Unified configuration of multiple applications

• US 8,396,893 B2
• Filed: 12/11/2008
• Issued: 03/12/2013
• Est. Priority Date: 12/11/2008
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: SAP SE
• Original Assignee: SAP AG (SAP SE)
• Inventors: Gaffga, Joachim, Sattler, Juergen, Markert, Frank, Viehmann, Robert, Wolf, Werner
• Primary Examiner(s): Robinson, Greta
• Assistant Examiner(s): Weinrich, Brian E
• Application Number:
  US12/332,513
• Publication Number:
  US 20100153443A1
• Time in Patent Office: 1,552 Days
• Field of Search: 707/792, 707/694, 717/121
• US Class Current: 707/792
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 9/44505 Configuring for program initiating, e.g. using registry, configuration files
• CPC Class Codes: G06Q 10/06 Resources, workflows, human or project management; Enterprise or organisation planning; Enterprise or organisation modelling

Abstract

Various embodiments herein provide systems, methods, and software for unified configuration of multiple computer applications. Some embodiments include receiving input configuring a set of distinct computer applications in an application configuration environment. The application configuration environment may include a configuration repository that stores the settings of each distinct computer application. Such embodiments may further deploy the configuration settings from the configuration repository of the application configuration environment to at least one application execution environment including an instance of at least one of the set of distinct computer applications.

Claims

1. A method comprising:

receiving, in response to scoping questions, a single set of user input configuring a set of distinct computer applications in a single application configuration environment, the application configuration environment including a configuration repository stored in a memory, the configuration repository storing configuration settings of each distinct computer application separately from configuration settings that the distinct computer applications utilize during execution, the configuration settings of each distinct computer application obtained through application of an adaptation catalog to the single set of received user input to translate the received user input to configuration settings for each of the set of distinct computer applications, the adaptation catalog including a representation of application solution capabilities linked to possible scoping question answers by rules mapping each possible scoping question answer to at least one configuration package including configuration settings for at least one of the set of distinct computer applications, wherein the application solution capabilities are hierarchically divided into areas, packages, topics, and options, of which the adaptation catalog contains inclusive and exclusive rules that model dependencies between the areas, packages, topics, and options; and

deploying the configuration settings of the set of distinct computer applications from the configuration repository of the application configuration environment, via a network, to at least one application execution environment including an instance of at least one of the set of distinct computer applications.

2. The method of claim 1, wherein:

the application configuration environment further includes a data repository stored in the memory, the data repository including data to be included with at least one of the distinct computer applications when deployed; and

the deploying further includes deploying data from the data repository to a data store of at least one of the distinct computer applications in the at least one application execution environment.

3. The method of claim 1, wherein the application configuration environment includes a dataset with regard to each distinct computer application, each dataset representative of at least some configuration settings of the respective distinct computer application.

4. The method of claim 1, wherein the set of distinct computer applications includes two computer applications, each of the two computer applications developed by distinct software development organizations.

5. The method of claim 1, wherein the at least one application execution environment includes at least one computing device configured to execute at least one of the set of distinct computer applications.

6. The method of claim 5, wherein:

the at least one application execution environment includes two application execution environments communicatively coupled via the network to one another and the application execution environment; and

each of the two application execution environments includes at least one of the set of distinct computer applications.

7. A computer-readable storage medium, with instructions stored thereon, which when executed by a processor of a computer, cause the computer to:

receive, in response to scoping questions, a single set of user input configuring a set of distinct computer applications in a single application configuration environment, the application configuration environment including a configuration repository stored in a memory, the configuration repository storing configuration settings of each distinct computer application separately from configuration settings that the distinct computer applications utilize during execution, the configuration settings of each distinct computer application obtained through application of an adaptation catalog to the single set of received user input to translate the received user input to configuration settings for each of the set of distinct computer applications, the adaptation catalog including a representation of application solution capabilities linked to possible scoping question answers by rules mapping each possible scoping question answer to at least one configuration package including configuration settings for at least one of the set of distinct computer applications, wherein the application solution capabilities are hierarchically divided into areas, packages, topics, and options, of which the adaptation catalog contains inclusive and exclusive rules that model dependencies between the areas, packages, topics, and options; and

deploy the configuration settings of the set of distinct computer applications from the configuration repository of the application configuration environment, via a network, to at least one application execution environment including instances of the set of distinct computer applications.

8. The computer-readable storage medium of claim 7, wherein:

the application configuration environment further includes a data repository stored in the memory, the data repository including data to be included with at least one of the distinct computer applications when deployed; and

the deploying further includes deploying data from the data repository to a data store of at least one of the distinct computer applications in the at least one application execution environment.

9. The computer-readable storage medium of claim 7, wherein the application configuration environment includes a dataset with regard to each distinct computer application, each dataset representative of at least some configuration settings of the respective distinct computer application.

10. The computer-readable storage medium of claim 7, wherein the set of distinct computer applications includes two computer applications, each of the two computer applications developed by distinct software development organizations.

11. The computer-readable storage medium of claim 7, wherein the at least one application execution environment includes at least one computing device configured to execute at least one of the set of distinct computer applications.

12. The computer-readable storage medium of claim 11, wherein:

the at least one application execution environment includes two application execution environments communicatively coupled via the network to one another and the application execution environment; and

each of the two application execution environments includes at least one of the set of distinct computer applications.

13. A system comprising:

at least one processor coupled to a bus;

at least one memory device coupled to the bus;

a network interface coupled to the bus;

a single configuration environment database stored in at least one of the at least one memory devices, the configuration environment database to store a single set of received configuration user input for a set of distinct computer applications, the configuration user input received in response to scoping questions, the single configuration environment database storing the single set of received configuration user input separately from configuration settings that the distinct computer applications utilize during execution, the configuration settings of each distinct computer application obtained through application of an adaptation catalog to the single set of received configuration user input to translate the received configuration user input to configuration settings for each of the set of distinct computer applications, the adaptation catalog including a representation of application solution capabilities linked to possible scoping question answers by rules mapping each possible scoping question answer to at least one configuration package including configuration settings for at least one of the set of distinct computer applications, wherein the application solution capabilities are hierarchically divided into areas, packages, topics, and options, of which the adaptation catalog contains inclusive and exclusive rules that model dependencies between the areas, packages, topics, and options; and

an instruction set stored in the at least one memory device and executable by the processor to;

identify which distinct computer application configurations are affected by the received configuration user input;

translate received configuration user input to configuration settings of the identified distinct computer applications; and

deploy the translated configuration settings, via a network, to the identified distinct computer applications over the network interface.

14. The system of claim 13, wherein translated configuration settings are stored in the configuration environment database.

15. The system of claim 13, wherein the set of distinct computer applications includes two computer applications, each of the two computer applications developed by distinct software development organizations.