Method for mapping applications and or attributes in a distributed network environment

• US 6,421,673 B1
• Filed: 12/13/1999
• Issued: 07/16/2002
• Est. Priority Date: 12/13/1999
• Status: Expired due to Fees

• Current Assignee: Novient, Inc. (MYOB Group Pty Ltd.)
• Original Assignee: Novient, Inc. (MYOB Group Pty Ltd.)
• Inventors: Greene, Michael L., Caldwell, R. Russell, Merrill, Michael C., Wells, Roy G.
• Primary Examiner(s): Metjahic, Safet
• Assistant Examiner(s): ALAUBAIDI, HAYTHIM J
• Application Number:
  US09/459,734
• Time in Patent Office: 946 Days
• Field of Search: 707/10, 707/500.1, 707/513, 707/529, 709/200, 709/208
• US Class Current: 1/1
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 67/02 based on web technology, e.g. hypertext transfer protocol [HTTP]
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 67/1095 Replication or mirroring of data, e.g. scheduling or transport for data synchronisation between network nodes
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 69/329 in the application layer [OSI layer 7]
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 9/40 Network security protocols

Abstract

A disclosed method includes mapping at least one local application module to respective message type data, and storing the message type data in association with the local application module in a local database accessible to a local server. The method includes mapping gateway account data for internetwork access to at least one remote database, to respective message type data. The first method further includes storing the message type data in association with respective gateway account data in the local database, mapping remote attribute data to local attribute data, and storing the remote attribute data in association with the local attribute data in the local database. Similar steps can be used to prepare the remote server and database for operation. Using the local client device a user can generate message type data transmitted from the local client device to the local server that determines whether the received message type data is associated with a local application module. If so, the local server runs the local application module using optional attribute data. The local server also determines whether the received message type data is associated with gateway account data. If so, the gateway account data is used to transmit the message type data from the local server over the internetwork to the remote server. The remote server determines whether the message type data is mapped to a remote application module in the remote database. If so, the remote server runs a remote application module corresponding to the message type data.

Claims

1. A method comprising the steps of:

a) mapping at least one local application module to respective message type data;

b) storing the message type data in association with the local application module in a local database accessible to a local server;

c) mapping gateway account data for internetwork access to at least one remote database, to respective message type data, the remote database accessible to at least one remote server;

d) storing the message type data in association with respective gateway account data in the local database;

e) mapping remote attribute data to local attribute data; and

f) storing the remote attribute data in association with the local attribute data in the local database, the local database accessible to the local server.

2. A method as claimed in claim 1, further comprising the steps of:

g) mapping at least one remote application module to respective message type data;

h) storing the message type data in association with the remote application module in the remote database;

i) mapping gateway account data for internetwork access to the local database, to respective message type data;

j) storing the message type data in association with respective gateway account data in the remote database;

k) mapping local attribute data to remote attribute data; and

l) storing the local attribute data in association with the remote attribute data in the remote database.

3. A method as claimed in claim 2, further comprising the step of:

m) generating message type data at a local client device;

n) transmitting the message type data from the local client device to the local server;

o) receiving the message type data transmitted in the step (n) at the local server;

p) determining whether the message type data received in the step (o) is associated with a local application module;

q) running the local application module if the step (p) determines that the message type data is associated with the local application module;

r) determining whether the message type data received in the step (o) is associated with a gateway account data;

s) transmitting over an internetwork the message type data from the local server to the remote server using the gateway account data, if the step (r) determines that the message type data is associated with the gateway account data;

t) receiving the message type data at the remote server;

u) determining whether the message type data is mapped to a remote application module in the remote database;

v) reading the remote application module from the remote database if the step (u) determines that the message type data is mapped to the remote application module; and

w) running the remote application module on the remote server.

4. A method as claimed in claim 3, wherein attribute data is generated at the client device in the step (m) in association with the message type data, the attribute data is transmitted from the client device to the local server in the step (n), the attribute data is received at the local server in the step (o), and is transmitted from the local server to the remote server in the step (s), the method further comprising the steps of:

x) reading remote attribute data mapped to the local attribute data received in the step (s) from the remote database for use by the remote application module running in the step (w).

5. A method as claimed in claim 4, wherein the running of the remote application module in the step (w) generates result data, further comprising the step of:

y) transmitting the result data from the remote server to the local server over the internetwork;

z) receiving the result data at the local server;

aa) transmitting the result data from the local server to the local client device;

ab) receiving the result data at the local client device; and

ac) generating a display on the local client device, based on the result data received in the step (ab).

6. A method as claimed in claim 4, wherein the remote application module performs a search of the remote database for worker data type designated by the attribute data.

7. A method as claimed in claim 3, wherein the local application module performs a search of the local database for worker data type designated by the attribute data.

8. A method comprising the steps of:

a) mapping at least one local application module to respective message type data;

b) mapping at least one remote application module to respective message type data;

c) generating message type data at a client device;

d) transmitting at least message type data from the client device to a local server;

e) receiving the message type data transmitted in the step (d) at the local server;

f) determining at the local server the application program module designated to be run, based on the message type data received in said step (e);

if the message type data is determined in said step (f) to be associated with a local application program module,

g) running the local application program module on the local server; and

if the message type data is determined in said step (f) to be associated with a remote application program module,

h) transmitting at least the message type data from the local server to the remote server over an internetwork;

i) receiving the message type data at the remote server; and

j) running the remote application program module on the remote server, based on the message type data received in said step (i).

