Navigation through components

• US 7,769,698 B2
• Filed: 03/22/2007
• Issued: 08/03/2010
• Est. Priority Date: 09/01/2006
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: SAP SE
• Original Assignee: SAP AG (SAP SE)
• Inventors: Matic, Dragan S.
• Primary Examiner(s): Augustin; Evens J
• Assistant Examiner(s): Cheung; Calvin K
• Application Number:
  US11/689,997
• Publication Number:
  US 20080071657A1
• Time in Patent Office: 1,230 Days
• Field of Search: 717100-178, 705/77
• US Class Current: 705/77
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 8/38 for implementing user interfaces
• CPC Class Codes: G06Q 20/085 involving remote charge determination or related payment systems
• CPC Class Codes: G06Q 40/00 Finance; Insurance; Tax strategies; Processing of corporate or income taxes

Abstract

This disclosure provides various embodiments of software for navigating through components. In one aspect, the software associates a transactional process with a first component, triggers navigation from the first component to a second component, and performs the transactional process associated with the first component upon triggering navigation from the first component to the second component. In some implementations, the transactional process comprises validating modifications made to the data of the first component. In other implementations, the transactional process further comprises saving the modifications to the data of the first component if the validation is successful, and if the validation is unsuccessful, not saving the modifications to the data of the first component.

Claims

1. A computer program product encoded on a non-transitory tangible storage medium, the product comprising computer-readable instructions for causing one or more processors to perform operations comprising:

presenting a view of a first component, the first component associated with a transactional process operable in part to identify navigation away from the view of the first component to a view of a second component, each component associated with a model-view-controller business application, the second component existing at a logically lower level in the application relative to the first component;

registering the first component with the second component at run-time to provide the second component with access to the first component'"'"'s navigational processes upon navigation to the second component, wherein registering the first component with the second component at run-time comprises;

accessing at least one application programming interface (API) associated with the second component, the API exposing at least one method associated with navigation between components within the business application;

implementing the at least one API associated with the second component at the first component at design-time; and

registering a concrete implementing class of the first component with each of at least one logically lower component including the second component at run-time, the first component'"'"'s concrete implementing class associated with the API and providing the at least one method associated with navigation to each of the components within the business application;

automatically triggering navigation from the view of the first component to the view of the second component in response to an event using the at least one method associated with navigation implemented by the first component at design-time; and

performing the transactional process associated with the first component upon triggering navigation from the view of the first component to the view of the second component.

2. The product of claim 1, wherein the transactional process comprises validating modifications made to data of the first component.

3. The product of claim 2, the operations further comprising:

wherein the validation is successful, saving the modifications made to the data associated with the view of the first component using the transactional process; and

wherein the validation is unsuccessful, rolling back the modifications made to the data associated with the view of the first component using the transactional process.

4. The product of claim 3, wherein the validation is unsuccessful, the operations further comprising generating an error message describing a basis for the unsuccessful validation.

5. The product of claim 1, wherein the navigation from the view of the first component to the view of the second component comprises navigation from a top-level menu associated with the business application to a logically lower component of the business application.

6. The product of claim 5, wherein the transactional process is performed when the transactional process is associated with the second component.

7. The product of claim 5, the operations further comprising automatically validating the modifications made to data associated with the view of the first component.

8. The product of claim 7, the operations further comprising:

wherein the validation is successful, saving the modifications made to the data associated with the view of the first component using the transactional process; and

wherein the validation is unsuccessful, presenting an error message based on the unsuccessful validation and rolling back the modifications made to the data associated with the view of the first component using the transactional process.

9. The product of claim 1, wherein the second component is nested within the first component.

10. The product of claim 1, the operations further comprising selectively causing automatic validation of the modifications made to the data associated with the view of the first component using the transactional process.

11. The product of claim 10, the operations further comprising:

wherein the automatic validation is successful, saving the modifications made to the data associated with the view of the first component using the transactional process; and

wherein the automatic validation is unsuccessful, rolling back the modifications made to the data associated with the view of the first component using the transactional process.

12. The product of claim 1, the transactional process logically coupling an outbound plug of the first component with an inbound plug of the second component.

13. The product of claim 1, wherein the event comprises the receipt of a command indicating a request to navigate from the view of the first component to the view of the second component by activation of an outbound plug associated with the view of the first component.

14. A system comprising:

memory storing a plurality of components associated with a model-view-controller business application; and

one or more processors operable when executed to;

present a view of a first component of the plurality of components, the first component associated with a transactional process operable in part to identify navigation away from the view of the first component to a view of a second component, each component associated with a model-view-controller business application, the second component existing at a logically lower level in the application relative to the first component;

register the first component with the second component at run-time to provide the second component with access to the first component'"'"'s navigational processes upon navigation to the second component, wherein registering the first component with the second component at run-time comprises;

accessing at least one application programming interface (API) associated with the second component, the API exposing at least one method associated with navigation between components within the business application;

implementing the at least one API associated with the second component at the first component at design-time; and

registering a concrete implementing class of the first component with each of at least one logically lower component including the second component at run-time, the first component'"'"'s concrete implementing class associated with the API and providing the at least one method associated with navigation to each of the components within the business application;

automatically trigger navigation from the view of the first component to the view of the second component in response to an event; and

perform the transactional process associated with the first component upon triggering navigation from the view of the first component to the view of the second component.

15. The system of claim 14, wherein the navigation from the view of the first component to the view of the second component comprises navigation from a general menu of the business application associated with the first component to a view associated with the logically lower second component.

16. The system of claim 14, wherein the transactional process is performed when the second component is a transactional component.

17. The system of claim 14, the one or more processors further operable to automatically validate modifications made to data associated with the view of the first component.

18. The system of claim 17, the one or more processors further operable to:

wherein the validation is successful, save the modifications made to the data associated with the view of the first component using the transactional process; and

wherein the validation is unsuccessful, present an error message based on the unsuccessful validation and roll back the modifications made to the data associated with the view of the first component using the transactional process.

19. The system of claim 14, the one or more processors further operable to selectively cause automatic validation of the modifications made to the data associated with the view of the first component using the transactional process.