Automatic generation of database invocation mechanism for external web services

• US 8,924,408 B2
• Filed: 09/28/2001
• Issued: 12/30/2014
• Est. Priority Date: 09/28/2001
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: ServiceNow Incorporated
• Original Assignee: International Business Machines Corporation
• Inventors: Brown, Larry, Kleewein, James C., Qu, Rong, Reinwald, Berthold, Schwarz, Peter M., Wolfson, Charles Daniel
• Primary Examiner(s): Pulliam, Christyann
• Assistant Examiner(s): OHBA, MELLISSA M
• Application Number:
  US09/967,553
• Publication Number:
  US 20040199636A1
• Time in Patent Office: 4,841 Days
• Field of Search: 707/10, 707/702, 707/760
• US Class Current: 707/760
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 16/958 Organisation or management of web site content, e.g. publishing, maintaining pages or automatic linking

Abstract

An external service at a service provider server is invoked from a database by accessing from over a network a description of the external service published by the service provider external to the database. A database invocation mechanism is generated from the accessed description of the external service, wherein the database invocation mechanism comprises code within the database. A database program invokes the database invocation mechanism code within the database to invoke and interact with the external service. The database receives data from the external service in response to invoking and interacting with the external service.

Claims

1. A computer implemented method for enabling invocation of an external service at a service provider server from a database in a database computer system, comprising:

accessing from over a network a published description of the external service published by the service provider external to the database, wherein the published description includes a definition defining operations performed by the external service in a service description language, wherein the database manages data and includes a database engine to perform queries;

parsing the accessed published description to determine one of the operations contained in the published description;

deriving a user defined function name for one of the determined operations from the accessed published description of the external service;

generating a conversion between a database language statement and the service description language for the determined operation;

generating database language statements defining the user defined function executable by the database to invoke the external service, wherein the user defined function resides on the database;

invoking, by the database, the user defined function by executing the database language statements including the user defined function within the database to invoke the external service and perform a query with respect to the external service, wherein the user defined function invokes the external service by accepting as input parameters a network address of the external service, a name of the external service, and a name of an operation to be performed; and

receiving, at the database, data from the external service in response to invoking and interacting with the external service, wherein the user defined function returns the result of the invocation.

2. The method of claim 1, wherein the external service further comprises a web service.

3. The method of claim 1, wherein the service description language comprises Web Services Description Language (WSDL).

4. The method of claim 1, wherein the published description is retrieved over the network from a registry.

5. The method of claim 4, wherein the network comprises the Internet.

6. The method of claim 5, wherein the published description is retrieved with a Simple Object Access Protocol (SOAP) request.

7. The method of claim 4, wherein the registry comprises a standardized registry.

8. The method of claim 7, wherein the registry comprises a Universal Description, Discovery, Integration (UDDI registry).

9. The method of claim 4, wherein the registry is local to the database.

10. The method of claim 1, wherein the invoked user defined function returns the data from the external service to the database as a virtual table.

11. The method of claim 1, wherein generating the user defined function comprises:

for each operation contained in the published description of the external service, determining a network address of the operation and generating a user defined function for the operation having a name and input parameters.

12. The method of claim 1, wherein the generated user defined function accepts as a parameter containing a location of the service provider, wherein the user defined function invokes the external service at multiple service providers by specifying the location of the each service provider when invoking an instance of the user defined function for each service provider.

13. The method of claim 1, wherein the external service comprises a web service, and wherein accessing the published description of the external service comprises:

browsing a registry to determine a web service; and

issuing a query to access a file that includes code implementing the determined web service, wherein the accessed published description from which the user defined function is generated comprises the accessed file.

14. The method of claim 13, wherein the user defined function includes a name of a method to be performed within the web service.

15. The method of claim 1, further comprising:

obtaining at least one service provider implementing the external service, wherein the generated user defined function is coded to invoke the external service against the at least one service provider at execution time.

16. The method of claim 1, wherein the generating the conversion for the determined operation further comprises:

for each parameter of an input message in the external service, generating a conversion of an input parameter in the database language statements to an input parameter in the service description language; and

for each parameter of an output message in the external service, generating a conversion of an output parameter from the service description language to the external service to a representation of an input parameter in the database language statements.

17. A program product comprising a non-transitory computer readable storage medium containing instructions executable by a computer coupled to a network, the instructions executed to perform invocation of an external service at a service provider server from a computer database system, comprising:

accessing from over a network a published description of the external service published by the service provider external to the database, wherein the published description includes a definition defining operations performed by the external service in a service description language, wherein the database manages data and includes a database engine to perform queries;

parsing the accessed published description to determine one of the operations contained in the published description;

deriving a user defined function name for one of the determined operations from the accessed published description of the external service;

generating a conversion between a database language statement and the service description language for the determined operation;

generating database language statements defining the user defined function executable by the database to invoke the external service, wherein the user defined function resides on the database;

invoking, by the database, the user defined function by executing the database language statements including the user defined function within the database to invoke the external service and perform a query with respect to the external service, wherein the user defined function invokes the external service by accepting as input parameters a network address of the external service, a name of the external service, and a name of an operation to be performed; and

receiving, at the database, data from the external service in response to invoking and interacting with the external service, wherein the user defined function returns the result of the invocation.

