Software model process interaction

• US 8,327,319 B2
• Filed: 12/30/2005
• Issued: 12/04/2012
• Est. Priority Date: 12/30/2005
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: SAP SE
• Original Assignee: SAP AG (SAP SE)
• Inventors: Moosmann, Gerd, Freund, Jens, Latocha, Peter, Kaetker, Stefan
• Primary Examiner(s): DAS, CHAMELI
• Application Number:
  US11/322,845
• Publication Number:
  US 20070168303A1
• Time in Patent Office: 2,531 Days
• Field of Search: 717104-107, 717/121, 705/8
• US Class Current: 717/104
• CPC Class Codes: G06Q 10/06 Resources, workflows, human or project management; Enterprise or organisation planning; Enterprise or organisation modelling
• CPC Class Codes: G06Q 30/0283 Price estimation or determination

Abstract

Methods and apparatus, including computer program products, for defining interactions between two process components. For each process component, at least one inbound operation and at least one outbound operation are defined. The inbound operations can be initiated by the other process component to read or modify data encapsulated in a business object solely associated with the process component. The outbound operations can read or modify data encapsulated in a business object solely associated with the other process component. Each of the process components characterizes software implementing a respective and distinct process, and each of the process components defines a respective at least one service interface for communicating and interacting with other process components. In addition, all communication and interaction between process components takes place through the respective interfaces of the process components.

Claims

1. A software modeling system comprising at least one memory storing a software modeling tool and at least one processor executing the software modeling tool to perform operations to define interactions between at least two process components, the operations comprising:

processing at least one input defining, for each process component, at least one inbound operation initiated by other process components to read or modify data encapsulated in a business object solely associated with the process component; and

processing at least one input defining, for each process component, at least one outbound operation to read or modify data encapsulated in a business object solely associated with another process component;

wherein each of the process components is entirely included in exactly one deployment unit, each deployment unit corresponding to a hardware platform on which a process component is deployed associated with a deployment unit, each of the process components characterizes independently operable and context-independent software implementing a respective and distinct process, and each of the process components defines a respective at least one service interface for communicating and interacting with other process components, and all communication and interaction between process components takes place through the respective interfaces of the process components, each service interface comprising at least one service operation, and each service operation belonging to exactly one process component and comprising a separately-callable function, wherein interaction between process components in different deployment units takes place through messages passed through the respective service interfaces of the process components in the different deployment units, and interaction between process components in a same deployment unit takes place through business objects accessible to the process components in the same deployment unit.

2. The system of claim 1, wherein the at least one outbound operation is called after the business object associated with the outbound operation is read or modified.

3. The system of claim 2, wherein the at least one outbound operation sends a message after it is called.

4. The system of claim 1, wherein at least one of the inbound operations is a synchronous operation operable to receive a synchronous message generated by an external synchronous outbound operation defined by the other process component.

5. The system of claim 1, wherein at least one of the outbound operations is an asynchronous outbound operation operable to generate an asynchronous message for receipt by an asynchronous inbound operation defined by the other process component.

6. The system of claim 1, the operations further comprising:

defining, for each process component, at least one inbound process agent characterizing the at least one inbound operation.

7. The system of claim 6, wherein at least one inbound process agent specifies a response to each of at least two inbound operations.

8. The system of claim 1, the operations further comprising:

defining at least one inbound interface comprising at least two inbound operations.

9. The system of claim 1, the operations further comprising:

defining, for each process component, at least one outbound process agent characterizing the at least one outbound operation.

10. The system of claim 1, wherein at least one outbound process agent specifies a trigger to each of at least two outbound operations.

11. The system of claim 1, the operations further comprising:

defining at least one outbound interface comprising at least two outbound operations.

12. The system of claim 1, wherein each inbound operation and each outbound operation are solely associated with one of the process components.

13. The system of claim 1, wherein at least one of the inbound operations is operable to receive a message of a first type and convert it into a message of a second type.

14. The system of claim 1, the operations further comprising:

processing at least one input defining types of messages to transfer between different deployment units.

15. The system of claim 1, wherein at least two process components within a single deployment unit communicate without messages.

16. Apparatus comprising at least one non-transitory, computer-readable storage medium storing instructions operable, when executed by at least one processor, to perform operations to define interactions between at least two process components, the operations comprising:

processing at least one input defining, for each process component at least one inbound operation initiated by other process components to read or modify data encapsulated in a business object solely associated with the process component; and

processing at least one input defining, for each process component, at least one outbound operation, to read or modify data encapsulated in a business object solely associated with another process component;

wherein each of the process components is entirely included in exactly one deployment unit, each deployment unit corresponding to a hardware platform on which a process component is deployed associated with a deployment unit, each of the process components characterizes independently operable and context-independent software implementing a respective and distinct process, and each of the process components defining a respective at least one service interface for communicating and interacting with other process components, and all communication and interaction between process components taking place through the respective interfaces of the process components, each service interface comprising at least one service operation, and each service operation belonging to exactly one process component and comprising a separately-callable function, wherein interaction between process components in different deployment units takes place through messages passed through the respective service interfaces of the process components in the different deployment units, and interaction between process components in a same deployment unit takes place through messages passed between the process components in the same deployment unit.

17. The apparatus of claim 16, the operations further comprising processing at least one input defining, for each process component, at least one business object;

wherein the inbound operations are operable to start an execution of a step requested in an inbound message originating from the other process component by reading or modifying its respective business object; and

wherein the outbound operations are called after their respective business object is modified or read and is operable to trigger a generation of an outgoing message requesting a step reading or modifying a business object associated with the other process component.

18. A computer-implemented method of defining interactions between at least two process components in a software modeling environment, the method comprising the following steps performed on at least one processor:

processing at least one input defining, for each process component, at least one inbound operation initiated by other process components to read or modify data encapsulated in a business object solely associated with the process component; and

processing at least one input defining, for each process component, at least one outbound operation to read or modify data encapsulated in a business object solely associated with another process component;

wherein each of the process components is entirely included in exactly one deployment unit, each deployment unit corresponding to a hardware platform on which a process component is deployed associated with a deployment unit, each of the process components characterizes independently operable and context-independent software implementing a respective and distinct process, and each of the process components defines a respective at least one service interface for communicating and interacting with other process components, and all communication and interaction between process components takes place through the respective interfaces of the process components, each service interface comprising at least one service operation, and each service operation belonging to exactly one process component and comprising a separately-callable function, wherein interaction between process components in different deployment units takes place through messages passed through the respective service interfaces of the process components in the different deployment units, and interaction between process components in a same deployment unit takes place through at least one of business objects accessible to the process components in the same deployment unit or messages passed between the process components in the same deployment unit.

19. A method as in claim 18, further comprising:

defining types of messages to transfer between different deployment units.

20. A method as in claim 18, further comprising:

processing at least one input defining, for each process component, a plurality of process agents, each process agent being either an inbound process agent or an outbound process agent, an inbound process agent being operable to receive a message from an inbound operation, an outbound process agent being operable to cause an outbound operation to send a message; and

processing at least one input defining interactions between at least one inbound process agent of a first process component and at least one outbound process agent of a second process component; and

processing at least one input defining interactions between at least one inbound process agent of the second process component and at least one outbound process agent of the first process component.