Patent ID: 7516127
Filing Date: 2009-04-07
Classification: G06F,Y10S

Abstract:
1. A computer readable medium including computer-executable instructions thereon for retrieving and presenting information from foreign data sources to a user via a software application, wherein the computer-executable instructions operable when executed on a computing device cause the computing device to: receive, by a software application, a request for information associated with a foreign data source incompatible with the software application and a native data source compatible with the software application, wherein the request is initiated by a user selection of the information associated with the foreign data source and the native data source at the software application; in response to at least the request, automatically identify, by the software application, at least one module associated with the software application having technical and logical information for locating and processing the information associated with the foreign data source; retrieve, by the software application, the information associated with the foreign data source from the foreign data source in accordance with the technical information; retrieve, by the software application, the information associated with the native data source from the native data source; dynamically link the information associated with the foreign data source with the information associated with the native data source in accordance with the technical information to enable merging of the information associated with the foreign data source and the information associated with the native data source; and merge, by the software application, at least a portion of the information retrieved from the foreign data source and at least a portion of the information retrieved from the native data source, wherein the software application uses the logical information to merge the foreign data source information and the native data source information and to integrate the foreign data source and the native data source in a logical domain of the software application.