Social network analyzer

• US 9,639,587 B2
• Filed: 12/13/2012
• Issued: 05/02/2017
• Est. Priority Date: 12/13/2012
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: SAP SE
• Original Assignee: SAP SE
• Inventors: Hoffmann, Florian
• Primary Examiner(s): To, Baoquoc N
• Application Number:
  US13/713,533
• Publication Number:
  US 20140172826A1
• Time in Patent Office: 1,601 Days
• Field of Search: 707605, 707805
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 16/26 Visual data mining; Browsing structured data

Abstract

A system and method are described herein that provide for visualizing business objects stored in a backend system in database model views for display as nodes in a user interface. Business objects are retrieved from the backend system, with metadata from the business objects being customized and sorted into a plurality of node types. Each business object may be displayed in a user interface as a node along with other nodes generated from the database model views. The nodes represented by the business objects may be connected by edges that provide for an interconnection between each of the nodes. The edges may be customized by providing directional components to the edges to demonstrate the relationship between the displayed nodes.

Claims

1. A method for visually defining relationships between business objects stored in a backend system in a user interface of a device, the method being implemented by one or more data processors forming part of at least one computing device and comprising:

retrieving, by at least one data processor, the business objects stored in a database in the backend system, the business objects encapsulating data structures and having interfaces to facilitate data exchange among the business objects and having associated metadata characterizing the corresponding data structures, the metadata being stored in fields of a table in the database, the fields including, for each business object, a style field supplying visual styles of nodes;

sorting, by at least one data processor, metadata of the business objects into node types;

generating, by at least one data processor, nodes from database model views of the metadata of the business objects;

displaying, by at least one data processor, visual representations of the nodes in the user interface according to the visual styles specified in the style fields for the respective nodes;

generating, by at least one data processor, edges from other database model views, these other database model views identifying a source node for a start and a target node for a termination of each edge; and

displaying, by at least one data processor, visual representation of the edges in the user interface based on the source node and the target node of each edge.

2. The method according to claim 1, wherein each node includes at least one key to identify the node.

3. The method according to claim 1, wherein each node includes a node label in the database model view which is visually depicted in the user interface upon generation of the node.

4. The method according to claim 1, wherein separate database model views are used to generate nodes corresponding to different node types.

5. The method according to claim 1, wherein nodes of each node type have a distinct visual representation.

6. The method according to claim 1, wherein the database model views for the nodes are at least one of:

a graphical calculation view, an attribute view, and a scripted calculation view.

7. The method according to claim 1, wherein the database model views for the edges are at least one of:

a graphical calculation view, an attribute view, and a scripted calculation view.

8. The method according to claim 1, wherein the edge is a line or arrow that is straight or curved.

9. The method according to claim 8, wherein the line or arrow indicates directionality.

10. The method according to claim 1, wherein the source node and the target node are the same node type.

11. The method according to claim 1, wherein the source node and the target node are a different node type.

12. The method according to claim 1, wherein the source node and the target node are the same node.

13. The method of claim 1, further comprising:

concurrently displaying, along with the visual representations of the nodes and the edges, a table comprising fields providing information about at least one of the nodes or the edges.

14. The method of claim 13, wherein the information provided in the table comprises an edge label field that specify, for each edge, a label.

15. The method of claim 14, wherein each edge type has a distinct representation.

16. A device having an application stored thereon to visually defining relationships between business objects stored in a backend system, the device comprising:

an arrangement performing the following;

retrieving the business objects stored in a database in the backend system, the business objects encapsulating data structures and having interfaces to facilitate data exchange among the business objects and having associated metadata characterizing the corresponding data structures, the metadata being stored in fields of a table in the database, the fields including, for each business object, a style field supplying visual styles of nodes;

sorting metadata of the business objects into node types;

generating nodes from a database model view of the metadata of the business objects;

displaying visual representations of the nodes in the user interface according to the visual styles specified in the style fields for the respective nodes;

generating edges from a second database model view, the second database model view identifying at least one source node for a start of each node and at least one target node for a termination of each node; and

displaying visual representation of the edges in the user interface based on the source node and the target node of each node.

17. The device according to claim 16, wherein each node includes at least one of a key to identify the node and a node label in the database model view which is visually depicted in the user interface upon generation of the node.

18. The device according to claim 16, wherein separate database model views are used to generate nodes corresponding to different node types.

19. A system for visually defining relationships between business objects stored in a backend system, the system comprising:

at least one backend server storing business objects;

a device executing an application for display on a user interface of the device, the application executed to;

retrieve the business objects stored in a database in the backend system, the business objects encapsulating data structures and having interfaces to facilitate data exchange among the business objects and having associated metadata characterizing the corresponding data structures, the metadata being stored in fields of a table in the database, the fields including, for each business object, a style field supplying visual styles of nodes;

sort metadata of the business objects into node types;

generate nodes from a database model view of the metadata of the business objects, the database model view implemented as a graphical calculation view, an attribute view, a scripted calculation view, or an analytical view, wherein separate database model views are used for different node types;

display visual representations of the nodes along with corresponding node labels in the user interface, each node type having a distinct representation according to the visual styles specified in the style fields for the respective nodes;

generate edges from a second database model view, the second database model view identifying at least one source node for a start of each node and at least one target node for a termination of each node, the source node and the target node corresponding to at least one of;

a same node type, a different node type, the same node;

display visual representation of the edges in the user interface based on the source node and the target node of each node, each edge being depicted as a line or an arrow having its directionality enabled or hidden.

20. A method for visually defining relationships between business objects stored in a backend system in a user interface of a device, the method being implemented by one or more data processors forming part of at least one computing device and comprising:

retrieving, by at least one data processor, the business objects stored in a database in the backend system, the business objects encapsulating data structures and having interfaces to facilitate data exchange among the business objects and having associated metadata characterizing the corresponding data structures, the metadata being stored in fields of a table in the database, the fields including, for each business object, a style field supplying visual styles of nodes;

sorting, by at least one data processor, metadata of the business objects into node types;

generating, by at least one data processor, nodes from a database model view of the metadata of the business objects, the database model view implemented as a graphical calculation view, an attribute view, a scripted calculation view, or an analytical view, wherein separate database model views are used for different node types;

displaying, by at least one data processor, visual representations of the nodes along with corresponding node labels in the user interface, each node type having a distinct representation according to the visual styles specified in the style fields for the respective nodes when there are corresponding values in such style fields and according a default visual style when there are no corresponding values in such style fields;

generating, by at least one data processor, edges from a second database model view, the second database model view identifying at least one source node for a start of each node and at least one target node for a termination of each node, the source node and the target node corresponding to at least one of;

a same node type, a different node type, the same node; and

displaying, by at least one data processor, visual representation of the edges in the user interface based on the source node and the target node of each node, each edge being depicted as a line or an arrow having its directionality enabled or hidden.