Source: http://www.google.com/patents/US7426548?dq=autodesk
Timestamp: 2014-03-15 04:28:48
Document Index: 740195096

Matched Legal Cases: ['Application No. 60', 'Application No. 60', 'Application No. 60', 'Application No. 60', 'art 1', 'Application No. 01975484']

Patent US7426548 - Enterprise application platform - Google PatentsSearch Images Maps Play YouTube News Gmail Drive More »Sign inAdvanced Patent SearchPatentsA business platform can provide access to applications and provide for the integration of resources with other applications, including internal and external applications, services and systems. A portal framework included within the platform can render portals including graphical user interfaces for displaying...http://www.google.com/patents/US7426548?utm_source=gb-gplus-sharePatent US7426548 - Enterprise application platformAdvanced Patent SearchPublication numberUS7426548 B2Publication typeGrantApplication numberUS 11/749,042Publication dateSep 16, 2008Filing dateMay 15, 2007Priority dateMay 1, 2002Fee statusPaidAlso published asUS7496687, US20040068568, US20070214271, WO2003093964A1Publication number11749042, 749042, US 7426548 B2, US 7426548B2, US-B2-7426548, US7426548 B2, US7426548B2InventorsPhilip B. Griffin, Troy Hallock, Brad Posner, Patrick Osborne, Olivier Libouban, Manish Devgan, Ravi Rohra, Jitendra Gupta, Somenath Sengupta, Hung T. Ma, Chengjiang C. LinOriginal AssigneeBea Systems, Inc.Export CitationBiBTeX, EndNote, RefManPatent Citations (109), Non-Patent Citations (49), Referenced by (10), Classifications (14), Legal Events (3) External Links: USPTO, USPTO Assignment, EspacenetEnterprise application platformUS 7426548 B2Abstract A business platform can provide access to applications and provide for the integration of resources with other applications, including internal and external applications, services and systems. A portal framework included within the platform can render portals including graphical user interfaces for displaying and receiving content that can be used by various applications. A portal framework can provide an interface to various resources such that information received and displayed by the portal framework can be exchanged with internal and external resources using standards-based transport protocols, messaging systems, and document types. An integration framework can be invoked to exchange this information among applications and services. An integration framework can provide access to resources by integrating the resources with an application server. The portal framework and integration framework can be implemented on an application server which can support enterprise applications. This description is not intended to be a complete description of, or limit the scope of, the invention. Other features, aspects, and objects of the invention can be obtained from a review of the specification, the figures, and the claims.
1. A method for performing an electronic business transaction, comprising:
receiving a request for the availability of a product through a portal, the portal generated using a portal framework;
converting the request to an XML-based document;
passing the XML-based document to an integration framework;
placing the XML-based document into a request message configured for communication using a predetermined protocol;
passing the request message using the predetermined protocol to at least one supplier system;
receiving a response message from the at least one supplier system containing an XML-based response document;
extracting the XML-based response document from the response message;
passing the XML-based response document to the portal framework; and
updating the portal with information from the XML-based response document.
2. A computer-readable storage medium including code to:
receive a request for the availability of a product through a portal, the portal generated using a portal framework;
convert the request to an XML-based document;
pass the XML-based document to an integration framework;
place the XML-based document into a request message configured for communication using a predetermined protocol;
pass the request message using the predetermined protocol to at least one supplier system;
receive a response message from the at least one supplier system containing an XML-based response document;
extract the XML-based response document from the response message;
pass the XML-based response document to the portal framework; and
update the portal with information from the XML-based response document. Description
CLAIM OF PRIORITY This application is a divisional of U.S. application Ser. No. 10/427,119, filed on May 1, 2003 , entitled �ENTERPRISE APPLICATION PLATFORM,� which claims priority to U.S. Provisional Patent Application No. 60/376,913, entitled �WEB SERVICE ENABLED PORTALS AND BUSINESS PLATFORM,� filed May 1, 2002, which is hereby incorporated herein by reference.
U.S. patent application Ser. No. 10/377,917, entitled �WEB SERVICE-ENABLED PORTLET WIZARD,� filed Feb. 28, 2002; and
U.S. patent application Ser. No. 10/377,865, entitled �PORTAL SETUP WIZARD,� filed Feb. 28, 2002.
FIELD OF THE INVENTION The invention relates generally to platforms for running and integrating software applications, such as enterprise applications.
BACKGROUND Electronic commerce has established itself as a lasting and important component in the modern economy. For continued and long-term success, electronic commerce will require cross-enterprise collaborations among disparate resources including enterprise applications. To achieve cross-enterprise integration, a company must first integrate internal applications. To date, an integration solution that is easy to use, affordable, and based on industry wide standards has not been successfully established. No solution achieving an industry standard infrastructure with universal connectivity, massive scalability, and incorporating accessible business process tools has been developed.
Many companies have a need for platform solutions capable of fully integrating internal business processes that include multiple internal applications. These same companies also have a need for platform solutions capable of integrating internal applications with external services and applications including external business-to-consumer and business-to-business applications, such as applications that can utilize the Internet to generate revenue and reduce costs. The requirement for Internet-enabled applications has led to the rise of the application server market. To date, application servers have primarily been used to host external applications targeted at customers and partners. Application servers are themselves packaged applications that, instead of solving a specific problem, are general-purpose platforms that host vertical solutions.
Furthermore, many companies need an efficient solution for providing targeted presentations to consumers, partners, and employees in the form of user friendly interfaces. Integrating these interfaces with existing and future internal and external applications can further complicate attempts at successful, efficient, and reliable fully integrated business solutions.
BRIEF SUMMARY Systems and methods in accordance with one embodiment of the present invention can provide platform solutions to integrated business environments. A portal framework can be used to render portals including graphical user interfaces for displaying and receiving content. Information received and displayed by the portal framework can be exchanged with internal and external services and applications using standards-based transport protocols, messaging systems, and document types. An integration framework can be invoked to exchange this information among applications and services. A portal framework and integration framework can be implemented on an application server which can support enterprise applications running on single or multiple instances of the server. Communication among a portal framework and integration framework can further be accomplished by utilizing standards-based communication.
BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS The present invention will described by way of exemplary embodiments, but not limitations, illustrated by the accompanying drawings wherein like references indicate similar elements, and wherein:
FIG. 1 is a high level block diagram of various software components of a computer network capable of supporting a configurable electronic business system in accordance with an embodiment of the present invention;
FIG. 2 is a high level block diagram of various software components of a computer network supporting a configurable electronic business system in accordance with an embodiment of the present invention that can be used to implement an enterprise application;
FIGS. 3 a-3 e are flowcharts illustrating the interaction of the various software components of FIG. 2 that can be used to implement the enterprise application;
FIGS. 4 a-4 g are screenshots illustrating a portal and various portal pages that can be generated in accordance with the enterprise application implemented by the components of FIG. 2 and method of FIGS. 3 a-3 e. FIG. 5 is a high level block diagram of various software components of a computer network supporting a configurable electronic business system in accordance with an embodiment of the present invention that can be used to implement an enterprise application.
FIGS. 6 a-6 c are flowcharts illustrating the interaction of the various software components of FIG. 5 that can be used to implement the enterprise application.
