Executing a business process by a standard business process engine

• US 9,940,597 B2
• Filed: 04/11/2012
• Issued: 04/10/2018
• Est. Priority Date: 04/12/2011
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: International Business Machines Corporation
• Original Assignee: International Business Machines Corporation
• Inventors: Breiter, Gerd, Kloppmann, Matthias, Spatzier, Thomas
• Primary Examiner(s): Brockington, III, William S
• Application Number:
  US13/444,293
• Publication Number:
  US 20120265572A1
• Time in Patent Office: 2,190 Days
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 8/20 Software design
• CPC Class Codes: G06Q 10/06 Resources, workflows, human or project management; Enterprise or organisation planning; Enterprise or organisation modelling
• CPC Class Codes: G06Q 10/06316 Sequencing of tasks or work
• CPC Class Codes: G06Q 10/0633 Workflow analysis

Abstract

Executing a business process can include providing a context data object including a payload data structure for storing a payload data and automatically splitting an annotated context data object into one or more utility data objects. Responsive to creating a second utility data object, a pre-processing task can be injected into the business process, the pre-processing task using a copy of a first mapping to read data from the predefined data structure instance and to store the read data as payload data in the payload data structure of the first utility data object. Responsive to creating a third utility object, a post-processing task can be injected into the business process. The post-processing task can use a copy of the second mapping to write the payload data of the first utility data object to elements of a predefined data structure instance.

Claims

1. A computer hardware system comprising:

a memory having stored therein program code; and

a hardware processor configured to execute the program code to initiate executable operations of a business process using a standard business process engine, the operations comprising;

providing a context data object annotated with mapping information, the context data object including a payload data structure for storing a payload data;

automatically splitting said annotated context data object into one or more utility data objects, each utility data object conforming to a standard data object definition, the one or more utility data objects including;

a first utility data object comprising the payload data structure;

a second utility data object when the context data object is annotated with a first mapping, wherein said second utility data object comprises a copy of the first mapping; and

a third utility data object when the context data object is annotated with a second mapping, wherein said third utility data object comprises a copy of the second mapping;

responsive to creating the second utility data object, injecting into a business process a pre-processing task, the pre-processing task using the copy of the first mapping to read data from the predefined data structure instance and to store the read data as payload data in the payload data structure of the first utility data object; and

responsive to creating the third utility object, injecting into the business process a post-processing task, the post-processing task using the copy of the second mapping to write the payload data of the first utility data object to elements of a predefined data structure instance.

2. The system of claim 1, wherein the payload data conforms to a standard data object definition for being processable by the standard business process engine;

and

wherein the standard data object definition does not comprise a specification of the predefined data structure.

3. The system of claim 1, wherein said context data object is annotated with the first mapping and the second mapping;

wherein the first mapping connects elements of the predefined data structure to elements of said payload data structure;

wherein the second mapping connects elements of said payload data structure to elements of said predefined data structure; and

wherein the annotated context data object does not conform to the standard data object definition.

4. The system of claim 1, wherein the predefined data structure instance is an instance of a schema.

5. The system of claim 1, wherein the predefined data structure instance acts as I/O interface of a service and wherein the predefined data structure is an instance of a schema, said schema being processable by the service.

6. A computer program product for executing a business process by a standard business process engine, said computer program product comprising:

a computer readable hardware storage device having stored thereon program code that, when executed, configures a processor to perform executable operations comprising;

providing a context data object annotated with mapping information, the context data object including a payload data structure for storing a payload data;

automatically splitting said annotated context data object into one or more utility data objects, each utility data object conforming to a standard data object definition, the one or more utility data objects including;

a first utility data object comprising the payload data structure;

a second utility data object when the context data object is annotated with a first mapping, wherein said second utility data object comprises a copy of the first mapping; and

a third utility data object when the context data object is annotated with a second mapping, wherein said third utility data object comprises a copy of the second mapping;

responsive to creating the second utility data object, injecting into a business process a pre-processing task, the pre-processing task using the copy of the first mapping to read data from the predefined data structure instance and to store the read data as payload data in the payload data structure of the first utility data object; and

responsive to creating the third utility object, injecting into the business process a post-processing task, the post-processing task using the copy of the second mapping to write the payload data of the first utility data object to elements of a predefined data structure instance, wherein

the computer readable storage device is not a transitory, propagating signal per se.

7. The computer program product of claim 6, wherein the payload data conforms to a standard data object definition for being processable by the standard business process engine;

and

wherein the standard data object definition does not comprise a specification of the predefined data structure.

8. The computer program product of claim 6, wherein said context data object is annotated with the first mapping and the second mapping;

wherein the first mapping connects elements of the predefined data structure to elements of said payload data structure;

wherein the second mapping connects elements of said payload data structure to elements of said predefined data structure; and

wherein the annotated context data object does not conform to the standard data object definition.

9. The computer program product of claim 6, wherein the predefined data structure instance is an instance of a schema.

10. The computer program product of claim 6, wherein the predefined data structure instance acts as I/O interface of a service and wherein the predefined data structure is an instance of a schema, said schema being processable by the service.