Ad hoc generation of work item entity for geospatial entity based on symbol manipulation language-based workflow item

• US 8,612,279 B2
• Filed: 06/27/2011
• Issued: 12/17/2013
• Est. Priority Date: 06/27/2011
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Cisco Technology, Inc. (Cisco Systems, Inc.)
• Original Assignee: Cisco Technology, Inc. (Cisco Systems, Inc.)
• Inventors: Moon, Billy Gayle, Turner, Bryan, Miner, James J.
• Primary Examiner(s): DIXON, THOMAS A
• Application Number:
  US13/169,903
• Publication Number:
  US 20120331472A1
• Time in Patent Office: 904 Days
• Field of Search: 705/7.27
• US Class Current: 705/7.26
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 16/29 Geographical information databases

Abstract

In one embodiment, a method comprises receiving from a user interface, by a computing device, a request for execution of at least one lambda function in an operation of a geospatial application, the geospatial application having lambda functions for operating on at least one of a workflow item or one or more entities of an ad hoc geospatial directory, the workflow item including at least one of the lambda functions for a workflow in the geospatial application; and executing by the computing device the at least one lambda function to form, in the geospatial application, a work entity that associates the workflow item with one of the entities, the work entity defining execution of the workflow on the one entity.

Claims

1. A method comprising:

receiving from a user interface, by a computing device, a request for execution of at least one lambda function in an operation of a geospatial application, the geospatial application having lambda functions for operating on at least one of a workflow item or one or more entities of an ad hoc geospatial directory, the workflow item including at least one of the lambda functions for a workflow in the geospatial application; and

executing by the computing device the at least one lambda function to form, in the geospatial application, a work entity that associates the workflow item with one of the entities, the work entity defining execution of the workflow on the one entity;

wherein the workflow item includes a prescribed workflow identifier and a prescribed item identifier identifying the workflow item within the workflow, the workflow based on a plurality of the workflow items each having the prescribed workflow identifier;

wherein the workflow items having the prescribed workflow identifier establish the workflow as a directed acyclic graph, the workflow items each including at least one of a parent state identifier identifying another one of the workflow items as a corresponding parent execution state in the workflow, or a child state identifier identifying another one of the workflow items as a corresponding child execution state in the workflow.

2. The method of claim 1, further comprising the computing device generating and outputting, to the user interface, a work item entity associated with the work entity for the one entity and containing at least one workflow item lambda function enabling a user to modify a workflow state of the one entity.

3. The method of claim 2, further comprising the computing device modifying the workflow based on creating a new workflow item in response to executing the workflow item lambda function received from the user interface with respect to the one entity, the modified workflow selectively available for the other entities in the ad hoc geospatial directory.

4. The method of claim 1, wherein each of the workflow items include at least one workflow item lambda function for executing at least one of modifying the corresponding workflow item, modifying a corresponding child state, adding a new child state to the workflow from the corresponding workflow item, or associating the corresponding workflow item with an identified one of the entities in the ad hoc geospatial directory.

5. The method of claim 4, wherein the executing includes generating a work item entity data structure associated with the work entity and containing the workflow item lambda function for the corresponding workflow item, the method further comprising supplying the work item entity data structure to the user interface, enabling a user to modify a workflow state of the corresponding entity.

6. The method of claim 1, wherein each entity in the ad hoc geospatial directory has a prescribed entity identifier and each workflow item has a prescribed item identifier, the entities in the ad hoc geospatial directory each including a lambda function for requesting execution of one of the workflow items on the corresponding entity, the request specifying execution of the one of the lambda functions on an identified one of the workflow items for the corresponding entity.

7. The method of claim 1, wherein each entity in the ad hoc geospatial directory has a prescribed entity identifier and each workflow item has a prescribed item identifier, each of a plurality of workflow items in the geospatial application including a lambda function for associating one of the entities with the corresponding workflow item on the corresponding entity, the request specifying execution of the one of the lambda functions on the corresponding workflow item for the one entity.

19. The method of claim 1, wherein the geospatial application describes functions according to a prescribed symbol manipulation language, the prescribed symbol manipulation language a non-Turing complete language that does not permit partial functions and describes the functions independent of any attribute of any computing system.