FIGS. 7 a-7 f are screenshots illustrating a portal and various portal pages that can be generated in accordance with the enterprise application implemented by the components of FIG. 5 and method of FIGS. 6 a-6 c. DETAILED DESCRIPTION FIG. 1 is a high level block diagram of various software components of a computer network supporting a configurable electronic business system in accordance with the present invention.
Application server 110 is an application server, such as BEA WEBLOGIC SERVER� available from BEA Systems, Inc. of San Jose, Calif. Application server 110 can provide an easy to use application infrastructure for building, integrating, securing, and managing distributed applications including Java based applications. In one embodiment, application server 110 implements Java 2 Platform, Enterprise Edition (J2EE), available from Sun Microsystems, Inc. of Santa Clara, Calif.
Integration framework 115 can be implemented on application server 110 and can include various integrated components and/or software elements such as business-to-business (B2B) integration 120, a management component such as business process management (BPM) 125, and application integration 130. An event processor such as event processor 135 can be included within business process management 125. In various embodiments, B2B integration 120 can communicate with external components such as a computer network of a supplier 140. Other components, such as business process management 125 and application integration 130, can communicate with external components such as inventory or order management system 145. It will be appreciated that integration framework can communicate with a variety of resources such as internal and external applications, legacy systems, and databases, etc.
Application integration can utilize resource adapters and application views to establish an enterprise-wide, united framework for integrating any current or future application. Adapters can simplify integration efforts by allowing each application to be integrated with an application server, instead of requiring that each application be integrated with every other application.
The development and widespread acceptance of standards such as the J2EE standard, as well as the eXtensible Markup Language (XML), has laid the groundwork for a standardized approach to the development of these adapters. Perhaps the most significant of these standards for application integration is the J2EE Connector architecture. The J2EE Connector architecture (JCA) provides a standardized approach for the development of adapters for all types of applications, from legacy mainframe applications, such as CICS from IBM, to packaged applications such as PeopleSoft, Siebel, and SAP. The adoption of such standards enables businesses to develop adapters that work on any J2EE-compliant application server, for example.
An application integration component directed at enterprise application integration can have several primary aspects. If the functionality of an Enterprise Information System such as a PeopleSoft system or an SAP system is to be invoked, an implementation of the J2EE Connector Architecture can be used. If something occurs inside an EIS system, such as a trigger going off, an event can be generated. This event may, in some embodiments, need to be communicated to an external application. An event architecture in an application integration component can handle this communication.
An application view is an example of a component that can be used to simplify the way in which adapters are accessed. Application views can provide a layer of abstraction, for example, between an adapter and the EIS functions exposed by that adapter. Instead of accessing an EIS by direct programming a user can simply edit an adapter's application views, create new application views, or delete any obsolete application view(s). A more detailed discussion of an integration framework can be found in U.S. patent application Ser. No. 10/271,194, entitled �APPLICATION VIEW COMPONENT FOR SYSTEM INTEGRATION,� by Mitch Upton, filed Oct. 15, 2002, which application claims priority to U.S. Provisional Patent Application No. 60/347,919, filed Oct. 18, 2001, entitled �APPLICATION VIEW,� as well as Application No. 60/347,901, entitled �EVENT ADAPTER,� filed Oct. 18, 2001, all of which are hereby incorporated herein by reference.
Portal framework 150 can be implemented on application server 110 and can include various components such as portal manager 155, webflow 180, and pipeline component(s) 160. Portal manager 155 can manage the content generated within portal framework 150, including content generated by portal processors and portlet servlets (not shown) within framework 150 used in rendering various graphical user interfaces such as portal 165.
Portal framework 150 can render portals that can provide access to information networks and/or sets of services through the World Wide Web and/or other computer networks. Portals can provide a single point of access to data and applications, making portals valuable to developers, businesses, and consumers alike. A portal can present a unified and personalized view of enterprise information to employees, customers, and business partners. In many implementations, a portal application can include a Web application designed as a portal.
Portals are capable of presenting multiple web applications within a single web interface. In addition to regular web content that can appear in a portal, portals provide the ability to display portlets (self-contained applications or content) in a single web interface. Portals can also support multiple pages with tag-based navigation for accessing individualized content and portlets for each page.
Portlets can be implemented as Java server pages (JSPs) with XML-based metadata that can fit into a portal. Portlets can utilize various types of display code to display highly focused information directed to a specific user or user group, having a portal as the portlet's container. Portlets can include portlet components having portlet attributes (i.e. whether the portlet is editable, floatable, minimizable, maximizable, helpable, and mandatory, has defaults minimized, or whether login is required) and portlet layout elements or components (i.e. banner, header, content, and footer sections). In one embodiment, a portlet is defined by a file that contains XML-based metadata for a portlet. Portlets can also be associated with portlet resource files including stub JSPs (one for each portlet layout element) and image files created and saved to a local file system. In various embodiments, portlet servlets within portal framework can generate and render content including JSPs to form the portlets within portal 165.
A webflow, such as webflow 180, can be used to control the flow of a user's session through the pages displayed in a browser, such as the pages associated with portal 165, as well as the execution of specific pieces of business logic. Webflow 180 can guide the progress of the interaction of the user with an actual e-commerce application system. Different types of application code can be used to track and to modify the user interface. These codes may in one embodiment include Java Servlet Pages (JSP) to present information to the user that includes a series of buttons, links and HTML elements; input processing code which is used to modify the user input; and pipeline processing code, which may be a stateless session Enterprise Java Bean (EJB) or manipulating entity EJB. An entry for each code type can be included in a property file used to configure the webflow. The property file describes the various states of the JSP, HTML, and input and pipeline processing features, and also describes the transitions between those features. The transitions may include links, buttons and processing results which determine how the output of one feature affects another feature.
Various events can be generated as a user navigates within or through portal 165. For example, selecting a particular content location using a mouse with an associated cursor located over the desired location can generate an event to be processed by webflow 180 and its associated components. Events can result in the invocation of input processors and pipelines including flexible mechanisms for handling form submission. Input processors can perform validation of data entered into pages and portlets and store the user data in various pipeline sessions for subsequent use by a pipeline component. A pipeline can include a storage location for information regarding the current session, such as data for the current shopping cart or transient data such as error messages relating to user input.
Pipeline component(s) 160 includes discrete units of server-side business logic for performing various tasks such as calculating tax, submitting orders for business transactions, or otherwise communicating with other components including service provider interfaces (SPI) implemented as EJB's. Input processors and pipelines (including pipeline components) can succeed and generate exceptions, from which webflow 180 can decide which pages to display and which pieces of business logic to execute. In one embodiment, pipeline component(s) 160 is included within webflow 180. A more detailed discussion of a portal framework including various components such as webflow can be found in U.S. patent application Ser. No. 09/908,023, entitled �SYSTEM FOR MANAGING LOGICAL PROCESS FLOW IN AN ONLINE ENVIRONMENT,� by Neil Smithline and Sathyanarayana Giridhar, filed Jul. 18, 2001, which application claims priority to U.S. Provisional Patent Application No. 60/236,898, entitled �SYSTEM FOR MANAGING LOGICAL PROCESS FLOW IN AN ONLINE ENVIRONMENT,� filed Sep. 28, 2000, each of which are hereby incorporated herein by reference.
