Managing consistent interfaces for property library, property list template, quantity conversion virtual object, and supplier property specification business objects across heterogeneous systems

• US 9,135,585 B2
• Filed: 06/15/2010
• Issued: 09/15/2015
• Est. Priority Date: 06/15/2010
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: SAP SE
• Original Assignee: SAP SE
• Inventors: Bader, Katja, Leichtweiss, Thomas, Maag, Thomas, Kraehmer, Thilo, Seubert, Michael
• Primary Examiner(s): Boswell, Beth V
• Assistant Examiner(s): FEACHER, LORENA R
• Application Number:
  US12/815,869
• Publication Number:
  US 20110307263A1
• Time in Patent Office: 1,918 Days
• Field of Search: 705/1.1, 705/7.27
• US Class Current: 1/1
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 8/38 for implementing user interfaces
• CPC Class Codes: G06Q 10/06 Resources, workflows, human or project management; Enterprise or organisation planning; Enterprise or organisation modelling
• CPC Class Codes: G06Q 30/06 Buying, selling or leasing transactions

Abstract

A business object model, which reflects data that is used during a given business transaction, is utilized to generate interfaces. This business object model facilitates commercial transactions by providing consistent interfaces that are suitable for use across industries, across businesses, and across different departments within a business during a business transaction. In some operations, software creates, updates, or otherwise processes information related to a property library, a property list template, a quantity conversion virtual object, and/or a supplier property specification business object.

Claims

1. A non-transitory computer readable medium including program code for providing a message-based interface for exchanging information about libraries of properties that represent object qualities, which are configured for reuse in further describing instances or groups of business objects in specific application areas, the non-transitory computer readable medium comprising:

program code for receiving via a message-based interface derived from a common business object model, where the common business object model includes business objects having relationships that enable derivation of message-based interfaces and message packages, the message-based interface exposing at least one service as defined in a service registry and from a heterogeneous application executing in an environment of computer systems providing message-based services, a first message for requesting information about libraries of properties that represent object qualities, which are configured for reuse in further describing instances or groups of business objects in specific application areas, that includes a first message package derived from the common business object model, the first message package hierarchically organized in memory as and including;

at a first hierarchical level within the first message package a property library query message entity; and

at the first hierarchical level within the first message package, a property library package, where the property library package includes, at a second hierarchical level within the first message package, a property library entity, a name package, a property data type package, a property package, and a property group package, where the property library entity includes, at a third hierarchical level within the first message package, a universally unique identifier (UUID) and an identifier (ID);

program code for processing the first message based on the hierarchical organization of the first message package, where processing the first message includes unpacking the first message package based on the hierarchical organization of the first message package, the specific grouping and order of the hierarchical elements, and the first message package'"'"'s derivation from the common business object model, wherein the particular hierarchical organization of the first message package and the specific grouping and order of the hierarchical elements are used at least in part to identify the first message; and

program code for sending a second message to the heterogeneous application responsive to the first message, where the second message includes a second message package derived from the common business object model to provide consistent semantics with the first message package.

2. A distributed system operating in a landscape of computer systems providing message-based services defined in a service registry, the distributed system comprising:

at least one processor operable to execute computer readable instructions embodied on non-transitory media;

a graphical user interface comprising computer readable instructions executable by the at least one processor, embedded on non-transitory media, for requesting information about libraries of properties that represent object qualities, which are configured for reuse in further describing instances or groups of business objects in specific application areas, using a request;

a first memory storing a user interface controller for processing the request when executed by the at least one processor and involving a message including a first message package derived from a common business object model, where the common business object model includes business objects having relationships that enable derivation of message-based service interfaces and message packages, the first message package hierarchically organized based on and derived from the common business object model, the hierarchical organization of the first message package including;

at a first hierarchical level within the first message package, a property library query message entity; and

at the first hierarchical level within the first message package, a property library package, where the property library package includes, at a second hierarchical level within the first message package, a property library entity, a name package, a property data type package, a property package, and a property group package, where the property library entity includes, at a third hierarchical level within the first message package, a universally unique identifier (UUID) and an identifier (ID); and

a second memory, remote from the graphical user interface, storing a plurality of message-based service interfaces derived from the common business object model to provide consistent semantics with messages derived from the common business object model, where one of the message-based service interfaces processes the message according to the hierarchical organization of the first message package when executed by the at least one processor, where processing the message includes unpacking the first message package based on the hierarchical organization of the first message package, the specific grouping and order of the hierarchical elements, and the first message package'"'"'s derivation from the common business object model, wherein the particular hierarchical organization of the first message package and the specific grouping and order of the hierarchical elements are used at least in part to identify the message.

