Method and apparatus for specifying time-varying intelligent service-oriented model

• US 8,893,217 B2
• Filed: 06/30/2011
• Issued: 11/18/2014
• Est. Priority Date: 06/30/2011
• Status: Expired due to Fees

• Current Assignee: International Business Machines Corporation
• Original Assignee: International Business Machines Corporation
• Inventors: Iyer, Sreekanth R., Patil, Sandeep R., Ramanathan, Sri, Sivakumar, Gandhi, Trevathan, Matthew B.
• Primary Examiner(s): McNally, Michael S
• Application Number:
  US13/173,699
• Publication Number:
  US 20130007835A1
• Time in Patent Office: 1,237 Days
• Field of Search: 713/153, 713/154, 713/185, 726/3, 726/1
• US Class Current: 726/1
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 17/00 Digital computing or data processing equipment or methods, specially adapted for specific functions information retrieval, database structures or file system structures therefor G06F16/00
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 21/6218 to a system of files or objects, e.g. local or distributed file system or database
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 21/6245 Protecting personal data, e.g. for financial or medical purposes
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 8/10 Requirements analysis; Specification techniques
• CPC Class Codes: G06Q 30/016 After-sales
• CPC Class Codes: G06Q 30/04 Billing or invoicing
• CPC Class Codes: G06Q 50/10 Services
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 63/10 for controlling access to devices or network resources
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 63/108 when the policy decisions are valid for a limited amount of time
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 63/20 for managing network security; network security policies in general filtering policies H04L63/0227

Abstract

A method and an apparatus for specifying a time-varying, intelligent service-oriented model are provided. A method implemented in a computer infrastructure having computer executable code embodied on a computer readable storage medium having programming instructions, includes defining information of a service which is to be provided to one or more users having access to a system storing the defined information. The method further includes defining policies associated with the defined information to allow and deny access to selected portions of the defined information, and exposing to a user of the one or more users the selected portions of the defined information based on the defined policies allowing access to the selected portions of the defined information.

Claims

1. A method implemented in a computer infrastructure having program instructions stored on a computer readable hardware storage device, the method comprising:

defining information of a service which is to be provided to one or more users having access to a system storing the defined information;

defining policies associated with the defined information to allow and deny access to selected portions of the defined information; and

exposing to a user, by a computer processor, of the one or more users the selected portions of the defined information based on the defined policies allowing access to the selected portions of the defined information,

wherein;

the defined information comprises at least one business object; and

the defined policies associated with the defined information comprise time information of the at least one business object, the time information specifying one or more time periods when the user is allowed access to the selected portions of the defined information; and

wherein the exposing of the selected portions of the defined information comprises at least one of;

sending, by the computer processor, the selected portions of the defined information to the user upon receipt of a request for the defined information; and

manifesting, by the computer processor, during the one or more time periods, the selected portions of the defined information such that the user can directly access the selected portions of the defined information.

2. The method of claim 1, wherein the defined policies comprise at least one service operation which the user is allowed to perform on the defined information.

3. The method of claim 1, wherein the defined policies comprise at least one type of information of the defined information which the user is allowed to access, while denying access to another type of information of the defined information.

4. The method of claim 1, wherein the defined information and the defined policies are defined by at least one of the one or more users and a service provider.

5. The method of claim 1, wherein the at least one business object comprises at least one of:

one or more attributes of the one or more users; and

one or more relationships between the at least one business object and other business objects.

6. The method of claim 5, wherein the defined policies comprise at least one attribute of the one or more attributes that the user is allowed to access.

7. The method of claim 5, wherein the defined policies comprise at least one relationship of the one or more relationships that the user is allowed to access.

8. The method of claim 1, wherein a service provider at least one of creates, maintains, deploys and supports a computer infrastructure operable to perform the steps of claim 1.

9. The method of claim 1, wherein steps of claim 1 are provided by a service provider on a subscription, advertising, and/or fee basis.