In accordance with one embodiment of the present invention, portal framework 150 and integration framework 115 are implemented on a single instance of application server 110 and can run on a single Java virtual machine. Thus, portal framework 150 and integration framework 115 can be used together in an enterprise application running on a single instance of application server 110. In other embodiments, an enterprise application can run on multiple instances of application server 110, invoking functionality from various locations. In such embodiments, portal framework 150 and integration framework 115 may be implemented on separate servers or separate instances of the server. Portal framework 150 and integration framework 115 can communicate or otherwise exchange data and information using various standardized messaging systems. In one embodiment, portal framework 150 and integration framework 115 can exchange information using Java enabled messaging systems and standardized languages such as XML. For example, the J2EE connector Architecture and Java Messaging Service (JMS) can be used in some embodiments.
JMS, a Java API, is an enterprise messaging system allowing applications and components to communicate with one another through the exchange of messages that can include requests, reports, and events that contain information needed to coordinate communication between different applications and/or software components. Messages can provide a layer of abstraction allowing the details of a destination system and application code to be separated. JMS messaging systems can be used in enterprise applications to communicate with legacy systems or to provide communication lanes between business components running in different environments or on different hosts. The Java connector architecture can provide for connectivity between application servers and enterprise information systems such as ERP systems, mainframe transaction processing systems, and legacy database systems. The connector architecture can rely on technologies standardized and defined by the J2EE to avoid adding custom code when providing connectivity to an information system.
Portal framework 150 and integration framework 115, provided on application server 110, can simplify and ease the creation and implementation of enterprise applications for application developers.
FIG. 2 is a high level block diagram of various software components of a computer network supporting a configurable electronic business system in accordance with one embodiment of the present invention that can be used to implement the following enterprise application. FIG. 3 is a flowchart illustrating the interaction of the various software components of FIG. 2 that can be used to implement the enterprise application.
Portal framework 150 can present portal 205 to a user at a step 305. Portal 205 can present a personalized view to the user after the user logs in or is automatically logged in. In one embodiment, the personalized view is a default view. Portal manager 155, along with various webflow 215 and pipeline components (210, 220, 230), can render portal 205 substantially as shown in FIG. 4 a, including multiple portlets such as browse catalog portlet 406, shopping cart portlet 407 (if user has placed items into the shopping cart), search portlet 408, and tour guide documentation portlet 409.
From shopping cart portlet 407 within portal 205 or the shopping cart page 416 (FIG. 4 d) of portal 205, the user can select the checkout feature at step 310. If the checkout feature is not chosen, the user can search and/or browse the product catalog represented in the pages of portal 205 at step 315. For example, having selected the consumer digital cameras link 410, the user is presented with a category summary page for the consumer digital cameras. An event generated by the user selecting link 410 can generate an exception from which webflow 215 determines to display the category summary page, as illustrated in FIG. 4 b. Portal manager 150 can gather the necessary resources, including any XML definition files and JSP pages to render the appropriate page. The category summary page, as shown in FIG. 4B, includes a search portlet 408, category portlet 411, shopping cart portlet 407, tour guide documentation portlet 409, and product evaluator portlet 412.
Product evaluator portlet 412 can be, for example, a web service enabled portlet adapted to expose an external rating web service for the items listed on the category summary page. Portlet 412, as described, can include JSP portlet code providing an HTML form for entering product numbers. If the user accesses the product evaluation portlet at step 320, information entered into the HTML form can be passed to an operation of the external web service which returns a rating for the product that can displayed in the portlet at step 325. In one embodiment, a pipeline component is invoked to pass the rating request and receive the response using, for example, the Simple Object Access Protocol (SOAP), which uses a combination of XML-based data structuring and the Hyper Text Transfer Protocol (HTTP) to define a standardized method for invoking methods in objects that are distributed in diverse operating environments across the Internet. FIGS. 4 b and 4 c illustrate product evaluator portlet 412 before and after a rating has been requested.
From various pages within portal 205, the user can add items to the shopping cart or to a saved list of items at step 330. As items are added to the shopping cart or saved list, the pipeline session for the current session can be updated with information regarding the chosen products at step 335. Additionally, from many of the pages within portal 205, the user can select a buy now feature for an item. In response, the item can be added to the shopping cart and portal framework 150 can present a shopping cart page as illustrated in FIG. 4 d. If the user selects the checkout feature from shopping cart portlet 407 or from shopping cart page 416 of portal 205 at step 310, a real-time inventory validation of the product item(s) being ordered can be performed as illustrated in FIG. 3 a. In other embodiments in accordance with the present invention, a real-time inventory validation is performed when the user selects a buy now feature, tries to add a product item to the shopping cart, or tries to update the quantity of an item already in the shopping cart.
In one approach to performing real-time inventory validation, portal framework 150 can make a call through integration framework 115 to a back-end inventory system such as inventory management system 145. Inventory management system 145 can include an inventory table or database with information about product and part inventory information and can be accessed through application integration 130.
Pipeline component 220 (e.g., CheckInventoryPC) can be used to call service provider interface 225 (SPI) (e.g., InventoryProvider). SPI 225 can be implemented as a stateless session enterprise Java bean (EJB) and can contain various remote methods for performing inventory operations such as: public int checkInventory( ); public List get ProductInventory( ); and public List getProductPartInventory( ). List can contain Inventory objects, where an Inventory object can be an interface implemented as shown below.
package examples.e2e.b2b;
public interface Inventory {
* Returns the identifier for the inventory oibject.
public String id( );
* Returns a description for the inventory object.
public String description( );
* Returns the minimum quantity of this inventory object that
* should be maintained in stock.
public long min( );
* Returns the maximum quantity of this inventory object that
public long max( );
* Returns the current quantity of this inventory object.
In one embodiment, SPI 225 can be implemented utilizing related environment variables from an ejb-jar.xml file described using the <env-entry-name> tag. Pipeline component 220 can call SPI 225, utilizing the functionality provided by an inventory method such as a CheckInventory( ) implementation method of SPI 225 at step 340. CheckInventory( ) can utilize application integration 130 to call a pre-configured application integration service. The service can query inventory table 145 to determine product availability at step 345. In one embodiment, an inventory check and response is sent as an XML document using standards-based transport protocols or standards-compliant protocols such as SOAP. In other embodiments, a JCA can be used. After receiving a response from application integration 130, CheckInventory( ) can call an XML helper to parse the response at step 350. It will be appreciated that numerous implementations of SPI 225 can be made depending on an application's requirements, including the requirements of any back-end management system.
An integer representation of the response can be returned through pipeline component 220 at step 355. Portal framework 150 can display the inventory response through a portlet within portal 205. In one embodiment, a message is displayed within portal 205 indicating unavailability if the inventory is insufficient to fulfill the order. In other embodiments, portal framework 150 can additionally utilize a pricing service to calculate and display any applicable discount for the product(s) selected by the user. If the inventory for a selected product(s) is unavailable, the user can update the quantity of the selected product or remove the product from the shopping cart (steps 360-362).
After validating the availability of all selected products, a checkout page can be displayed as shown in FIG. 4 e at step 364. At the checkout page, the user can enter various information such as a billing/shipping addresses, shipping method, credit card information, and contact information at step 366. After selecting continue order from the checkout page, portal framework 150 can display an order submission page to the user as shown in FIG. 4 f at step 368.
