Method and system for enhancing and merging computer object rules

• US 8,433,664 B2
• Filed: 08/28/2008
• Issued: 04/30/2013
• Est. Priority Date: 08/28/2008
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: SAP SE
• Original Assignee: SAP AG (SAP SE)
• Inventors: Ziegler, Carsten, Beuter, Hans-Georg, Aakolk, Michael
• Primary Examiner(s): Gaffin, Jeffrey A
• Assistant Examiner(s): OLUDE AFOLABI, OLATOYOSI
• Application Number:
  US12/200,885
• Publication Number:
  US 20100057666A1
• Time in Patent Office: 1,706 Days
• Field of Search: 706/59, 705/1
• US Class Current: 706/15
• CPC Class Codes: G06Q 10/06 Resources, workflows, human or project management; Enterprise or organisation planning; Enterprise or organisation modelling

Abstract

A method, a machine-readable storage medium and a system are provided for revising content in a computer rule set. The revisions may be made by an issuer of content. In an embodiment, it is determined whether a difference exists between content data in a production table corresponding to a computer rule set and enhanced content data in an enhanced data table. If a difference is determined to exist, the content data is read from the production table and the enhanced content data is read from the enhanced data table. The enhancement data is identified as that assigned to the first issuer. Whether the rule enhanced in the computer rule set is allowed to be revised is confirmed. Based on the results of the determining and confirming, the enhanced data from the enhanced data table is incorporated into the production data table to provide a revised computer rule set.

Claims

1. A method for revising content in a computer rule set, the revisions made by at least an issuer of content, comprising:

determining if a difference exists between content data in a production table corresponding to an initial computer rule set and enhanced content data in an enhanced data table, wherein the content data and enhanced content data include at least one attribute, the at least one attribute is an action in a process operation, the enhanced content data is content revised by a first issuer and a second issuer and corresponds to a rule in the computer rule set, and the content data includes at least

     1) an enhancement category to indicate issuers having permissions to enhance the content data,

     2)an enhancement type to indicate specific portions of the content data that can be enhanced, and

     3) a data field to indicate an issuer that enhanced the content data;

in response to determining a difference exists, reading the content data from the production table corresponding to the initial computer rule set and the enhanced content data from the enhanced data table;

identifying enhancement data that is assigned to the first issuer and enhancement data that is assigned to the second issuer;

calculating a precedence between the enhancement data that is assigned to the first issuer and the enhancement data that is assigned to the second issuer;

confirming whether the rule enhanced in the computer rule set is allowed to be revised based on at least one of the enhancement category and the enhancement type;

based on the results of the determining and confirming, incorporating the enhanced data from the enhanced data table into the production data table to provide a revised computer rule set, wherein the incorporation includes merging, based on the calculated precedence, the enhanced data with corresponding portions of the content data that can be enhanced by the first issuer and the second issuer as indicated by the at least one of the enhancement category and the enhancement type; and

implementing the revised computer rule set, wherein operation of the rules is different from the operation of the rule in the initial rule set based on the enhanced data.

2. The method of claim 1, wherein the set of computer rules include a rules hierarchy, wherein rules established by the first issuer include an attribute field.

3. The method of claim 1, wherein the revised computer rule set is specific to the first issuer.

4. The method of claim 1, wherein in the incorporating the enhanced data into the production data table occurs only if the results of the determining and the confirming identify the first issuer as active and the enhanced rule is allowed to be revised.

5. The method of claim 1, comprising:

prior to the determining if a difference exists, triggering a merge process by attempting to implement the initial computer rule set for a first time by a customer.

6. A non-transitory machine-readable storage medium embodied with computer instructions for causing a computer to execute the instructions to implement a method for revising content in a computer rule set, the revisions made by at least an issuer of content, the instructions comprising:

determining if a difference exists between content data in a production table corresponding to an initial computer rule set and enhanced content data in an enhanced data table, wherein the content data and enhanced content data include at least one attribute, the at least one attribute is an action in a process operation, the enhanced content data is content revised by a first issuer and a second issuer and corresponds to a rule in the computer rule set, and the content data includes at least

     1) an enhancement category to indicate issuers having permissions to enhance the content data,

     2) an enhancement type to indicate specific portions of the content data that can be enhanced, and

     3) a data field to indicate an issuer that enhanced the content data;

in response to determining a difference exists, reading the content data from the production table corresponding to the initial computer rule set and the enhanced content data from the enhanced data table;

identifying enhancement data that is assigned to the first issuer and enhancement data that is assigned to the second issuer;

calculating a precedence between the enhancement data that is assigned to the first issuer and the enhancement data that is assigned to the second issuer;

confirming whether the rule enhanced in the computer rule set is allowed to be revised based on at least one of the enhancement category and the enhancement type;

based on the results of the determining and confirming, incorporating the enhanced data from the enhanced data table into the production data table to provide a revised computer rule set, wherein the incorporation includes merging, based on the calculated precedence, the enhanced data with corresponding portions of the content data that can be enhanced by the first issuer and the second issuer as indicated by the at least one of the enhancement category and the enhancement type; and

implementing the revised computer rule set, wherein operation of the rules is different from the operation of the rule in the initial rule set based on the enhanced data.

7. The non-transitory machine-readable storage medium of claim 6, wherein the set of computer rules include a rules hierarchy, wherein rules established by the first issuer include an attribute field.

8. The non-transitory machine-readable storage medium of claim 6, wherein the revised computer rule set is specific to the first issuer.

9. The non-transitory machine-readable storage medium of claim 6, wherein in the incorporating the enhanced data into the production data table occurs only if the results of the determining and the confirming identify the first issuer as active and the enhanced rule is allowed to be revised.

10. A system for revising content in a computer rule set, comprising:

a display device for displaying a graphical user interface;

a data storage for storing data;

a processor for executing computer program instructions, the instructions comprising;

determining if a difference exists between content data in a production table corresponding to an initial computer rule set and enhanced content data in an enhanced data table, wherein the content data and enhanced content data include at least one attribute, the at least one attribute is an action in a process operation, the enhanced content data is content revised by a first issuer and a second issuer and corresponds to a rule in the computer rule set, and the content data includes at least

     1) an enhancement category to indicate issuers having permissions to enhance the content data,

     2) an enhancement type to indicate specific portions of the content data that can be enhanced, and

     3) a data field to indicate an issuer that enhanced the content data;

in response to determining a difference exists, reading the content data from the production table corresponding to the initial computer rule set and the enhanced content data from the enhanced data table;

identifying enhancement data that is assigned to the first issuer and enhancement data that is assigned to the second issuer;

calculating a precedence between the enhancement data that is assigned to the first issuer and enhancement data that is assigned to the second issuer;

confirming whether the rule enhanced in the computer rule set is allowed to be revised based on at least one of the enhancement category and the enhancement type;

based on the results of the determining and confirming, incorporating the enhanced data from the enhanced data table into the production data table to provide a revised computer rule set, wherein the incorporation includes merging, based on the calculated precedence, the enhanced data with corresponding portions of the content data that can be enhanced by the first issuer and the second issuer as indicated by the at least one of the enhancement category and the enhancement type; and

implementing the revised computer rule set, wherein operation of the rules is different from the operation of the rule in the initial rule set based on the enhanced data.

11. The system of claim 10, wherein the set of computer rules include a rules hierarchy, wherein rules established by the first issuer include an attribute field.

12. The system of claim 10, wherein the revised computer rule set is specific to the first issuer.

13. The system of claim 10, wherein in the incorporating the enhanced data into the production data table occurs only if the results of the determining and the confirming identify the first issuer as active and the enhanced rule is allowed to be revised.