18. The program product of claim 17, wherein the external service further comprises a web service.

19. The program product of claim 17, wherein the service description language comprises Web Services Description Language (WSDL).

20. The program product of claim 17, wherein the published description is retrieved over the network from a registry.

21. The program product of claim 20, wherein the network comprises the Internet.

22. The program product of claim 21, wherein the published description is retrieved with a Simple Object Access Protocol (SOAP) request.

23. The program product of claim 20, wherein the registry comprises a standardized registry.

24. The program product of claim 23, wherein the registry comprises a Universal Description, Discovery, Integration (UDDI registry).

25. The program product of claim 20, wherein the registry is local to the database.

26. The program product of claim 17, wherein the invoked user defined function returns the data from the external service to the database as a virtual table.

27. The program product of claim 17, wherein generating the user defined function comprises:

for each operation contained in the public description of the external service, determining a network address of the operation and generating a user defined function for the operation having a name and input parameters.

28. The program product of claim 17, wherein the generated user defined function accepts as a parameter containing a location of the service provider, wherein the user defined function invokes the external service at multiple service providers by specifying the location of the each service provider when invoking an instance of the user defined function for each service provider.

29. The program product of claim 17, wherein the external service comprises a web service, and wherein accessing the published description of the external service comprises:

browsing a registry to determine a web service; and

issuing a query to access a file that includes code implementing the determined web service, wherein the accessed published description from which the user defined function is generated comprises the accessed file.

30. The program product of claim 29, wherein the user defined function includes a name of a method to be performed within the web service.

31. The program product of claim 17, further comprising:

obtaining at least one service provider implementing the external service, wherein the generated user defined function is coded to invoke the external service against the at least one service provider at execution time.

32. The program product of claim 17, wherein the generating the conversion for the determined operation further comprises:

for each parameter of an input message in the external service, generating a conversion of an input parameter in the database language statements to an input parameter in the service description language; and

for each parameter of an output message in the external service, generating a conversion of an output parameter from the service description language to the external service to a representation of an input parameter in the database language statements.

33. A system, including a computer and computer storage device, for invoking an external service at a service provider server from a database, comprising:

a database;

a service requester accessing from over a network a published description of the external service published by the service provider external to the database, wherein the published description includes a definition defining operations performed by the external service in a service description language, wherein the database manages data and includes a database engine to perform queries;

a generator generating a user defined function from the accessed published description of the external service by performing;

parsing the accessed published description to determine one of the operations contained in the published description;

deriving a user defined function name for one of the determined operations from the accessed published description of the external service;

generating a conversion between a database language statement and the service description language for the determined operation;

generating database language statements defining the user defined function executable by the database to invoke the external service, wherein the user defined function resides on the database;

wherein the database performs;

invoking the user defined function by executing the database language statements including the user defined function within the database to invoke the external service and perform a query with respect to the external service, wherein the user defined function invokes the external service by accepting as input parameters a network address of the external service, a name of the external service, and a name of an operation to be performed; and

receiving, at the database, data from the external service in response to invoking and interacting with the external service, wherein the user defined function returns the result of the invocation.

34. The system of claim 33, wherein the external service further comprises a web service.

35. The system of claim 33, wherein the service description language comprises Web Services Description Language (WSDL).

36. The system of claim 33, wherein the published description is retrieved over the network from a registry.

37. The system of claim 36, wherein the network comprises the Internet.

38. The system of claim 37, wherein the published description is retrieved with a Simple Object Access Protocol (system) request.

39. The system of claim 36, wherein the registry comprises a standardized registry.

40. The system of claim 39, wherein the registry comprises a Universal Description, Discovery, Integration (UDDI registry).

41. The system of claim 36, wherein the registry is local to the database.

42. The system of claim 33, wherein the invoked user defined function returns the data from the external service to the database as a virtual table.

43. The system of claim 33, wherein generating the user defined function comprises:

for each operation contained in the published description of the external service, determining a network address of the operation and generating a user defined function for the operation having a name and input parameters.

44. The system of claim 33, wherein the generated user defined function accepts as a parameter containing a location of the service provider, wherein the user defined function invokes the external service at multiple service providers by specifying the location of the each service provider when invoking an instance of the user defined function for each service provider.

45. The system of claim 33, wherein the external service comprises a web service, and wherein accessing the published description of the external service comprises:

browsing a registry to determine a web service; and

issuing a query to access a file that includes code implementing the determined web service, wherein the accessed published description from which the user defined function is generated comprises the accessed file.

46. The system of claim 45, wherein the user defined function includes a name of a method to be performed within the web service.

47. The system of claim 33, wherein the service requestor further performs:

obtaining at least one service provider implementing the external service, wherein the generated user defined function is coded to invoke the external service against the at least one service provider at execution time.

48. The system of claim 33, wherein the generating the conversion for the determined operation further comprises:

for each parameter of an input message in the external service, generating a conversion of an input parameter in the database language statements to an input parameter in the service description language; and

for each parameter of an output message in the external service, generating a conversion of an output parameter from the service description language to the external service to a representation of an input parameter in the database language statements.