From the order submission page, the user can review and validate their order. After selecting submit order at step 370, portal framework 150 can access payment processing web service 170 for credit card authorization, capture, and settlement at step 372. Web service 170 can support various calls, such as authorize, capture, and settle, wherein a �true� response can be returned by web service 170 in response to one of the calls. An authorize call can accept a credit card number as an argument, for example, while a capture call can accept an amount to be captured. A web proxy can be used to call web service 170 from pipeline component 210, wherein pipeline component 210 can make the calls to web service 170 in succession. Web service 170 can then authorize, capture, and settle the credit card authorization at step 374. After receiving an authorization from web service 170, portal manager 155 can display an order confirmation page to the user at step 376 as illustrated in FIG. 4 g. After authorization and display of the order confirmation page, portal framework 150 can begin management of the order. When the order is persisted, an XML representation of the order can be created and placed on event queue 175. In one embodiment, event queue 175 is a JMS event queue. The XML representation of the order can be submitted by a pipeline component to event queue 175, thus enabling asynchronous communication between the queue and integration framework 115.
Portal manager 155, which can render portal 205, can be in communication with pipeline component 230 (e.g., ConvertOrderRepPC) which can call SPI 235 (e.g., PurchaseManager). SPI 235 can be implemented as a stateless session EJB and can contain various remote methods for performing operations regarding orders, queries for price and availability, and purchase orders, such as: queueOrder; queueQPA; and queuePORequest.
In one embodiment, SPI 235 can be implemented utilizing related environment variables from an ejb-jar.xml file described using the <env-entry-name> tag. Pipeline component 230 can covert the order generated within portal framework 150 to an XML message at step 378. An exemplary XML representation of an order is illustrated below.
<wlcs_order customer_id=�democustomer� id=�14004�
status=�SUBMITTED�>
<amount>4309.11</amount>
<special instruction>please use a lot of bubble
wrap..</special_instruction>
<splitting_preference>Ship all at once</splitting_preference>
<subtotal>4099.2</subtotal>
<line id=�14005�>
<product_id>9-33305</product_id>
<amount>2.475</amount>
<unit_price>
<amount>973.95</amount>
</unit_price>
<msrp>
<amount>1149.95</amount>
</msrp>
<description>tool set-933305</description>
<total_amount>2921.85</total_amount>
<line id=�14006�>
<line id=�14007�>
</wics_order>
Pipeline component 230 can call SPI 235, invoking an order processing method such as a queueOrder( ) implementation method of SPI 235. The XML message can be sent to event queue 175 to which a workflow 240 within business process management 125 is subscribed at step 380. Event processor 135 can retrieve the XML representation of the order for processing at step 382. A workflow can be a representation of a business process, enabling the orchestration of the execution of business logic and the exchange of business documents among back-end systems, users, and trading partners (systems and users) in a loosely coupled fashion. In one embodiment, the XML representation of the order is sent as a JMS XML message and event queue 175 is a JMS queue.
The JMS XML message can start workflow 240 or trigger a workflow event listened to by a running instance of the workflow 240. After retrieval of the message from JMS queue 175, workflow 240 can parse the XML message and forward all the input data to back end inventory system 145 at step 384. Portal framework 150 can update an order history portlet to reflect the order status at step 386.
Portal framework 150 and integration framework 115 can additionally simplify and ease the creation of enterprise applications for application developers developing business-to-business applications. Consider the following example of a business-to-business enterprise application utilizing portal framework 150 and integration framework 115 running on application server 110. This example will illustrate various functionality capable of monitoring a database, soliciting information from external sources, and using the information to formulate and transmit requirement information from one of the external sources. Such functionality can be beneficial in applications where a level of inventory is to be maintained and requirements for the inventory can be procured from various sources. The following example illustrates an application involving a purchasing agent for an entity accessing an electronic database representing an inventory, selecting a product to purchase, sending a query for price and availability to multiple suppliers, receiving quotes for pricing and availability, and formulating a purchase order for the item to be sent to one of the suppliers.
FIG. 5 is a high level block diagram of various software components of a computer network supporting a configurable electronic business system in accordance with the present invention that can be used to implement the following enterprise application. FIGS. 6 a-6 c are flowcharts illustrating the interaction of the various software components of FIG. 2 used to implement the enterprise application.
A user, such as a purchasing agent, can be automatically logged into portal framework 150. Other methods can also be used to indicate to portal framework 150 the identity of the user such that webflow 515 and portal manager 155 can render a personalized page such as a homepage within portal 505. Portal 505 can include tabs representing various pages within the portal. By selecting a tab, portal framework 150 can generate and/or gather the necessary resources (JSP's, XML definition files, etc.) such that the appropriate portal page represented by the tab is rendered. At step 602, the user can select an inventory tab 702 to view an inventory page as illustrated in FIG. 7 a. In order to determine and display the inventory information to the user, portal framework 150 can make a call through integration framework 115 to a back-end inventory system such as inventory management system 145, using similar functionality as discussed above with regards to the consumer example. Portal framework 150 can include a pipeline component 520 (e.g., GetInventoryPC) that can call service provider interface 225 (e.g., InventoryProvider). As previously discussed, SPI 225 can be implemented as a stateless EJB and can include various remote methods for performing inventory operations such as getProductInventory( ) and getProductPartInventory( ).
To determine product inventory, pipeline component 520 can call SPI 225, utilizing the functionality provided by a product inventory method such as the getProductInventory( ) implementation method of an implementation of SPI 225 at step 604. GetProductInventory( ) can utilize application integration 130 to make a call using a pre-configured application integration service at step 606. This service can query inventory management system 145 to determine product inventory at step 606. After receiving a response from application integration 130, GetProductInventory( ) can call an XML helper to parse the response in order to create a List of Inventory objects at step 608. The List of Inventory objects can be returned to portal framework 150 which can render product inventory portlet 704, including the available inventory of the selected products at step 610.
From the inventory page, a check parts inventory button can be selected for a product in order to view the inventory for the individual parts that comprise the product. To determine the parts inventory for a product, pipeline component 530 can call SPI 225, utilizing the functionality provided by a product part method such as the getProductPartInventory( ) implementation method. GetProductPartInventory( ) can utilize application integration 130 to make a call using a pre-configured application integration service. This service can query inventory management system 145 to determine the parts inventory for a product using a similar query as previously discussed. After receiving a response from application integration 130, GetProductPartInventory( ) can call an XML helper to parse the response in order to create a List of Inventory objects. The List of Inventory objects can be returned to portal framework 150 which can render product part inventory portlet 706, including the available inventory of the products' parts, as illustrated in FIG. 7 b. From product part inventory portlet 706, the user can select the Request Quote button for a particular part. After the Request Quote button for a part is selected, portal framework 150 can render a purchasing page as illustrated in FIG. 7 c at step 612. The purchasing page can include query for price and availability portlet 708. Within portlet 708, the user can enter information into the fields for quantity, unit price, and required receipt date. After entering the information, a query for price and availability (QPA) can be initiated when the user selects the send QPA request button within portlet 708 at step 616. A QPA object can be implemented as follows in one embodiment.
import com.bea.commerce.ebusiness.price.quote.Money;
* Represents a query for price and availability that is to be
comnmunicated to supplier(s).
* @author Copyright (c) 2002 by BEA Systems, Inc. All Rights Reserved.
public interface QPA {
* Returns the identifier for this QPA.
public String requestId( );
* Returns the date this QPA was created.
public Calendar creationDate( );
* Returns the identifier for the product to be quoted.
public String productId( );
* Returns a description for the product to be quoted.
