Patent ID: 7870101
Filing Date: 2011-01-11
Classification: G06F

Abstract:
1. A computer-implemented method of handling data requests to multiple data repositories, the computer-implemented method comprising: executing instructions from a computer program in a processor, wherein the instructions, when executed, perform the process of: receiving, at an abstraction layer, a repository request from an application, wherein the abstraction layer interfaces between multiple applications and multiple data repositories; converting, in the abstraction layer, the repository request into an abstraction object, wherein the abstraction object comprises values from the repository request and values from disparate data repositories, wherein the values from the disparate data repositories describe whether a particular data repository is party-focused or security-focused, wherein a party-focused repository organizes and stores data according to a role of a user within an organization, and wherein a security-focused repository organizes and stores data according to an identity of a particular user of the application; determining, within the abstraction layer, which of the multiple data repositories is an appropriate data repository, wherein the appropriate data repository uses a type of data organization that is consistent with a data type used by the repository request; transmitting the abstraction object that represents the repository request from the abstraction layer to a repository adapter for the appropriate data repository, wherein each data repository from the multiple data repositories has a corresponding repository adapter, and wherein each corresponding repository adapter converts the abstraction object into an object that is understood by an associated data repository for handling the repository request; receiving, at the abstraction layer, a response to the repository request from the appropriate data repository, wherein the response is a repository object that is converted by the repository adapter for the appropriate data repository into a response abstraction object before being received by the abstraction layer; upgrading the application to handle the response abstraction object; and transmitting the response abstraction object to the application, wherein the application is able to work with both security-focused objects and party-focused objects via a singular abstraction object.