Consistent interface for entitlement product

• US 9,367,826 B2
• Filed: 06/28/2012
• Issued: 06/14/2016
• Est. Priority Date: 06/28/2012
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: SAP SE
• Original Assignee: SAP SE
• Inventors: Buecheler, Torsten, Becker, Matthias, Berger, Oliver, Heusermann, Knut, Hohmann, Christian, Witt, Steffen, Landes, Esther, Witzel, Thomas, Steinleitner, Marcel
• Primary Examiner(s): Mejia, Anthony
• Application Number:
  US13/535,860
• Publication Number:
  US 20140006492A1
• Time in Patent Office: 1,447 Days
• Field of Search: 709/200, 709/204
• US Class Current: 1/1
• CPC Class Codes: G06Q 10/067 Enterprise or organisation modelling

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 an entitlement product business object.

Claims

1. A non-transitory computer readable medium including program code for providing a message-based interface for exchanging information about entitlement products, the 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 maintaining a bundle of entitlement products, each entitlement product being a sellable product that describes a right to use a material or a service, the first message including a first message package hierarchically organized in memory based on and derived from the common business object model, the first message package including;

at a first hierarchical level in the first message package, an entitlement product bundle maintain request sync message entity; and

at the first hierarchical level in the first message package, an entitlement product package including, at a second hierarchical level in the first message package, at least one entitlement product entity, wherein each entitlement product entity includes, at a third hierarchical level in the first message package, an object node sender technical identifier (ID), a change state ID, and an internal ID, and wherein each entitlement product entity further includes, at the third hierarchical level in the first message package, at least one of;

a description package, a detail package, and a quantity conversion package, wherein the description package includes, at a fourth hierarchical level in the first message package, at least one description entity, wherein the detail package includes, at the fourth hierarchical level in the first message package, at least one detail entity, and wherein the quantity conversion package includes, at the fourth hierarchical level in the first message package, at least one quantity conversion entity; 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. The computer readable medium of claim 1, wherein each entitlement product entity further includes, at the third hierarchical level in the first message package, at least one of the following:

a sales package, a deviant tax classification package, a valuation package, a customer information package, and an attachment folder package.

3. The computer readable medium of claim 1, wherein each entitlement product entity further includes, at the third hierarchical level in the first message package, at least one of the following:

a universally unique identifier, a product category ID, a base measure unit code, and a valuation measure unit code.

4. A distributed system operating in a landscape of computer systems providing message-based services defined in a service registry, the 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 tangible non-transitory media, for requesting maintaining a bundle of entitlement products, each entitlement product being a sellable product that describes a right to use a material or a service, the instructions using a request;

a first memory storing a user interface controller executable by the at least one processor for processing the request and involving a first 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 in the first message package, an entitlement product bundle maintain request sync message entity; and

at the first hierarchical level in the first message package, an entitlement product package including, at a second hierarchical level in the first message package, at least one entitlement product entity, wherein each entitlement product entity includes, at a third hierarchical level in the first message package, an object node sender technical identifier (ID), a change state ID, and an internal ID, and wherein each entitlement product entity further includes, at the third hierarchical level in the first message package, at least one of;

a description package, a detail package, and a quantity conversion package, wherein the description package includes, at a fourth hierarchical level in the first message package, at least one description entity, wherein the detail package includes, at the fourth hierarchical level in the first message package, at least one detail entity, and wherein the quantity conversion package includes, at the fourth hierarchical level in the first message package, at least one quantity conversion entity; and

a second memory, remote from the graphical user interface, storing a plurality of message-based service interfaces executable by the at least one processor and derived from the common business object model to provide consistent semantics with messages derived from the common business object model, wherein one of the message-based service interfaces is operable to process the message based on the hierarchical organization of the first message package, 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 hierarchical organization of the message package and the grouping and order of the hierarchical elements in the message package are used at least in part to identify the purpose of the message.

5. The distributed system of claim 4, wherein the first memory is remote from the graphical user interface.

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

7. A non-transitory computer readable medium including program code for providing a message-based interface for exchanging information about entitlement products, the 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 to check whether maintaining a bundle of entitlement products is possible, the first message including a first message package hierarchically organized in memory based on and derived from the common business object model, the first message package including;

at a first hierarchical level in the first message package, an entitlement product bundle maintenance check request sync message entity; and

at the first hierarchical level in the first message package, an entitlement product package including, at a second hierarchical level in the first message package, at least one entitlement product entity, wherein each entitlement product entity includes, at a third hierarchical level in the first message package, an object node sender technical identifier (ID), a change state ID, and an internal ID, and wherein each entitlement product entity further includes, at the third hierarchical level in the first message package at least one of;

a description package, a detail package, and a quantity conversion package, wherein the description package includes, at a fourth hierarchical level in the first message package, at least one description entity, wherein the detail package includes, at the fourth hierarchical level in the first message package, at least one detail entity, and wherein the quantity conversion package includes, at the fourth hierarchical level in the first message package, at least one quantity conversion entity;

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 purpose of 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.

8. The computer readable medium of claim 7, wherein each entitlement product entity further includes, at the third hierarchical level in the first message package, at least one of the following:

a sales package, a deviant tax classification package, a valuation package, a customer information package, and an attachment folder package.

9. The computer readable medium of claim 7, wherein the each entitlement product entity further includes, at the third hierarchical level in the first message package, at least one of the following:

a universally unique identifier, a product category ID, a base measure unit code, and a valuation measure unit code.

10. A distributed system operating in a landscape of computer systems providing message-based services defined in a service registry, the 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 a request to check whether maintaining a bundle of entitlement products is possible, the instructions using a request;

a first memory storing a user interface controller executable by the at least one processor for processing the request and involving a first 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 in the first message package, an entitlement product bundle maintenance check request sync message entity; and

at the first hierarchical level in the first message package, an entitlement product package including, at a second hierarchical level in the first message package, at least one entitlement product entity, wherein each entitlement product entity includes, at a third hierarchical level in the first message package, an object node sender technical identifier (ID), a change state ID, and an internal ID, and wherein each entitlement product entity further includes, at the third hierarchical level in the first message package at least one of;

a description package, a detail package, and a quantity conversion package, wherein the description package includes, at a fourth hierarchical level in the first message package, at least one description entity, wherein the detail package includes, at the fourth hierarchical level in the first message package, at least one detail entity, and wherein the quantity conversion package includes, at the fourth hierarchical level in the first message package, at least one quantity conversion entity; and

a second memory, remote from the graphical user interface, storing a plurality of message-based service interfaces executable by the at least one processor and derived from the common business object model to provide consistent semantics with messages derived from the common business object model, wherein one of the message-based service interfaces is operable to process the message based on the hierarchical organization of the first message package, 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 hierarchical organization of the message package and the grouping and order of the hierarchical elements in the message package are used at least in part to identify the purpose of the message.

11. The distributed system of claim 10, wherein the first memory is remote from the graphical user interface.

12. The distributed system of claim 10, wherein the first memory is remote from the second memory.