3. The distributed system of claim 2, wherein the first memory is remote from the graphical user interface.

4. The distributed system of claim 2, wherein the first memory is remote from the second memory.

5. A non-transitory computer readable medium including program code for providing a message-based interface for exchanging property template-related information, including, a maximal possible set of nodes, relationships, attributes and operations for a property list and similar objects derived from a template, the non-transitory computer readable medium comprising:

program code for receiving via a message-based interface derived from a common business object model, where the common business object model includes business objects having relationships that enable derivation of message-based interfaces and message packages, the message-based interface exposing at least one service as defined in a service registry and from a heterogeneous application executing in an environment of computer systems providing message-based services, a first message for querying property template-related information, including, a maximal possible set of nodes, relationships, attributes and operations for a property list and similar objects derived from the template, that includes a first message package derived from the common business object model, the first message package hierarchically organized in memory as and including;

at a first hierarchical level within the first message package, a property list template query message entity; and

at the first hierarchical level within the first message package, a property list template package, where the property list template package includes, at a second hierarchical level within the first message package, a property list template entity, a product property list entity, a request for information (RFI) property list, a supplier assessment property list entity, a supplier property list entity, a document property list entity, a property group entity, a property entity, and a property dependency entity, where the property list template entity includes, at a third hierarchical level within the first message package, a universally unique identifier (UUID), a host object node reference, a consistent indicator, a property exists indicator, and system administrative data;

program code for processing the first message based on the hierarchical organization of the first message package, where processing the first message includes unpacking the first message package based on the hierarchical organization of the first message package, the specific grouping and order of the hierarchical elements, and the first message package'"'"'s derivation from the common business object model, wherein the particular hierarchical organization of the first message package and the specific grouping and order of the hierarchical elements are used at least in part to identify the first message; and

program code for sending a second message to the heterogeneous application responsive to the first message, where the second message includes a second message package derived from the common business object model to provide consistent semantics with the first message package.

6. A distributed system operating in a landscape of computer systems providing message-based services defined in a service registry, the distributed system comprising:

at least one processor operable to execute computer readable instructions embodied on non-transitory media;

a graphical user interface comprising computer readable instructions executable by the at least one processor, embedded on non-transitory media, for querying property template-related information, including, a maximal possible set of nodes, relationships, attributes and operations for a property list and similar objects derived from the template, using a request;

a first memory storing a user interface controller for processing the request when executed by the at least one processor and involving a message including a first message package derived from a common business object model, where the common business object model includes business objects having relationships that enable derivation of message-based service interfaces and message packages, the first message package hierarchically organized based on and derived from the common business object model, the hierarchical organization of the first message package including;

at a first hierarchical level within the first message package, a property list template query message entity; and

at the first hierarchical level within the first message package, a property list template package, where the property list template package includes, at a second hierarchical level within the first message package, a property list template entity, a product property list entity, a request for information (RFI) property list, a supplier assessment property list entity, a supplier property list entity, a document property list entity, a property group entity, a property entity, and a property dependency entity, where the property list template entity includes, at a third hierarchical level within the first message package, a universally unique identifier (UUID), a host object node reference, a consistent indicator, a property exists indicator, and system administrative data; and

a second memory, remote from the graphical user interface, storing a plurality of message-based service interfaces derived from the common business object model to provide consistent semantics with messages derived from the common business object model, where one of the message-based service interfaces processes the message according to the hierarchical organization of the first message package when executed by the at least one processor, where processing the message includes unpacking the first message package based on the hierarchical organization of the first message package, the specific grouping and order of the hierarchical elements, and the first message package'"'"'s derivation from the common business object model, wherein the particular hierarchical organization of the first message package and the specific grouping and order of the hierarchical elements are used at least in part to identify the message.

7. The distributed system of claim 6, wherein the first memory is remote from the graphical user interface.

8. The distributed system of claim 6, wherein the first memory is remote from the second memory.