Managing consistent interfaces for automatic identification label business objects across heterogeneous systems

• US 8,364,715 B2
• Filed: 03/31/2008
• Issued: 01/29/2013
• Est. Priority Date: 03/31/2008
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: SAP SE
• Original Assignee: SAP AG (SAP SE)
• Inventors: Schoknecht, Andreas, Alam, Muhammad, Muenter, Joachim
• Primary Examiner(s): Ly, Anh
• Application Number:
  US12/060,192
• Publication Number:
  US 20090248431A1
• Time in Patent Office: 1,765 Days
• Field of Search: 707/791, 707/796, 707/794, 707/810, 707/944, 709/203, 709/206, 705/26, 705/29, 705/37, 705/323, 705/332, 705/348
• US Class Current: 707/791
• CPC Class Codes: G06Q 10/06 Resources, workflows, human or project management; Enterprise or organisation planning; Enterprise or organisation modelling
• CPC Class Codes: G06Q 10/067 Enterprise or organisation modelling

Abstract

A business object model, which reflects data that is used during a given business transaction, is utilized to generate interfaces. This business object model facilitates commercial transactions by providing consistent interfaces that are suitable for use across industries, across businesses, and across different departments within a business during a business transaction. In some operations, software creates, updates, or otherwise processes information related to an automatic identification label, an automatic identification label device, and/or an automatic identification label device observation business object.

Claims

1. A non-transitory, computer-readable storage medium including program code for providing a message-based interface for performing an automatic identification label service, the storage medium comprising:

program code for receiving via a message-based interface derived from a common business object model, where the common business object model includes business objects having relationships that enable derivation of message-based interfaces and message packages, the message-based interfaces exposing at least one service as defined in a service registry and from a heterogeneous application executing in an environment of computer systems providing message-based services, a first message for requesting creation of an automatic identification label to automatic identification label processing, the automatic identification label for attachment to items in a supply chain movement of goods registered via barcode or Radio Frequency Identification (RFID) technology, the first message including a first message package derived from the common business object model and hierarchically organized as;

an automatic identification label create request message entity; and

an automatic identification label package comprising an automatic identification label entity, where the automatic identification label entity includes an identifier, a hexadecimal automatic identification label identifier, a reference object identifier, and a reference object type;

program code for processing the first message according to the hierarchical organization of the first message package, where processing the first message includes unpacking the first message package based on the common business object model; and

program code for sending a second message to the heterogeneous application responsive to the first message, where the second message includes a second message package derived from the common business object model to provide consistent semantics with the first message package.

2. A non-transitory, computer-readable storage medium including program code for providing a message-based interface for performing an automatic identification label device service, the storage medium comprising:

program code for receiving via a message-based interface derived from a common business object model, where the common business object model includes business objects having relationships that enable derivation of message-based interfaces and message packages, the message-based interfaces exposing at least one service as defined in a service registry and from a heterogeneous application executing in an environment of computer systems providing message-based services, a first message for requesting creation of an automatic identification label device, the automatic identification label device comprising a device used to read and print automatically identifiable labels registered via barcode or Radio Frequency Identification (RFID) technology, the first message including a first message package derived from the common business object model and hierarchically organized as;

an automatic identification label device create request message entity; and

an automatic identification label device package comprising an automatic identification label device entity, where the automatic identification label device entity includes an identifier and a location identifier; and

program code for processing the first message according to the hierarchical organization of the first message package, where processing the first message includes unpacking the first message package based on the common business object model; and

program code for sending a second message to the heterogeneous application responsive to the first message, where the second message includes a second message package derived from the common business object model to provide consistent semantics with the first message package.

3. A non-transitory, computer-readable storage medium including program code for providing a message-based interface for performing an automatic identification label device observation service, the storage medium comprising:

program code for receiving via a message-based interface derived from a common business object model, where the common business object model includes business objects having relationships that enable derivation of message-based interfaces and message packages, the message-based interfaces exposing at least one service as defined in a service registry and from a heterogeneous application executing in an environment of computer systems providing message-based services, a first message for requesting creation of an automatic identification label device observation model, the automatic identification label device observation model comprising a model of a registered observation of a device used to read and print one or more automatically identifiable labels registered via barcode or Radio Frequency Identification (RFID) technology, the first message including a first message package derived from the common business object model and hierarchically organized as;

an automatic identification label device observation create request message entity; and

an automatic identification label device observation package comprising an automatic identification label device observation entity, where the automatic identification label device observation entity includes a device identifier and at least one automatic identification label, where each automatic identification label includes an identifier; and

program code for processing the first message according to the hierarchical organization of the first message package, where processing the first message includes unpacking the first message package based on the common business object model; and

program code for sending a second message to the heterogeneous application responsive to the first message, where the second message includes a second message package derived from the common business object model to provide consistent semantics with the first message package.