* Returns the quantity of the product desired by the purchaser.
public long desiredQty( );
* Returns the unit price desired by the purchaser.
public Money desiredUnitPrice( );
* Returns the date the purchaser desires to receive the product.
public Calendar desiredDate( );
The information entered in portlet 706 can be delivered through portal manager 155 to QPA pipeline component 530. Pipeline component 530 can communicate with SPI 235 (e.g., Purchase Manager) to deliver QPA requests to integration framework 115. PC 530 can call SPI 235, invoking a query method such as the queueQPA( ) implementation method of SPI 235.
QueueQPA( ) can convert the QPA request to an XML document representing the order at step 618. In one embodiment, queueQPA( ) calls an XML helper to generate the XML representation. The XML representation can be sent to event queue 175 at step 620. In one embodiment, the XML representation of the order is sent as a JMS XML message and event queue 175 is a JMS queue.
Workflow 545 in BPM 125 can be subscribed to event queue 175 such that event processor 135 can retrieve the XML representation of the QPA request for processing. Upon retrieval of the XML message, workflow 545 can be initiated or a workflow event listened to by a running instance of workflow 545 can be triggered at step 622. After retrieval of the message from event queue 175, workflow 545 can invoke workflow 550 within business-to-business integration 120 (B2Bi), passing it the QPA request XML document and initiating a QPA conversation.
B2Bi 120 can communicate with suppliers 140 using a number of standards-based business protocols depending on a collaboration agreement with the suppliers. For example, in one embodiment, the eXtensible Open Collaboration Protocol (XOCP) is used for communication between integration framework 115 and suppliers 140. In other embodiments, RosettaNet, cXML, and ebXML messages can also be used.
If XOCP is used; workflow 550 can pack the QPA request XML document into an XOCP message for distribution to suppliers 140 at step 624. B2Bi 120 can route the message to the various suppliers 140, based on the registered collaboration agreements with the suppliers at step 626. In one embodiment, a third workflow 555 is invoked to route the message to the suppliers. Suppliers 140 can receive the XOCP message and extract the QPA request XML document. The receipt of the message can initiate private workflows within the suppliers' systems designed to create QPA responses. Each supplier's QPA response can be created as an XML document. The suppliers can pack the QPA response XML document into an XOCP message that can be sent to integration framework 115 and on to B2Bi 120.
Public workflow 550 can receive the XOCP message from the suppliers and extract the QPA response XML document at step 628. In one embodiment, workflow 555 is used to receive the XOCP message from the suppliers and route it to workflow 550. If more than one QPA response is received in the XOCP message workflow 550 can aggregate the response documents into a single XML document and post the document, using a JMS queue for example, to private workflow 545. The QPA conversation can then be terminated and public workflow 550 notified. Workflow 545 can receive the aggregated QPA response XML document and write it to an XML file. The XML file can be passed from integration framework to portal framework 150 where portal manager 155 can update the quotes for price and availability portlet 710 with the response information at step 630 as illustrated in FIG. 7 d. In one embodiment, a quote pipeline component can be invoked to create Quote objects from the aggregated XML file that can be displayed in portlet 710. The pipeline component can invoke an XML helper to parse the XML file.
The user can access portlet 710 and review the QPA responses, accept one of the suppliers' QPA response, and choose to create a purchase order at step 632. Portal framework 150 can update purchase order for review portlet 712 to indicate the selected QPA response at step 634 as illustrated in FIG. 7 e. Pipeline component 540 can deliver the purchase order data to integration component 115 using SPI 235. For example, by using a purchase order method such as the queuePO( ) implementation method, a Quote object can be sent from PC 540 to SPI 235. An exemplary Quote object can be implemented as shown below.
* Represents a query for price and availability that is to be communicated
* to supplier(s).
public interface Quote {
* Returns the identifier for the QPA that precipitated this quote.
* Returns the identifier for this quote.
public String quoteId( );
public Calendar qpaCreationDate( );
* Returns the date this quote was generated by the supplier.
public Calendar quoteDate( );
* Returns the name of the supplier who sent this quote.
public String supplierName( );
* Returns the identifier for the product quoted.
* Returns a description for the product quoted.
* Returns the quantity of the product promised by the supplier.
public long quotedQty( );
* Returns the unit price quoted by the supplier.
public Money quotedUnitPrice( );
* Returns the date promised by the supplier.
public Calendar promiseDate( );
QueuePO( ) can call an XML helper to create an XML representation of the Quote object at step 636. The XML document can be posted to event queue 175 at step 638. In one embodiment, the XML document is transmitted as a JMS message and event queue 175 is a JMS queue. The posting of the XML document can invoke workflow 545 in business process management 125 at step 640. Workflow 545 can invoke purchase order (PO) private workflow 560 which can invoke PO public workflow 565. PO public workflow 565 can wrap the XML document into an XOCP message or other agreed format at step 642. The XOCP message can be sent to the appropriate supplier, initiating a PO conversation at step 644. In one embodiment, the XOCP message invokes a public workflow for the suppliers that extracts the PO XML document and starts the selected supplier's private workflow by passing it the XML document.
Upon receipt of the XML document, the supplier's private workflow can translate the XML PO data into binary data or another suitable data format, generate a PO acknowledgment, translate the acknowledgment to an XML document, and pass the document to the suppliers' public workflow. The suppliers' public workflow can wrap the XML acknowledgment in an XOCP message that can be sent to public workflow 565 where the XML content can be extracted from the XOCP message and an XML event sent to private workflow 560, ending the PO conversation at step 646. Workflow 560 can write the PO acknowledgment information to an XML file as well as update the PO information within enterprise information systems. The XML file can be passed from integration framework 115 to portal framework 150 where portal manager 155 can update purchase order history portlet 714, as illustrated in FIG. 7 f (step 648). Portlet 714 can display a pending status until the acknowledgment is received. In one embodiment, a PO status pipeline component can be invoked to create PO objects from the XML file generated by workflow 560 to be used in order history portlet 714. The pipeline component can invoke an XML helper to parse the XML file. An exemplary PO object can be implemented as shown below.
* @author Copyright (c) 2002 by BEA Systems, Inc. All
public interface PO {
* Returns the identifier for this purchase order.
public Dytinh poNumber( )f;
* Returns the date this PO was created.
* Returns the status of this PO. This value is generally
* one of Pending, Acknowledged, Shipped or Received.
public String status( );
* Returns the name of the supplier associated with this PO.
* Returns the identifier for the product supplied.
* Returns a description for the product supplied.
