System and method for receiving and transmitting event information

• US 8,661,454 B2
• Filed: 01/26/2010
• Issued: 02/25/2014
• Est. Priority Date: 01/26/2010
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Target Brands Inc. (Target Corporation)
• Original Assignee: Target Brands Inc. (Target Corporation)
• Inventors: Cole, Courtney, Hanson, Tyler, Viramontes, Debra, Richardson, Carol, Hessinger, Matthew Hayes, Braun, Shannon
• Primary Examiner(s): KESSLER, GREGORY AARON
• Application Number:
  US12/693,786
• Publication Number:
  US 20110185368A1
• Time in Patent Office: 1,491 Days
• Field of Search: None
• US Class Current: 719/315
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 9/542 Event management; Broadcasting; Multicasting; Notifications
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 9/546 Message passing systems or structures, e.g. queues

Abstract

In one example, a process manager is configured to receive events created by elements from other parts of enterprise software and to route the events to listeners within the enterprise software, and an evaluator is queried by the process manager and configured to determine the relationships between the event and the listeners in the enterprise software. In some embodiments, new listeners are added to the enterprise software without a significant change to the process manager.

Claims

1. A system for receiving and transmitting event information, the system comprising:

a subject module to perform one or more tasks and to transmit event information associated with the tasks;

a process manager module to receive the event information and to route the event information;

a listener module configured to receive the event information; and

an evaluator module comprising a processor configured to receive the event information, to determine one or more relationships between the event information and the listener module, and to transmit data concerning the one or more relationships to the process manager module, the one or more relationships being defined according to descriptions of the listener module relative to the event information, wherein the listener module is identified by the data;

wherein the subject module unilaterally transmits the event information to the process manager module, and in response, the process manager module unilaterally transmits the event information to the listener module based on relevance of the event information to the listener module or to an exception module according to the data;

wherein the listener module, upon receipt of the event information, analyzes the event information and optionally executes tasks in response to the event information; and

wherein additional listener modules can be added to the system without substantial modification of the process manager module.

2. The system of claim 1, wherein a multiplicity of subject modules can be added to the system without a substantial change to the process manager module.

3. The system of claim 1, wherein the process manager module sends event information to the listener module through a listener queue.

4. The system of claim 1, wherein the process manager module sends event information to the exception module if no listener module is identified by the evaluator module.

5. The system of claim 1, wherein the exception module analyzes incoming event information to detect an error in the system.

6. The system of claim 1, wherein the listener module is associated with the subject module.

7. The system of claim 6, wherein event information received by the listener module is routed to the subject module.

8. The system of claim 7, wherein the event information routed to the subject module is translated by the listener module.

9. The system of claim 1, wherein the subject module is a listener module.

10. A computer-implemented method for receiving and transmitting event information, the method comprising:

receiving, at a routing object, as a result of performance of one or more tasks, an update message from an actor object, the update message including a text based description that identifies content of the update message;

polling, at a routing object, a connection manager object for connections;

evaluating, at the connection manager object, a connection between the update message and a subscriber based at least in part on the text based description via the content of the update message, wherein the text-based description included in the update message serves as an identifier for the evaluating step to determine the connection between the update message and the subcriber;

at the connection manager object, transmitting to the routing object data concerning the connection, wherein the subscriber is identified by the data;

unilaterally transmitting, at the routing object, the update message to the subscriber or to an unlistened message object; and

adding, at the connection manager object, a reference to a subscriber without a substantial reprogramming of the routing object.

11. The method of claim 10, wherein the routing object sends the update message to the unlistened message object if no subscriber is identified by the data.

12. The method of claim 10, wherein the polling includes transmitting metadata from the update message.

13. The method of claim 10, wherein the subscriber is also an actor.

14. A non-transitory computer-readable medium having recorded therein instructions for receiving and transmitting event information, the method comprising:

receiving, at a routing object, an update message from an actor object, the update message including a text-based description that identifies content of the update message;

polling, at a routing object, a connection manager object for connections;

evaluating, at the connection manager object, a connection between the update message and a listener based on the text-based description included in the update message via the content of the update message, wherein the text-based description included in the update message serves as an identifier for the evaluating step to determine the connection between the update message and the subscriber;

at the connection manager object, transmitting to the routing object data concerning the connection;

transmitting, at the routing object, the update message to the listener or to an unlistened message object;

adding, at the connection manager object, a reference to a listener without a substantial reprogramming of the routing object.

15. The computer-readable medium of claim 14, wherein the routing object sends the update message to the listener and wherein the listener is identified by the data.

16. The computer-readable medium of claim 14, wherein the routing object sends the update message to the unlistened message object if no listener is identified by the data.

17. The computer-readable medium of claim 14, wherein the polling includes transmitting metadata from the update message.

18. The computer-readable medium of claim 14, wherein the listener is also an actor.