10. The method of claim 1, wherein:

the defined policies associated with the business object comprise type information, the type information including a first type and a second type;

the selected portions of the defined information include a first attribute of the first type and a second attribute of the second type;

the selected portions of the defined information include a first relationship to the first attribute and a second relationship to the second attribute;

the time information specifies that the user is allowed access to the first attribute during a first time period of the one or more time periods;

the time information specifies that the user is allowed access to the second attribute during a second time period of the one or more time periods; and

the exposing the selected portions of the defined information comprises;

manifesting, based on the time information and the type information, the first attribute and the first relationship to a device of the user when a current time is within the first time period;

stopping manifesting the first attribute and the first relationship when the current time is no longer within the first time period;

manifesting, based on the time information and the type information, the second attribute and the second relationship to the device of the user when the current time is within the second time period; and

stopping manifesting the second attribute and second relationship when the current time is no longer within the second time period.

11. A system implemented in hardware, comprising:

a computer infrastructure operable to;

create a business object of a service provided to one or more users;

define a context component of the business object for manifestation of the business object, the context component comprising at least one time period when the business object is manifested to the one or more users;

manifest the business object when a current time is within the at least one time period;

send the business object to the one or more users upon receipt of a request for the business object from the one or more users; and

manifest the business object such that the one or more users can directly access the business object.

12. The system of claim 11, wherein the context component comprises at least one service operation which the one or more users are allowed to perform on the business object.

13. The system of claim 11, wherein the context component comprises at least one type of business objects that is manifested to the one or more users.

14. The system of claim 11, wherein the business object and the context component are defined by the one or more users.

15. The system of claim 11, wherein the business object comprises at least one of:

one or more attributes of the one or more users; and

one or more relationships between the business object and other business objects.

16. The system of claim 15, wherein the context component comprises at least one attribute of the one or more attributes that is manifested to the one or more users.

17. The system of claim 15, wherein the context component comprises at least one relationship of the one or more relationships that is manifested to the one or more users.

18. The system of claim 11, wherein the computer infrastructure is further operable to stop manifesting the business object when the current time is no longer within the at least one time period.

19. A computer program product comprising a computer readable hardware storage device and program instructions stored on the computer readable hardware storage device, the program instructions comprising:

program instructions to define information of a service which is to be provided to one or more users having access to a system storing the defined information;

program instructions to define policies associated with the defined information to allow and deny access to selected portions of the defined information; and

program instructions to expose to a user of the one or more users the selected portions of the defined information based on the defined policies allowing access to the selected portions of the defined information,

wherein;

the defined information comprises at least one business object that comprises one or more attributes of the one or more users, and one or more relationships between the at least one business object and other business objects; and

the defined policies associated with the defined information comprise time information of the at least one business object, the time information specifying one or more time periods when the user is allowed access to the selected portions of the defined information; and

wherein the exposing of the selected portions of the defined information comprises at least one of;

sending the selected portions of the defined information to the user upon receipt of a request for the defined information; and

manifesting, during the one or more time periods, the selected portions of the defined information such that the user can directly access the selected portions of the defined information.

20. The computer program product of claim 19, wherein the defined policies comprise at least one of:

at least one service operation which the user is allowed to perform on the defined information;

at least one type of information of the defined information which the user is allowed to access, while denying access to another type of information of the defined information; and

at least one time period when the user is allowed access to the defined information.

21. A method of specifying a time-varying, intelligent service-oriented model, comprising:

requesting, by a computer processor, a service port for accessing information of a service provided to one or more users;

requesting, by the computer processor, access of the information based on the service port; and

accessing, by the computer processor, the information when the information is manifested based on parameters defined by the one or more users

wherein the parameters comprise at least one of;

at least one service operation which the one or more users are allowed to perform on the information;

at least one type of the information which are manifested to the one or more users; and

at least one time period when the information is manifested to the one or more users.

22. A computer system for specifying a time-varying, intelligent service-oriented model, the system comprising:

one or more computer processors;

a computer readable hardware storage device;

program instructions stored on the computer readable hardware storage device for execution by the one or more computer processors, the program instructions comprising;

program instructions to receive a request from a user to access information that is stored on a system;

program instructions to determine whether at least a first user and a second user are authorized to have access to the information based on defined rules as to time of retrieval;

program instructions to provide the first user access to a first type of the information when the first user is requesting access within the defined time of retrieval, while denying access to additional information stored on the system; and

program instructions to provide the second user access to a second type of the information when the second user is requesting access within the defined time of retrieval, while denying access to remaining information stored on the system.