Accessing legacy applications from the Internet

• US 7,007,278 B2
• Filed: 04/06/2001
• Issued: 02/28/2006
• Est. Priority Date: 08/14/2000
• Status: Expired due to Fees

• Current Assignee: International Business Machines Corporation
• Original Assignee: International Business Machines Corporation
• Inventors: Gungabeesoon, Satish
• Primary Examiner(s): Thompson, W.
• Assistant Examiner(s): Hoang, Phuong N.
• Application Number:
  US09/828,562
• Publication Number:
  US 20020019884A1
• Time in Patent Office: 1,789 Days
• Field of Search: 719/311, 703/2, 709/203
• US Class Current: 719/311
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 9/541 via adapters, e.g. between incompatible applications

Abstract

Interactive legacy applications can be run from a network, such as the Internet, without requiring any code changes in the application. Typically, legacy applications are critical to a business, are self-contained on the computer, have mixed business and user interface logic, and were written before distributed computing emerged. Separating business logic from user interface logic as required by web application architectures is not practicable in the case of legacy applications. A client has a network user agent which can access a network server connected to the computer. When an application is invoked from the network user agent, a runtime data redirector intercepts the application'"'"'s raw data and sends the data to the network server which then serves the data across the network to the network user agent. Input data from the user entered through the network user agent are sent back to the application via the same runtime intercept.

Claims

1. A method for accessing a legacy computer application over an Internet, the method comprising:

converting a proprietary screen definition to a converted user interface page in a pervasive computer Internet user agent format, the converting step further comprising;

parsing the proprietary screen definition associated with the legacy computer application, wherein the proprietary screen definition is stored separately from the legacy computer application;

mechanically mapping user interface elements of the proprietary screen definition to an extensible mark-up language (XML) based language that supports user interface elements;

customizing the converted user interface page using a customize template that identifies user interface design patterns that reflect a presentation style of a user; and

validating input fields of the converted user interface page;

providing access to the legacy computer application responsive to a request from a client that is separate from a computer on which the legacy computer application resides, the client and the computer being connected by a server, the providing step further comprising;

redirecting a raw output of the legacy computer application to a network publishing component;

reformatting the raw output for publishing, wherein the reformatted raw output is stored in JavaBean data objects that are populated by a servlet which has received data to publish;

updating dynamically the convened user interface pages using the reformatted raw output;

sending the updated converted user interface pages to the client; and

reformatting input data from the client using the network publishing component to a format of the legacy computer application; and

making the reformatted raw output in the JavaBean data objects available for access, use and manipulation by another network based application;

wherein the legacy computer application is not restructured and no code changes are made to programs of the legacy computer application,

wherein the legacy computer application is non-modular,

wherein the legacy computer application scamlessly interweaves with the network based application, and

wherein a state of the legacy computer application is automatically preserved in a native environment after a transaction on the Internet is completed and a connection to the Internet is broken.