* Returns the quantity of the product supplied.
public long qty( );
* Returns the unit price for each item supplied.
public Money unitPrice( );
* Returns the total cost for the PO.
public Money total( );
Patent CitationsCited PatentFiling datePublication dateApplicantTitleUS5173939Oct 28, 1991Dec 22, 1992Digital Equipment CorporationAccess control subsystem and method for distributed computer system using compound principalsUS5237614Jun 7, 1991Aug 17, 1993Security Dynamics Technologies, Inc.Integrated network security systemUS5347653Jun 28, 1991Sep 13, 1994Digital Equipment CorporationSystem for reconstructing prior versions of indexes using records indicating changes between successive versions of the indexesUS5355474Sep 27, 1991Oct 11, 1994Thuraisngham Bhavani MSystem for multilevel secure database management using a knowledge base with release-based and other security constraints for query, response and update modificationUS5369702Oct 18, 1993Nov 29, 1994Tecsec IncorporatedDistributed cryptographic object methodUS5426747Mar 22, 1991Jun 20, 1995Object Design, Inc.Method and apparatus for virtual memory mapping and transaction management in an object-oriented database systemUS5481700Dec 16, 1991Jan 2, 1996The Mitre CorporationApparatus for design of a multilevel secure database management system based on a multilevel logic programming systemUS5544322May 9, 1994Aug 6, 1996International Business Machines CorporationSystem and method for policy-based inter-realm authentication within a distributed processing systemUS5557747Jun 22, 1993Sep 17, 1996Rogers; Lawrence D.Network policy implementation system for performing network control operations in response to changes in network stateUS5627886Sep 15, 1995May 6, 1997Electronic Data Systems CorporationSystem and method for detecting fraudulent network usage patterns using real-time network monitoringUS5797128May 14, 1997Aug 18, 1998Sun Microsystems, Inc.System and method for implementing a hierarchical policy for computer system administrationUS5825883Oct 31, 1995Oct 20, 1998Interval Systems, Inc.Method and apparatus that accounts for usage of digital applicationsUS5826000Feb 29, 1996Oct 20, 1998Sun Microsystems, Inc.System and method for automatic configuration of home network computersUS5826268Dec 23, 1996Oct 20, 1998Ontos, Inc.Secure multilevel object oriented database management systemUS5848396Apr 26, 1996Dec 8, 1998Freedom Of Information, Inc.Method and apparatus for determining behavioral profile of a computer userUS5867667Mar 24, 1997Feb 2, 1999Pfn, Inc.Publication network control system using domain and client side communications resource locator lists for managing information communications between the domain server and publication serversUS5872928May 25, 1995Feb 16, 1999Cabletron Systems, Inc.Method and apparatus for defining and enforcing policies for configuration management in communications networksUS5889953Mar 29, 1996Mar 30, 1999Cabletron Systems, Inc.Policy management and conflict resolution in computer networksUS5918210Jun 7, 1996Jun 29, 1999Electronic Data Systems CorporationBusiness query tool, using policy objects to provide query responsesUS5950195Sep 18, 1996Sep 7, 1999Secure Computing CorporationGeneralized security policy management system and methodUS5956400Jul 19, 1996Sep 21, 1999Digicash IncorporatedPartitioned information storage systems with controlled retrievalUS5966535Dec 7, 1995Oct 12, 1999At&T CorporationMethod and apparatus for generating program code for world wide web service applicationsUS5966707Dec 2, 1997Oct 12, 1999International Business Machines CorporationMethod for managing a plurality of data processes residing in heterogeneous data repositoriesUS5987611May 6, 1997Nov 16, 1999Zone Labs, Inc.System and methodology for managing internet access on a per application basis for client computers connected to the internetUS5991877Apr 3, 1997Nov 23, 1999Lockheed Martin CorporationObject-oriented trusted application frameworkUS6005571Sep 30, 1997Dec 21, 1999Softline, Inc.Graphical user interface for managing security in a database systemUS6006194Oct 1, 1997Dec 21, 1999Merel; Peter A.Computer-implemented system for controlling resources and policiesUS6029144Aug 29, 1997Feb 22, 2000International Business Machines CorporationCompliance-to-policy detection method and systemUS6029182Oct 4, 1996Feb 22, 2000Canon Information Systems, Inc.System for generating a custom formatted hypertext document by using a personal profile to retrieve hierarchical documentsUS6055637Sep 27, 1996Apr 25, 2000Electronic Data Systems CorporationSystem and method for accessing enterprise-wide resources by presenting to the resource a temporary credentialUS6058392May 12, 1998May 2, 2000Wesley C. Sampson Revocable TrustMethod for the organizational indexing, storage, and retrieval of data according to data pattern signaturesUS6073242Mar 19, 1998Jun 6, 2000Agorics, Inc.Electronic authority serverUS6083276Jun 11, 1998Jul 4, 2000Corel, Inc.Creating and configuring component-based applications using a text-based descriptive attribute grammarUS6098173Nov 3, 1998Aug 1, 2000Security-7 (Software) Ltd.Method and system for enforcing a communication security policyUS6141010Jul 17, 1998Oct 31, 2000B. E. Technology, LlcComputer interface method and apparatus with targeted advertisingUS6141686Jun 23, 1998Oct 31, 2000Deterministic Networks, Inc.Client-side application-classifier gathering network-traffic statistics and application and user names using extensible-service provider plugin for policy-based network controlUS6148333May 13, 1998Nov 14, 2000Mgi Software CorporationMethod and system for server access control and trackingUS6154844Dec 22, 1997Nov 28, 2000Finjan Software, Ltd.System and method for attaching a downloadable security profile to a downloadableUS6157924Nov 7, 1997Dec 5, 2000Bell & Howell Mail Processing Systems CompanySystems, methods, and computer program products for delivering information in a preferred mediumUS6158010Feb 12, 1999Dec 5, 2000Crosslogix, Inc.System and method for maintaining security in a distributed computer networkUS6167445Oct 26, 1998Dec 26, 2000Cisco Technology, Inc.Method and apparatus for defining and implementing high-level quality of service policies in computer networksUS6170009Jul 17, 1998Jan 2, 2001Kallol MandalControlling devices on a network through policiesUS6182226Mar 18, 1998Jan 30, 2001Secure Computing CorporationSystem and method for controlling interactions between networksUS6182277Apr 15, 1998Jan 30, 2001Oracle CorporationMethods and apparatus for declarative programming techniques in an object oriented environmentUS6202066Nov 18, 1998Mar 13, 2001The United States Of America As Represented By The Secretary Of CommerceImplementation of role/group permission association using object access typeUS6202157Dec 8, 1997Mar 13, 2001Entrust Technologies LimitedComputer network security system and method having unilateral enforceable security policy provisionUS6202207Aug 19, 1998Mar 13, 2001International Business Machines CorporationMethod and a mechanism for synchronized updating of interoperating softwareUS6209101Jul 17, 1998Mar 27, 2001Secure Computing CorporationAdaptive security system having a