Method and system for performing automated transactions using a server-side script-engine

• US 8,402,433 B2
• Filed: 05/21/2004
• Issued: 03/19/2013
• Est. Priority Date: 05/21/2004
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: SAP SE
• Original Assignee: SAP AG (SAP SE)
• Inventors: Wood, Eric, Tsyganskiy, Boris
• Primary Examiner(s): Zhen, Li B
• Assistant Examiner(s): Bodden, Evral
• Application Number:
  US10/850,906
• Publication Number:
  US 20050262021A1
• Time in Patent Office: 3,224 Days
• Field of Search: None
• US Class Current: 717/115
• CPC Class Codes: G06Q 10/10 Office automation; Time management
• CPC Class Codes: G06Q 20/40 Authorisation, e.g. identification of payer or payee, verification of customer or shop credentials; Review and approval of payers, e.g. check credit lines or negative lists

Abstract

A method and an apparatus for performing automated transactions are disclosed. According to one aspect of the present invention, a script-engine associated with a particular server receives a request to execute a script. The script-engine executes a script and prompts a user to enter critical data directly related to the goal sought to be achieved by the script. After receiving the critical data related to the transaction, the script automatically executes and communicates commands to a server. The script automatically communicates the critical data to the server upon request by the server. In addition, the script retrieves and enters non-critical data without user interaction. The server performs operations according to the commands received from the script-engine to automatically carry out the transaction.

Claims

1. A method comprising:

responsive to a client application requesting that a first script be executed, executing the first script on a first script-engine associated with a first server, the first script-engine including a first server-specific command interface and a first script-interchange interface, wherein the executing performs an automated business transaction having multiple operations, a subset of which are key operations, the first script having a plurality of script commands corresponding to the multiple operations of the business transaction, the business transaction including,

the first script-engine prompting a user to input data for the key operations of the business transaction,

capturing the data at the first script-engine,

the first script-engine providing a first one or more script commands to the first server via the first server-specific command interface, the first one or more script commands provided in a first format specific to the first server,

the first script-engine providing via the first script-interchange interface a second one or more script commands to a second script-engine associated with a second server, the second one or more script commands provided in a common script-interchange format for communication between script-engines,

the first script-engine receiving respective prompts for the data from the first server and from the second script-engine, and

in response to the prompts from the first server and the second script-engine, the first script-engine automatically providing the captured data to the first server and the second script-engine without user interaction, wherein the first server performs the key operations, including initiating a first user session based on the first one or more script commands, wherein the first user session provides the captured data from the first script-engine to a first database, and wherein the second server initiates a second user session based on the second one or more script commands, wherein the second user session provides the captured data from the first script-engine to a second database.

2. The method of claim 1, wherein the data is directly related to an end-goal of the business transaction.

3. The method of claim 1, wherein one or more of the multiple operations require other data, the business transaction further including retrieving the other data automatically and without user interaction.

4. The method of claim 3, wherein the other data is retrieved from a source external to the first server.

5. The method of claim 3, wherein the source external to the first server is the second server associated with the second script-engine.

6. The method of claim 1, further comprising the second script-engine communicating a result to the first script-engine.

7. The method of claim 6, wherein the result communicated to the first script-engine by the second script-engine is additional data for operations of the automated business transaction other than the key operations.

8. The method of claim 7, wherein the additional data is not directly related to the end-goal of the business transaction, but necessary to complete the transaction.

9. The method of claim 6, wherein both the first script-engine and the second script-engine access scripts stored in a library of scripts.

10. The method of claim 1, wherein the prompting of the user to input data includes prompting a user to input a location of a file containing the data.

11. The method of claim 1, wherein the first script is stored on a client.

12. The method of claim 1, wherein the first script is stored on a server.

13. The method of claim 1, wherein the first script is one of a plurality of scripts stored in a library of scripts.

14. A system including:

a first script-engine, configured to execute a first script in response to a request from a client application requesting that the first script be executed, the first script having a plurality of script commands corresponding to the multiple operations of an automated business transaction, wherein a subset of the multiple operations are key operations, wherein the first script-engine prompts a user to input data for key operations of the business transaction, the first script-engine further to capture the data, the first script-engine including,

a first server-specific command interface configured to provide a first set of script commands, and

a first script-interchange interface configured to provide a second set of script commands to a second script-engine associated with a second server, the second set of script commands provided by the first script-interchange interface in a common script-interchange format for communication between script-engines; and

a first server connected to the first script-engine, the first server configured to receive the first set of script commands provided by the first server-specific command interface, the first server configured to automatically perform the key operations of the business transaction using the data;

wherein the first set of script commands are provided by the first server-specific command interface in a first format specific to the first server, wherein the first script-engine is further configured to receive from the first server and from the second-script engine respective prompts for the data, wherein the first script-engine is further configured to provide the captured data to each of the first server and the second script-engine, the providing the respective copies of the captured critical data in response to the respective prompts by the first server and the second script-engine without user interaction, wherein the first server is further configured to perform the key operations, including initiating a first user session based on the first one or more script commands, wherein the first user session is configured to provide the captured data from the first script-engine to a first database, the second server further configured to initiate a second user session based on the second one or more script commands, wherein the second user session is configured to provide the captured data from the first script-engine to a second database.

15. The system of claim 14, wherein the data is directly related to an end-goal of the business transaction.

16. The system of claim 14, wherein one or more of the multiple operations require other data, and wherein the first script-engine further to retrieve the other data automatically and without user interaction.

17. The system of claim 16, wherein the other data is retrieved from a source external to the first server.

18. The system of claim 17 further including the second server, wherein the second server is to store the other data.

19. The system of claim 14 further comprising the second script-engine, wherein the second script-engine is configured to communicate a result to the first script in response to the data first script-engine providing the respective copy of the data to the second script-engine.

20. The system of claim 19, wherein the result communicated to the first script-engine by the second script-engine is additional data for operations of the automated business transaction other than the key operations.

21. The system of claim 20, wherein the additional data is not directly related to an end-goal of the business transaction, but necessary to complete the business transaction.

22. The system of claim 19 including a library of scripts wherein both the first script-engine and the second script-engine access scripts stored in the library of scripts.

23. The system of claim 14, wherein the first script-engine is to prompt a user to input a location of a file containing the data.

24. The system of claim 14 wherein the first script is stored on a client.

25. The system of claim 14 wherein the first script is stored on the first server.

26. The system of claim 14 wherein the first script is stored in a library of scripts.