Providing a fine-grained response from a coarse-grained service object

• US 9,032,087 B2
• Filed: 07/13/2007
• Issued: 05/12/2015
• Est. Priority Date: 07/13/2007
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: International Business Machines Corporation
• Original Assignee: International Business Machines Corporation
• Inventors: Bosma, John H., Conallen, James, Lane, Eoin, Wang, Ningning, Selvage, Mei Y
• Primary Examiner(s): Golabbakhsh, Ebrahim
• Application Number:
  US11/777,778
• Publication Number:
  US 20090019109A1
• Time in Patent Office: 2,860 Days
• Field of Search: 709/203, 709/232, 709/222
• US Class Current: 709/232
• CPC Class Codes: G06Q 10/00 Administration; Management

Abstract

A system and method for generating data at a fine level of detail based on a request to a service object that provides data at a coarse level of detail. The request to the service object includes a data request and a response template indicating the level of detail or selection required in the response. The service object server accesses data using the service object api and coarse level of detail. A navigator uses the data request to develop an information model of the data and then traverses the information model to extract the data needed for a response at the level of detail indicated by the response template. The service object is thus able to return data at a fine level of detail from an object that supports only coarse levels of detail.

Claims

1. A method for providing detailed data from a web service, the method comprising:

receiving a web service request at a server from a requester at as client, said web service request containing a data request and a data response model, wherein the data response model specifies a level of detail of lessor detail than the detailed data, selected by the requestor, corresponding to the data request;

accessing data in response to said web service request;

determining as request information model from said data request;

traversing said request information model and creating a data response from said accessed data where said information model satisfies the data response model;

returning said data response to said requester; and

determining whether said request object contains a filter and, if so, creating a response filter in said data response.

2. The method of claim 1, wherein the information model is information definitions corresponding to the accessed data.

3. The method of claim 1, wherein the information model is information definitions corresponding to relationships among the accessed data.

4. The method of claim 1, wherein said data response contains data at a finer level of detail than said accessed data.

5. The method of claim 1, wherein the information model is a hierarchy of linked elements corresponding to the accessed data.

6. A system for providing data responses to a requesting client that sends a data request to a web service having a web service interface, said data response being at a finer level of detail than defined by said web service interface, the system comprising:

a web server for processing, web service requests;

comprising;

a processor; and

a computer-readable, physical medium coupled to the processor;

a data store on the computer-readable, physical medium storing data for a business process; and

logic, stored on the computer-readable, physical medium and executed on the processor, for;

parsing said data request into a web service object request and a data response, both originating from the client;

accessing said data store to provide data according to said web service interface; and

traversing a data model represented by the data request to identify and select data in response to said data response to create a data response output, wherein the data model specifics a level of detail of lessor detail than the detailed data, selected by the client, corresponding to the data request;

network communication services for returning the data response output to the requesting client; and

determining whether said request object contains a filter and, if so, creating a response filter in said data response output.

7. The system of claim 6, the information model comprising information definitions corresponding to the accessed data.

8. The system of claim 6, the information model comprising information definitions corresponding to relationships among the accessed data.

9. The system of claim 6, the information model comprising a hierarchy of linked elements corresponding to the access data.

10. The system of claim 6, the data response object data a liner level of detail than said accessed data.

11. A computer program product, comprising;

a computer-readable, physical medium;

computer program logic, stored on the computer-readable, physical medium for execution on a processor, for;

receiving a service object data request and a data model, both from a client, wherein the data model specifies a level of detail of lessor detail than the detailed data, specified by the client, corresponding to the service object data request;

accessing data from a service object in response to said service object data request;

determining an information model for said accessed data based on said service object data request;

traversing said information model and generating a data response for transmission to the client based on said data model, said data response containing data at a finer level of detail than said accessed data; and

determining whether said request object contains a filter and, if so, creating a response filter in said data response.

12. The computer program product of claim 11, the information model comprising information definitions corresponding to the accessed data.

13. The computer program product of claim 11, the information model comprising information definitions corresponding to relationships among the accessed data.

14. The computer program product of claim 11, the information model comprising a hierarchy of linked elements corresponding to the accessed data.