hierarchy of security serversUS6216231Apr 25, 1997Apr 10, 2001At & T Corp.Specifying security protocols and policy constraints in distributed systemsUS6226745Mar 16, 1998May 1, 2001Gio WiederholdInformation sharing system and method with requester dependent sharing and security rulesUS6233682Jan 18, 2000May 15, 2001Bernhard FritschDistribution of musical products by a web site vendor over the internetUS6241608Jan 9, 1998Jun 5, 2001Lawrence J. TorangoProgressive wagering systemUS6243747Feb 12, 1999Jun 5, 2001Cabletron Systems, Inc.Method and apparatus for defining and enforcing policies for configuration management in communications networksUS6253321Jun 19, 1998Jun 26, 2001Ssh Communications Security Ltd.Method and arrangement for implementing IPSEC policy management using filter codeUS6260021Jun 12, 1998Jul 10, 2001Philips Electronics North America CorporationComputer-based medical image distribution system and methodUS6260050Jun 30, 1999Jul 10, 2001Microstrategy, Inc.System and method of adapting automatic output of service related OLAP reports to disparate output devicesUS6269393Jun 19, 2000Jul 31, 2001Microstrategy, Inc.System and method for automatic transmission of personalized OLAP report outputUS6275941Mar 27, 1998Aug 14, 2001Hiatchi, Ltd.Security management method for network systemUS6285366Jun 30, 1998Sep 4, 2001Sun Microsystems, Inc.Hierarchy navigation systemUS6285985Apr 3, 1998Sep 4, 2001Preview Systems, Inc.Advertising-subsidized and advertising-enabled softwareUS6295607Apr 6, 1998Sep 25, 2001Bindview Development CorporationSystem and method for security control in a data processing systemUS6301613Dec 3, 1998Oct 9, 2001Cisco Technology, Inc.Verifying that a network management policy used by a computer system can be satisfied and is feasible for useUS6308163Mar 16, 1999Oct 23, 2001Hewlett-Packard CompanySystem and method for enterprise workflow resource managementUS6317868Oct 7, 1998Nov 13, 2001University Of WashingtonProcess for transparently enforcing protection domains and access control as well as auditing operations in software componentsUS6327594Jan 29, 1999Dec 4, 2001International Business Machines CorporationMethods for shared data management in a pervasive computing environmentUS6327618Dec 3, 1998Dec 4, 2001Cisco Technology, Inc.Recognizing and processing conflicts in network management policiesUS6327628May 19, 2000Dec 4, 2001Epicentric, Inc.Portal server that provides a customizable user Interface for access to computer networksUS6332134Mar 9, 2000Dec 18, 2001Chuck FosterFinancial transaction systemUS6339423Mar 23, 2000Jan 15, 2002Entrust, Inc.Multi-domain access controlUS6341352Oct 15, 1998Jan 22, 2002International Business Machines CorporationMethod for changing a security policy during processing of a transaction requestUS6353886Nov 24, 1998Mar 5, 2002Alcatel Canada Inc.Method and system for secure network policy implementationUS6360363Dec 30, 1998Mar 19, 2002Eternal Systems, Inc.Live upgrade process for object-oriented programsUS6378075Dec 9, 1999Apr 23, 2002The Brodia GroupTrusted agent for electronic commerceUS6393474Dec 31, 1998May 21, 20023Com CorporationDynamic policy management apparatus and method using active network devicesUS6397222Jul 28, 1999May 28, 2002Paul ZellwegerMethod and apparatus for end-user management of a content menu on a networkUS6412077Jan 14, 1999Jun 25, 2002Cisco Technology, Inc.Disconnect policy for distributed computing systemsUS6418448Dec 6, 1999Jul 9, 2002Shyam Sundar SarkarMethod and apparatus for processing markup language specifications for data and metadata used inside multiple related internet documents to navigate, query and manipulate information from a plurality of object relational databases over the webUS6457007Aug 5, 1994Sep 24, 2002Hitachi, Ltd.Distributed database management system including logical database constituted by a group of physical databasesUS6460141Oct 28, 1998Oct 1, 2002Rsa Security Inc.Security and access management system for web-enabled and non-web-enabled applications and content on a computer networkUS6473791Aug 17, 1998Oct 29, 2002Microsoft CorporationObject load balancingUS6476828May 28, 1999Nov 5, 2002International Business Machines CorporationSystems, methods and computer program products for building and displaying dynamic graphical user interfacesUS6477575Sep 12, 2000Nov 5, 2002Capital One Financial CorporationSystem and method for performing dynamic Web marketing and advertisingUS6484177Jan 13, 2000Nov 19, 2002International Business Machines CorporationData management interoperability methods for heterogeneous directory structuresUS6484261Dec 11, 1998Nov 19, 2002Cisco Technology, Inc.Graphical network security policy managementUS6487594Nov 30, 1999Nov 26, 2002Mediaone Group, Inc.Policy management method and system for internet service providersUS6519647Jul 23, 1999Feb 11, 2003Microsoft CorporationMethods and apparatus for synchronizing access control in a web serverUS6530024Nov 20, 1998Mar 4, 2003Centrax CorporationAdaptive feedback security system and methodUS6539375Aug 4, 1999Mar 25, 2003Microsoft CorporationMethod and system for generating and using a computer user's personal interest profileUS6542908Mar 22, 2000Apr 1, 2003International Business Machines CorporationTechnique for automatically and transparently transforming software components into software components capable of execution in a client/server computing environmentUS6553410May 4, 1998Apr 22, 2003Inpro Licensing SarlTailoring data and transmission protocol for efficient interactive data transactions over wide-area networksUS6571247Nov 2, 1999May 27, 2003Hitachi, Ltd.Object oriented technology analysis and design supporting methodUS6574736Nov 30, 1998Jun 3, 2003Microsoft CorporationComposable rolesUS6581054Jul 30, 1999Jun 17, 2003Computer Associates Think, Inc.Dynamic query model and methodUS6584454Dec 31, 1999Jun 24, 2003Ge Medical Technology Services, Inc.Method and apparatus for community management in remote system servicingUS6587849Dec 10, 1999Jul 1, 2003Art Technology Group, Inc.Method and system for constructing personalized result setsUS6587876Aug 24, 1999Jul 1, 2003Hewlett-Packard Development CompanyGrouping targets of management policiesUS6615218Jul 17, 1998Sep 2, 2003Sun Microsystems, Inc.Database for executing policies for controlling devices on a networkUS6618806Jul 6, 1999Sep 9, 2003Saflink CorporationSystem and method for authenticating users in a computer networkUS6654747May 27, 1999Nov 25, 2003International Business Machines CorporationModular scalable system for managing data in a heterogeneous environment with generic structure for control repository access transactionsUS6918088 *Nov 5, 2001Jul 12, 2005Sun Microsystems, Inc.Service portal with application framework for facilitating application and feature developmentUS7143190 *Apr 1, 2002Nov 28, 2006Irving S. RappaportMethod and system for remotely facilitating the integration of a plurality of dissimilar systemsUS7152090 *Jan 18, 2002Dec 19, 2006Sun Microsystems, Inc.Metadata-aware enterprise application integration framework for application server environmentUS20020055862 *Nov 9, 2001May 9, 2002Jinks Jill K.Systems and methods for interactively