SYSTEM AND METHOD FOR EXCHANGING INFORMATION AMONG EXCHANGE APPLICATIONS

• US 20070165625A1
• Filed: 12/01/2006
• Published: 07/19/2007
• Est. Priority Date: 12/01/2005
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: FireStar Software Incorporated
• Original Assignee: FireStar Software Incorporated
• Inventors: Eisner, Mark, Oancea, Gabriel
• Granted Patent: US 8,620,989 B2
• Time in Patent Office: Days
• US Class Current: 370/389
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 15/16 Combinations of two or more digital computers each having at least an arithmetic unit, a program unit and a register, e.g. for a simultaneous processing of several programs coordinating program control therefor G06F9/52; in regulating and control system G05B
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 2209/548 Queue
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 9/546 Message passing systems or structures, e.g. queues
• CPC Class Codes: G06Q 10/10 Office automation; Time management
• CPC Class Codes: G06Q 20/027 involving a payment switch or gateway
• CPC Class Codes: G06Q 20/223 based on the use of peer-to-peer networks
• CPC Class Codes: G06Q 30/00 Commerce
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 2463/102 applying security measure for e-commerce data processing systems or methods, specially adapted for e-commerce G06Q30/00
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 49/3009 Header conversion, routing tables or routing tags
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 49/309 Header conversion, routing tables or routing tags
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 49/9042 Separate storage for different parts of the packet, e.g. header and payload
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 51/00 User-to-user messaging in packet-switching networks, transmitted according to store-and-forward or real-time protocols, e.g. e-mail
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 63/0209 Architectural arrangements, e.g. perimeter networks or demilitarized zones
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 63/0823 using certificates cryptographic mechanisms or cryptographic arrangements for entity authentication involving certificates H04L9/3263
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 63/102 Entity profiles
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 63/12 Applying verification of the received information cryptographic mechanisms or cryptographic arrangements for data integrity or data verification H04L9/32
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 63/123 received data contents, e.g. message integrity
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 63/126 the source of the received data
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 67/10 in which an application is distributed across nodes in the network software deployment G06F8/60; multiprogramming arrangements G06F9/46
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 67/147 Signalling methods or messages providing extensions to protocols defined by standardisation
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 67/56 : Provisioning of proxy services store-and-forward switching systems in data switching networks H04L12/54
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 67/561 : Adding application-functional data or data for application control, e.g. adding metadata
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 67/565 : Conversion or adaptation of application format or content adding application control or application functional data H04L67/561
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 69/161 : Implementation details of TCP/IP or UDP/IP stack architecture; Specification of modified or new header fields
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 69/22 : Parsing or analysis of headers
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 69/329 : in the application layer [OSI layer 7]

Abstract

In a system and method for processing messages in a gateway, a gateway message is received at the gateway, the gateway message including a gateway message header and a payload, the gateway message header including a unique message identifier block, a target block identifying where the gateway message is going, and a history block providing a log of what has happened to the gateway message. Each block in the gateway message header is processed by the gateway in accordance with a message type, the processing including determining a target application for receiving the payload. The payload is provided to the determined target application. Each block includes one or more values.

Claims

1. A method for processing messages in a gateway, comprising:

receiving a gateway message, the gateway message including a gateway message header and a payload, the gateway message header including a unique message identifier block, a target block identifying where the gateway message is going, and a history block providing a log of what has happened to the gateway message;

processing each block in the gateway message header in accordance with a message type, the processing including determining a target application for receiving the payload; and

providing the payload to the target application,

wherein each block includes one or more values.

2. The method according to 1, wherein the gateway message header includes an attachment block providing a location of an attachment, the method further comprising providing the location of the attachment to the target application.

3. The method according to claim 2, the method further comprising

receiving a request from the target application to provide to the target application a copy of the attachment stored in a data store in a gateway.

4. The method according to claim 2, the method further comprising

receiving a request from the target application to move the attachment stored in a data store in a first gateway to a data store in a second gateway.

5. The method according to claim 2, the method further comprising

receiving a request from the target application to provide read access to the attachment stored in a data store in a gateway.

6. The method according to claim 1, wherein the payload is part of a collection, and

wherein the gateway message header further includes a collection block including collection identifier block indicating to which collection the application payload belongs and a collection type block.

7. The method according to claim 6, wherein the collection type is a group, the group having an indication of a beginning of the group.

8. The method according to claim 6, wherein the collection type is a set, the set having an indication of a beginning and an end of the set.

9. The method according to claim 6, wherein the collection type is a sequence, the sequence having an indication of a beginning and an end of the sequence and an indication of an order of the sequence.

10. The method according to claim 6 further comprising executing a process on the gateway message, wherein the process is selected from a plurality of processes based on the collection type block.