9. A method as claimed in claim 8, further comprising the steps of:

k) mapping the remote attribute data to the local attribute data;

l) storing the remote attribute data in association with the local attribute data in the local database;

m) mapping the local attribute data to the remote attribute data; and

n) storing the local attribute data in association with the remote attribute data in the remote server.

10. A method as claimed in claim 9, wherein said step (c) includes generating predetermined user-specified local attribute data from the client device to the local server, the local server using the local attribute data in the local application program module in the performance of said step (g).

11. A method as claimed in claim 10, wherein the remote attribute data and local attribute data are mapped in at least one of said steps (k) and (m) with a predetermined “

best fit”

function.

12. A method as claimed in claim 11, wherein the remote attribute data and the local attribute data are assigned numeric values as to relative similarity based on a SOUNDEX function, and the “

best fit”

function compares the assigned numeric values to determine local attribute data within a predetermined value from the remote attribute data.

13. A method as claimed in claim 8, wherein the message type data is transmitted said steps (d) and (h) as an extensible Markup Language (XML) document.

14. A method as claimed in claim 8, further comprising the step of:

k) generating a message including the message type data generated in said step (c), for transmission in said step (d), the message generated to include header and data sections, the header section including the destination data designating a predetermined network address of the remote server, message type data, local user data, and return trip data, the data section content based on the message type data.

15. A method as claimed in claim 14, wherein the user generates attribute data in addition to the message type data in the step (c), the message type data in the step (c) designating a search request, and the data section of the message includes attribute data for performance of the search request.

16. A method as claimed in claim 15, wherein the attribute data indicates at least one of worker data identification data and worker availability data, and the result data indicates corresponding worker data identification data and worker availability data resulting from searching a local database with the local server based on the search parameter data.

17. A method as claimed in claim 14, wherein the attribute data includes predetermined user-specified attribute data, and wherein the running of the application program module in said step (g) generates result data based on the user-specified attribute data, the method further comprising the step of:

l) transmitting the result data from the local server to the client device; and

m) generating a display on the client device, based on the result data.

18. A method as claimed in claim 14, wherein the message type data transmitted in said step (g) designates a search, and the performance of said step (g) generates result data, the method further comprising the step of:

l) generating a response message having header and data sections, the header section including network address data designating the local server, message type data, local user data, and return trip data, the data section including the result data; and

m) transmitting the response message from the remote server to the local server.

19. A method as claimed in claim 18, further comprising the step of:

n) logging the message received at the remote server in the step (i) with time stamp data;

o) receiving the result data transmitted from the remote server in the step (m) at the local server;

p) logging the result data received in the step (o) with return time data;

q) comparing the time stamp data with the return time data; and

r) determining at the local server whether the result data is valid, based on the comparison of the step (q).

20. A method as claimed in claim in claim 17, wherein the response message is generated in said step (l) to be encrypted based on a public key for the local server stored in association with the network address of the local server in the remote database, and wherein the encrypted response message is transmitted in the step (m), the method further comprising the step of:

n) decrypting the response message at the local server based on predetermined private key data prestored in association with the public key data.

21. A method as claimed in claim 14, wherein the generating is performed in said step (k) to encrypt the message using a public key prestored in the local database in association with the destination address of the remote server, and wherein the message is received in the step (i), the method further comprising the step of:

l) reading from the remote database private key data prestored in association with the network address data for the local server; and

m) decrypting the message from the local server at the remote server, based on the private key data.

22. A method as claimed in claim 8, wherein the attribute data includes predetermined user-specified attribute data, and wherein the running of the application program module in said step (j) generates result data based on the user-specified attribute data, the method further comprising the step of:

k) transmitting the result data from the remote server to the local server;

l) transmitting the result data from the local server to the client device; and

m) generating a display on the client device based on the result data.

23. A method as claimed in claim 22, wherein the attribute data includes at least one of worker data identification data and worker availability data, and the result data indicates corresponding worker data identification data and worker availability data resulting from searching the remote database with the remote server based on the attribute data.

24. A method as claimed in claim 8, wherein the attribute data includes predetermined user-specified search parameter data, and wherein the running of the application program module in said step (j) generates result data based on the user-specified attribute data, the method further comprising the step of:

k) transmitting the result data from the remote server to the local server;

l) transmitting the result data from the local server to the client device; and

m) generating a display on the client device based on the result data.

25. A method as claimed in claim 8, wherein the attribute data includes at least one of worker data identification data and worker availability data, and the result data indicates corresponding worker data identification data and worker availability data resulting from searching the remote database with the remote server based on the attribute data.

26. A method as claimed in claim 8, wherein the gateway account data is transmitted to the remote server via the local server, and wherein the remote server generates result data based on the performance of said step (j), the method further comprising the steps of:

k) transmitting the result data from the remote server to the local server using the gateway account data; and

l) transmitting the result data from the local server to the client device using the gateway account data.

27. A method as claimed in claim 8, wherein said step (c) is performed using a hypertext transfer protocol (HTTP) POST request.

28. A method as claimed in claim 8, wherein the local application module is a common gateway interface (CGI) application program module.