8. An apparatus comprising:

an interface circuit configured for receiving from a user interface a request for execution of at least one lambda function in an operation of a geospatial application, the geospatial application having lambda functions for operating on at least one of a workflow item or one or more entities of an ad hoc geospatial directory, the workflow item including at least one of the lambda functions for a workflow in the geospatial application; and

an execution circuit configured for executing the at least one lambda function to form, in the geospatial application, a work entity that associates the workflow item with one of the entities, the work entity defining execution of the workflow on the one entity;

wherein the workflow item includes a prescribed workflow identifier and a prescribed item identifier identifying the workflow item within the workflow, the workflow based on a plurality of the workflow items each having the prescribed workflow identifier;

wherein the workflow items having the prescribed workflow identifier establish the workflow as a directed acyclic graph, the workflow items each including at least one of a parent state identifier identifying another one of the workflow items as a corresponding parent execution state in the workflow, or a child state identifier identifying another one of the workflow items as a corresponding child execution state in the workflow.

9. The apparatus of claim 8, wherein the execution circuit is configured for generating, for output to the user interface, a work item entity associated with the work entity for the one entity and containing at least one workflow item lambda function enabling a user to modify a workflow state of the one entity.

10. The apparatus of claim 9, wherein the execution circuit is configured for modifying the workflow based on creating a new workflow item in response to executing the workflow item lambda function received from the user interface with respect to the one entity, the modified workflow selectively available for the other entities in the ad hoc geospatial directory.

11. The apparatus of claim 8, wherein each of the workflow items include at least one workflow item lambda function for executing at least one of modifying the corresponding workflow item, modifying a corresponding child state, adding a new child state to the workflow from the corresponding workflow item, or associating the corresponding workflow item with an identified one of the entities in the ad hoc geospatial directory.

12. The apparatus of claim 11, wherein the execution circuit is configured for generating a work item entity data structure associated with the work entity and containing the workflow item lambda function for the corresponding workflow item, the interface circuit configured for supplying the work item entity data structure to the user interface, enabling a user to modify a workflow state of the corresponding entity.

13. The apparatus of claim 8, wherein each entity in the ad hoc geospatial directory has a prescribed entity identifier and each workflow item has a prescribed item identifier, the entities in the ad hoc geospatial directory each including a lambda function for requesting execution of one of the workflow items on the corresponding entity, the request specifying execution of the one of the lambda functions on an identified one of the workflow items for the corresponding entity.

14. The apparatus of claim 8, wherein each entity in the ad hoc geospatial directory has a prescribed entity identifier and each workflow item has a prescribed item identifier, each of a plurality of workflow items in the geospatial application including a lambda function for associating one of the entities with the corresponding workflow item on the corresponding entity, the request specifying execution of the one of the lambda functions on the corresponding workflow item for the one entity.

15. The apparatus of claim 8, wherein the workflow item, the entities, and the work entity each are implemented by the execution as a corresponding at least one data structure having a strongly typed definition, for storage in a non-transitory computer readable storage medium.

20. The apparatus of claim 8, wherein the geospatial application describes functions according to a prescribed symbol manipulation language, the prescribed symbol manipulation language a non-Turing complete language that does not permit partial functions and describes the functions independent of any attribute of any computing system.

16. Non-transitory logic encoded in one or more non-transitory tangible media for execution by a computing device and when executed operable for:

receiving from a user interface, by the computing device, a request for execution of at least one lambda function in an operation of a geospatial application, the geospatial application having lambda functions for operating on at least one of a workflow item or one or more entities of an ad hoc geospatial directory, the workflow item including at least one of the lambda functions for a workflow in the geospatial application; and

executing by the computing device the at least one lambda function to form, in the geospatial application, a work entity that associates the workflow item with one of the entities, the work entity defining execution of the workflow on the one entity;

wherein the workflow item includes a prescribed workflow identifier and a prescribed item identifier identifying the workflow item within the workflow, the workflow based on a plurality of the workflow items each having the prescribed workflow identifier;

wherein the workflow items having the prescribed workflow identifier establish the workflow as a directed acyclic graph, the workflow items each including at least one of a parent state identifier identifying another one of the workflow items as a corresponding parent execution state in the workflow, or a child state identifier identifying another one of the workflow items as a corresponding child execution state in the workflow.

17. The logic of claim 16, wherein each entity in the ad hoc geo spatial directory has a prescribed entity identifier and each workflow item has a prescribed item identifier, the entities in the ad hoc geospatial directory each including a lambda function for requesting execution of one of the workflow items on the corresponding entity, the request specifying execution of the one of the lambda functions on an identified one of the workflow items for the corresponding entity.

18. The logic of claim 16, wherein the geospatial application describes functions according to a prescribed symbol manipulation language, the prescribed symbol manipulation language a non-Turing complete language that does not permit partial functions and describes the functions independent of any attribute of any computing system.