11. The method according to claim 1, wherein the processing includes identifying a process from a plurality of processes to process the gateway message.

12. The method according to claim 11, wherein the identified process includes a sequence of procedures, the sequence of procedures including a procedure for processing each block in the message header.

13. The method according to claim 12, further comprising adding a procedure to the sequence of procedures in the identified process that meets requirements of a defined programming interface.

14. The method according to claim 12, further comprising changing a procedure in the sequence of procedures in the identified process that meets requirements of a defined programming interface.

15. The method according to claim 12, wherein a procedure in the sequence of procedures in the identified process includes a declarative collection of business rules.

16. The method according to claim 1, further comprising providing information in the gateway message to either the gateway or an out queue based on information in the gateway message, the out queue providing the information in the gateway message to a target application.

17. The method according to claim 16, wherein the gateway message is provided to the gateway or the out queue based on the target block in the gateway message header.

18. The method according to claim 1, further comprising sending information in the gateway message to a target application based on information in the gateway message using a messaging mechanism.

19. The method according to claim 1, wherein processing the gateway message includes decrypting at least a portion of the gateway message that has been digitally signed or encrypted.

20. The method according to claim 19, wherein the portion of the gateway message that is decrypted is determined according to the message type of the gateway message.

21. The method according to claim 19, wherein the gateway message header includes a security block that identifies what portion of the gateway message was digitally signed or encrypted.

22. The method according to claim 1, further comprising

identifying a payload type from the gateway message;

determining if the payload is structured based on the payload type;

applying a mapper to transform payload from a normative XML formatted payload into a non-normative XML formatted payload if the payload is structured; and

applying a formatter to transform the payload from the non-normative XML formatted payload into a structured format of the payload.

23. The method according to claim 22, wherein the applied formatter is selected from a plurality of formatters based on the payload type.

24. The method according to claim 22, wherein the applied mapper is selected from a plurality of mappers based on the payload type.

25. The method according to claim 22, wherein the normative XML formatted payload has a structure and an associated set of rules that are expected by the gateway.

26. The method according to claim 22, wherein the formatter transforms each element of the non-normative XML formatted payload into an element of the payload in the structured format.

27. The method according to claim 22, further comprising validating at least the non-normative XML formatted payload or the normative XML formatted payload based on an XML schema associated with the non-normatively XML format or normative XML format, respectively.

28. The method according to claim 27, wherein the XML schema includes at least one cross-field syntax rule, the validating including validation of the at least one cross-field syntax rule.

29. The method according to claim 1, wherein the gateway message includes a key block in the gateway message header, the key block identifying fields in the gateway message that are persisted in a data store.

30. The method according to claim 29, further comprising persisting the gateway message in the data store, the persisting including extracting values from the identified fields in the key block and storing the identified fields in the data store so that the identified fields are searchable.

31. The method according to claim 1, wherein the payload includes financial transaction data.

32. The method according to claim 1, wherein the payload includes medical or patient data.

33. The method according to claim 1, wherein the payload includes security and access control data.

34. The method according to claim 1, wherein the payload includes compliance and regulatory data.

35. The method according to claim 1, wherein the payload includes communication protocols and network data.

36. A gateway for processing messages, comprising:

a processor; and

a memory, coupled to the processor, the memory comprising a plurality of instructions executed by the processor, the plurality of instructions configured to;

receive a gateway message, the gateway message including a gateway message header and a payload, the gateway message header including a unique message identifier block, a target block identifying where the gateway message is going, and a history block providing a log of what has happened to the gateway message;

process each block in the gateway message header in accordance with a message type, the processing including determining a target application for receiving the payload; and

provide the payload to the target application,

wherein each block includes one or more values.

37. The gateway according to claim 36, the memory further comprising instructions configured to:

identify a payload type from the gateway message;

determine if the payload is structured based on the payload type;

apply a mapper to transform payload from a normative XML formatted payload into a non-normative XML formatted payload if the payload is structured; and

apply a formatter to transform the payload from the non-normative XML formatted payload into a structured format of the payload.

38. A gateway for processing messages, comprising:

a first abstract queue configured to receive a gateway message, the gateway message including a gateway message header and a payload, the gateway message header including a unique message identifier block, a target block identifying where the gateway message is going, and a history block providing a log of what has happened to the gateway message;

at least one processing unit configured to process each block in the gateway message header in accordance with a message type, the processing including determining a target application for receiving the payload; and

a second abstract queue configured to receive the payload from the at least one processing unit and to provide the payload to the target application,

wherein each block includes one or more values.

39. The gateway according to claim 66, wherein the at least one processing unit further comprises:

a mapper to transform the payload from a normative XML formatted payload into a non-normative XML formatted payload if the payload is structured; and

a formatter to transform the payload from the non-normative XML formatted payload into a structured format of the payload.