Managing consistent interfaces for communication system and object identifier mapping business objects across heterogeneous systems

• US 8,521,838 B2
• Filed: 07/28/2011
• Issued: 08/27/2013
• Est. Priority Date: 07/28/2011
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: SAP SE
• Original Assignee: SAP AG (SAP SE)
• Inventors: Bestfleisch, Ulrich, Vogt, Thomas, Wolf, Markus, Albers, Leif, Brink, Jan, Mueller, Mario Andy, Bechtold, Johannes, Boche, Herbert, Tanzer, Paul, Gaffga, Joachim, Rekowski, Andre von
• Primary Examiner(s): Kim, Jung
• Assistant Examiner(s): Kusyk, Janusz
• Application Number:
  US13/192,553
• Publication Number:
  US 20130031203A1
• Time in Patent Office: 761 Days
• Field of Search: None
• US Class Current: 709/217
• CPC Class Codes: G06Q 10/067 Enterprise or organisation modelling
• CPC Class Codes: G06Q 30/06 Buying, selling or leasing transactions
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 67/51 Discovery or management thereof, e.g. service location protocol [SLP] or web services

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 a communication system and/or an object identifier mapping business object.

Claims

1. A non-transitory computer readable medium including program code for providing a message-based interface for exchanging specifications of communication systems that includes services, communication methods and technical settings needed for communication, the 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 interface 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 querying a specification of a communication system that includes services, communication methods, and technical settings needed for communication, the first message including that in eludes a first message package derived from the common business object model, the first message package hierarchically organized in memory as;

at a first hierarchical level within the first message package, a communication system query message entity; and

at the first hierarchical level in the first message package, a communication system package comprising, at a second hierarchical level in the first message package, a communication system entity, where the communication system entity includes, at a third hierarchical level in the first message package, a communications system universally unique identifier (UUID), a communications system identifier (ID), a system access type code, a hypertext transfer protocol (HTTP) proxy name, system administrative data, and a communications system status;

program code for processing the first message based on the hierarchical organization of the first message package, where processing the first message includes unpacking the first message package based on the first message package'"'"'s structure and the first message package'"'"'s derivation from the common business object model, wherein the particular structure of the first message package is used at least in part to identify the purpose of the first message; 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. The computer readable medium of claim 1, wherein the communication system package comprises, at the second hierarchical level within the first message package, at least one of the following:

a participating business system package and a communication partner package.

3. The computer readable medium of claim 1, wherein the communication system entity further includes, at the third hierarchical level within the first message package, at least one of the following:

a system indicator, a host name, an Internet protocol (IP) address, an HTTP proxy transmission control protocol (TCP) port ID, an HTTP proxy user name, HTTP proxy password text, and an owner organization name.

4. A distributed system operating in a landscape of computer systems providing message-based services defined in a service registry, the system comprising:

at least one processor operable to execute computer readable instructions embodied on non-transitory media;

a graphical user interface executable by the at least one processor and comprising computer readable instructions, embedded on non-transitory media, for querying a specification of a communication system that includes services, communication methods, and technical settings needed for communication using a request;

a first memory storing a user interface controller for processing the request and involving a message including a message package derived from a common business object model, where the common business object model includes business objects having relationships that enable derivation of message-based service interfaces and message packages, the message package hierarchically organized, the hierarchical organization of the first message package including;

a communication system query message entity; and

at a first hierarchical level in the first message package, a communication system package comprising, at a second hierarchical level in the first message package, a communication system entity, where the communication system entity includes, at a third hierarchical level in the first message package, a communications system universally unique identifier (UUID), a communications system identifier (ID), a system access type code, a hypertext transfer protocol (HTTP) proxy name, system administrative data, and a communications systems status; and

a second memory, physically placed in a different location from the graphical user interface, storing a plurality of service interfaces executable by the at least one processor and derived from the common business object model to provide consistent semantics with messages derived from the common business object model, where one of the service interfaces is operable to process the message via the service interface based on the hierarchical organization of the message package, where processing the message includes unpacking the first message package based on the message package'"'"'s structure and the message package'"'"'s derivation from the common business object model, wherein the particular structure of the message package is used at least in part to identify the purpose of the message.

5. The distributed system of claim 4, wherein the first memory is physically placed in a different location from the graphical user interface.

6. The distributed system of claim 4, wherein the first memory is physically placed in a different location from the second memory.

7. A non-transitory computer readable medium including program code for providing a message-based interface for exchanging object identifier mappings that map a local object identifier to an identifier of a corresponding object in a remote system, the 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 interface 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 querying object identifier mapping information, the first message including a first message package derived from the common business object model, the first message package hierarchically organized in memory as;

at a first hierarchical level within the first message package, an object identifier mapping query message entity; and

at the first hierarchical level in the first message package, an object identifier mapping package comprising, at a second hierarchical level in the first message package, at least one object identifier mapping entity, where each object identifier mapping entity includes, at a third hierarchical level in the first message package, an object identifying mapping entity universally unique identifier (UUID), a local object node reference, a remote business system UUID, a remote identifier defining scheme code, a remote object ID, an origin type code, and system administrative data;

program code for processing the first message based on the hierarchical organization of the first message package, where processing the first message includes unpacking the first message package based on the first message package'"'"'s structure and the first message package'"'"'s derivation from the common business object model, wherein the particular structure of the first message package is used at least in part to identify the purpose of the first message; 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.

8. A distributed system operating in a landscape of computer systems providing message-based services defined in a service registry, the system comprising:

at least one processor operable to execute computer readable instructions embodied on non-transitory media;

a graphical user interface executable by the at least one processor and comprising computer readable instructions, embedded on non-transitory media, for querying object identifier mapping information using a request;

a first memory storing a user interface controller for processing the request and involving a message including a message package derived from a common business object model, where the common business object model includes business objects having relationships that enable derivation of message-based service interfaces and message packages, the message package hierarchically organized, the hierarchical organization of the first message package including;

at a first hierarchical level within the first message package, an object identifier mapping query message entity; and

at the first hierarchical level in the first message package, an object identifier mapping package comprising, at a second hierarchical level in the first message package, at least one object identifier mapping entity, where each object identifier mapping entity includes, at a third hierarchical level in the first message package, an object identifying mapping entity universally unique identifier (UUID), a local object node reference, a remote business system UUID, a remote identifier defining scheme code, a remote object ID, an origin type code, and system administrative data; and

a second memory, physically placed in a different location from the graphical user interface, storing a plurality of service interfaces executable by the at least one processor and derived from the common business object model to provide consistent semantics with messages derived from the common business object model, where one of the service interfaces is operable to process the message via the service interface based on the hierarchical organization of the message package, where processing the message includes unpacking the first message package based on the message package'"'"'s structure and the message package'"'"'s derivation from the common business object model, wherein the particular structure of the message package is used at least in part to identify the purpose of the message.

9. The distributed system of claim 8, wherein the first memory is physically placed in a different location from the graphical user interface.

10. The distributed system of claim 8, wherein the first memory is physically placed in a different location from the second memory.