Systems and methods for implementing business rules designed with cloud computing

• US 8,630,969 B2
• Filed: 10/19/2010
• Issued: 01/14/2014
• Est. Priority Date: 10/19/2010
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: SAP SE
• Original Assignee: SAP AG (SAP SE)
• Inventors: Ziegler, Carsten
• Primary Examiner(s): Gaffin, Jeffrey A
• Assistant Examiner(s): OLUDE AFOLABI, OLATOYOSI
• Application Number:
  US12/907,068
• Publication Number:
  US 20120095950A1
• Time in Patent Office: 1,183 Days
• Field of Search: 706/47, 709/226
• US Class Current: 706/47
• CPC Class Codes: G06Q 10/06 Resources, workflows, human or project management; Enterprise or organisation planning; Enterprise or organisation modelling
• CPC Class Codes: G06Q 10/10 Office automation; Time management

Abstract

Systems and methods presented herein may involve locally executing rules (e.g., business rules) that are designed in a remote computing cloud. Systems and methods may include receiving a file representing modified rules from the remote computing cloud and compiling the file locally for integration into a local system. By separating the design and execution phases of the rules, new versions of the rule design application(s) may be utilized in the remote cloud to design local rules without upgrading or otherwise changing the applications that implement the rules on the local system.

Claims

1. A system for locally implementing business rules that are designed remotely, the system comprising:

a database for storing backend data;

a non-transient memory that stores a set of rules that operate with a local application to perform business tasks; and

a processor coupled to the memory, the processor executing instructions to perform stages comprising;

requesting at least a portion of a rule design interface from a computing cloud located remotely from the processor, wherein the portion of the rule design interface is stored and updated on the remote computing cloud independently from the local application;

receiving, over a network, a modified set of rules from the remote computing cloud, the modified set of rules being created via the computing cloud, wherein the requesting and receiving stages include communicating over a secure network service that connects the processor to the remote computing cloud, and wherein the local application and remote computing cloud communicate with one another using remote procedure calls;

integrating the modified set of rules to operate with the local application;

storing the integrated modified set of rules on the non-transient memory; and

subsequent to the integration, applying the modified set of rules during runtime of the local application.

2. The system of claim 1, wherein the processor further performs stages comprising presenting the rule design interface on a display device simultaneously with display information generated by the local application.

3. The system of claim 1, wherein the processor further performs stages comprising transmitting an application identifier to the remote computing cloud, wherein the application identifier corresponds to a version of the local application and a programming language compatible with the application;

and

wherein receiving the set of modified rules includes receiving a file written in the compatible programming language and configured to compile with the version of the local application.

4. The system of claim 3, wherein the stages further comprise receiving a remote procedure call to integrate the modified set of rules, and, in response, causing the application to use the modified set of rules instead of a prior set of rules.

5. The system of claim 3, wherein the file represents an executable file that is recognized by the local application.

6. The system of claim 1, wherein the processor further performs stages comprising updating the version of the local application independently of the remote computing cloud.

7. A computer-implemented method for locally implementing remotely-designed rules with a local application, the method comprising:

storing backend data on a local non-transient computer-readable storage medium;

requesting, via a processor, at least a portion of a rule design interface from a remote computing cloud, wherein the portion of the rule design interface is stored and executed on the remote computing cloud, wherein the requesting is performed using at least one remote procedure call over a secure network service that connects to the computing cloud;

receiving a modified set of rules from the remote computing cloud that was created via the rule design interface;

compiling, via the processor, the modified set of rules to operate with the local business application; and

storing the modified set of rules locally to the backend data.

8. The computer-implemented method of claim 7, further comprising updating a version of the local application independently from the requested portion of the rule design interface.

9. The computer-implemented method of claim 7, further comprising transmitting an application identifier to the remote computing cloud for use in identifying an attribute that distinguishes the local application from a plurality of other applications that connect to the computing cloud, and formatting the modified set of rules based on the identified attribute.

10. A computer-implemented method for providing rule design services from a computing cloud, the method comprising:

receiving a request for a portion of a rule design interface from a remote requesting entity, wherein the requested portion of the rule design interface is assembled based on information received in response to a remote procedure call made by the computing cloud to the remote requesting entity;

identifying, via a processor, an attribute of an application corresponding to the requesting entity;

providing the portion of the rule design interface to the requesting entity that is compatible with the application;

receiving user inputs that are made by utilizing the rule design interface;

creating a file representing the modified set of rules by utilizing the attribute of the application to render the file in a format usable by the application; and

transmitting the file to the remote backend system for integration with the application on the backend system.

11. The method of claim 10, further comprising:

updating, via the processor, a version of the portion of the rule design interface independently from a version of the application running on the remote backend system.

12. The method of claim 10, wherein creating the file includes determining a programming language for the file that is compatible with the application.

13. The method of claim 12, wherein the attribute of the application is used in determining the programming language.

14. The method of claim 10, further comprising receiving a data dictionary corresponding to the application on the backend system and utilizing the data dictionary in providing the portion of the rule design interface.

15. The method of claim 10, wherein providing the portion of the rule design interface to the requesting entity includes selecting the portion from amongst a plurality of different portions based on the attribute of the application.

16. The method of claim 10, wherein transmitting the file to the remote backend system includes uploading the file to a location in the backend system that is designated for storing modified rules for compilation.

17. The method of claim 10, further comprising making a remote procedure call to the remote backend system that causes the remote backend system to integrate the modified rule set by compiling them.

18. A non-transient computer-readable medium containing instructions that, when executed by a processor, cause the processor to perform stages comprising:

receiving a request from a requesting entity for at least a portion of a rule design interface;

receiving information regarding an application that utilizes the rules used in a remote backend system, wherein the information received is in response to a remote procedure call made by a computing cloud to the requesting entity;

providing the portion of the rule design interface by utilizing the information regarding the current set of rules;

modifying the current set of rules according to user inputs;

creating a file representing the modified set of rules by utilizing the information regarding the application that utilizes the rules to format the file in a language and structure that is compatible with the application; and

transmitting the file to the remote backend system for compilation and execution on the backend system.