claim 17, further comprising validating the normative XML formatted payload based on an XML schema associated with the normative XML format.

23. The method according to claim 22, wherein the XML schema includes at least one cross-field syntax rule, the validating including validation of the at least one cross-field syntax rule.

29. A gateway for processing messages from one or more applications, comprising:

a processor,

a memory, coupled to the processor, the memory comprising a plurality of instructions executed by the processor, the plurality of instructions configured to;

standardize an interface between the one or more applications and the gateway using an abstract queue;

receive, with the abstract queue, an application payload;

obtain at the gateway the application payload from the abstract queue;

create a raw message from the obtained application payload, the raw message including a raw message header and a payload, the raw message header including a message type block, the payload including content of the application payload; and

create a gateway message from the raw message in accordance with the message type provided in the message type block, the gateway message including a gateway message header and the payload, the gateway message header including a unique message identifier block, a target block identifying a simple transaction type associated with the gateway message, and a history block providing a log of what has happened to the gateway message.

30. The gateway according to claim 29, the memory further comprising instructions configured to:

determine a target for the gateway message; and

provide the gateway message to the determined target.

31. A gateway for processing messages from one or more applications, comprising:

a processor;

a memory, coupled to the processor, the memory comprising a plurality of instructions executed by the processor, the plurality of instructions configured to;

provide an in abstract queue that standardizes an interface between the one or more applications and the gateway, receives an application payload, and obtains the application payload from an application, the gateway configured to receive the application payload and message type information from the in abstract queue and configured to create a raw message from the obtained application payload, the raw message including a raw message header and a payload, the raw message header including a message type block, the payload including content of the application payload, and

provide at least one processing unit configured to create a gateway message from the raw message in accordance with the message type provided in the message type block, the gateway message including a gateway message header and the payload, the gateway message header including a unique message identifier block, a target block identifying a simple transaction type associated with the gateway message, and a history block providing a log of what has happened to the gateway message.

32. The gateway according to claim 31, further comprising:

a queue resolver configured to determine a target for the gateway message created by the at least one processing unit; and

an out abstract queue configured to provide the gateway message to the target determined by the queue resolver.