evaluating a commercial insurance riskUS20020120787 *Feb 28, 2001Aug 29, 2002Ari ShapiroSystem and method for accessing functionality of a backend system from an application serverUS20020123957 *Aug 14, 2001Sep 5, 2002Burt NotariusMethod and apparatus for marketing and communicating in the wine/spirits industryUS20030018832 *Jan 18, 2002Jan 23, 2003Venkat AmirisettyMetadata-aware enterprise application integration framework for application server environmentUS20030055878 *Sep 19, 2001Mar 20, 2003International Business Machines CorporationProgrammatic management of software resources in a content framework environmentUS20030061102 *Mar 23, 2001Mar 27, 2003Restaurant Services Inc.System, method and computer program product for order confirmation in a supply chain management frameworkUS20030163544 *Feb 4, 2002Aug 28, 2003Wookey Michael J.Remote service systems management interface* Cited by examinerNon-Patent CitationsReference1"Explore the Dynamic Proxy API," JavaWorld, Nov. 2000, pp. 1-14.2"J2EE Enterprise Java Beans Technology"; http://java.sun.com/products/ejb; 2 pages (last visit: Dec. 7, 2004).3"Java(TM)2 Platform, Enterprise Edition-Overview, Application Model," java.sun.com/j2ee/overview2, pp. 1-3, printed on Apr. 30, 2002.4"Java(TM)2 Platform, Enterprise Edition-Overview, Introduction," java.sun.com/j2ee/overview2, pp. 1-3, printed on Oct. 9, 2003.5"Java(TM)2 Platform, Enterprise Edition-Overview, Setting the Standard," java.sun.com/j2ee/overview2, pp. 1-3, printed on Apr. 30, 2002.6"To EJB, or not to EJB"; http://www.javaworld.com/javaworld/jw-12-2001/jw-1207-yesnoejb<SUB>-</SUB>p.html (last visit: Dec. 7, 2004.7"USDataCenter Chooses Baltimore SelectAccess to Enable Next generation Security Solutions for eBusiness"; Business Wire, P2079, Apr. 4, 2001; Newswire; Trade; pp. 2.8Adya et al., "FARSITE: Federated, Available and Reliable Storage for an Incompletely Trusted Environment", ACM SIGOPS Operating Systems Review, vol. 36, Issue SI (Winter 2002). OSDI '02: Proceedings of the 5th Symposium on Operating Systems and Implementation. pp. 1-14.9Ayers, Danny, et al.; ∫Professional Java Server Programming, Wrox Press, Ltd., Birmingham, UK. Dec. 1999, pp. 515-545.10Barrett, Alexandra; "Trying Out Transactions"; SunExpert Magazine, Jan. 1999; pp. 57-59.11Bea Systems, Inc., "BEA WebLogic Integration(TM), Designing BEA WebLogic Integration Solutions," Version 2.1, Oct. 2001, pp. i-xii, 1-1 through 3-34, and I-1 through I-4.12Bea Systems, Inc., "BEA WebLogic Integration(TM), Learning to Use BEA WebLogic Integration," Release 2.1, Service Pack 1, Jan. 2002, i-xii, 1-1 through 3-86, and A1-A6.13Bea Systems, Inc., "BEA WebLogic Integration(TM), Learning to Use BEA WebLogic Integration," Version 2.1, Oct. 2001, Inc., i-x, 1-1 through 3-86, and A-1 through A-6.14Bea Systems, Inc., "BEA WebLogic Integration(TM), Using EDI with WebLogic Integration," Version 2.1, Oct. 2001, revised Nov. 2, 2001, pp. i-xii, and 1-1 through 7-8.15Bea Systems, Inc., "Using the Web Service Portlet Wizard With WebLogic Portal(TM) 4.0," 2001, pp. 1-15.16Bea Systems, Inc., "Using the Web Service Portlet Wizard," 2001, pp. 1-16.17Bea Systems, Inc.,"BEA WebLogic Integration(TM), Using EDI with WebLogic Integation," Release 2.1, Service Pack 1, Jan. 2002, pp. i-xii, and 1-1 through 7-8.18Bea SystemsInc., "BEA WebLogic Integration(TM), Designing BEA WebLogic Integration Solutions," Release 2.1, Service Pack 1, Jan. 2002, pp. i-xii, 1-1 through 3-34, and I-1 through I-4.19Bea Sytems, Inc.,"BEA WebLogic Integration(TM), Using EDI with WebLogic Integration," Release 2.1, Service Pack 1, Jan. 2002, pp. i-xii, and 1-1 through 7-8.20Bertino et al., "TRBAC: A Temporal Role-Based Access Control Model", ACM Transactions on Information and System Security, Aug. 2001, pp. 191-223, vol. 4, No. 3.21Browne, et al., "Location-Independent Naming for Virtual Distributed Software Repositories", http://portal.acm.org/dl.cfm, ACM Symposium on Software Reusability, Seattle, WA, US, Aug. 1995, vol. 20, Issue SI, pp. 179-185.22C.W. Symborski, "Updating Software and Configuration Data in a Distributed Communications Network", Computer Networking Symposium, 1988, pp. 331-338.23Candan, K.S., et al., "Enabling Dynamic Content Caching for Database-Drive Web Sites", Proceedings of the 2001 ACM SIGMOD Intermational Conference on Management of Data, Santa Barbara, California, USA, May 21-24, 2001, pp. 532-543 (2001).24Catley, Christina, et al., "Design of a Health Care Architecture for Medical Data Interoperability and Application Integration", Proceedings of the Second Joint EMBS/BMES Conference, Houston, TX, USA, Oct. 23-26, 2002, IEEE, vol. 3, pp. 1952-1953 (2002).25Constantine Stephanidis, et al., "Decision Making in Intelligent User Interfaces", IUI '97, Orlando, FL, (C) 1997, pp. 195-202.26Covington, et al., "Securing Context-Aware Applications Using Environment Roles", ACM workshop on Role Based Access Control, Proceedings of the Sixth ACM Symposium on Access Control Models and Technologies, 11 pages, 2001.27D.L. Atkins et al., "MAWL: A Domain-specific Language for Form-based Services"; IEEE Transactions on Software Engineering; IEEE Service Center, Los Almitos, CA, US; vol. 25, No. 3; May 1999; pp. 334-346.28Ford, Nigle; Web Developer.com Guide to Building Intelligent Web Sites with JavaScript, Wiley Computer Publishing, New York, NY; (C) 1998, pp. 65-86, 101-102, 245-250 and 324-327.29Freudenthal et al., "dRBAC: Distributed Role-based Access Control for Dynamic Coalition Environments", Proceedings of the 22nd International Conference on Distributed Computing Systems (ICDCS '02), IEEE 2000, 10 pages.30Gediminas Adomavicius, et al., "User Profiling in Personalization Applications Through Rule Discovery and Validation", KDD '99, San Diego CA (C) 1999, pp. 377-381.31Georgiadis, et al., "Flexible Team-Based Access Control Using Contexts", ACM workshop on Role Based Access Control, Proceedings of the Sixth ACM Symposium on Access Control Models and Technologies, 7 pages, 2001.32Goh, "Towards a More Complete Model of Role", Symposium on Access Control Models and Technologies, Proceedings of the third ACM workshop on Role-Based Access Control, 7 pages, 1998.33Hayton, et al. "Access Control in an Open Distributed Environment", 12 pages, 1998.34IBM "Managing Enterprise Information Portal, Version 7.1", Aug. 2000, 11 pages.35Ibrahim Cingil, et al., "A Broader Approach to Personalization"; Communications for the ACM, vol. 43, No. 6, Aug. 2000; pp. 136-141.36M. R. Levy, "Web Programming in Guide"; Software Practices & Experience, Wiley and Sons; Bognor Regis, GB; vol. 28; No. 15; Dec. 25, 1998; pp. 1581-1603.37Microsoft Computer Dictionary, 4th Edition, Microsoft Press, Redmond, WA (C) 1999, p. 489.38Moore, Bill, et al.; "Migrating Weblogic Applications to WebSphere Advanced Edition"; IBM Redbooks, Jan. 2001; pp. 1.3-4, 109-111 and 181-195.39Okamoto, Eiji, "Proposal for Integrated Security Systems"; Jun. 1992, IEEE Computer Society Press; pp. 354-358.40Oliver Stiemerling, et al., "How to Make Software Softer-Designing Tailorable Applications", DIS '97, Amsterdam, The Netherlands, (C) 1997, pp. 365-376.41Parker, The Complete Idiot's Guide to Microsoft FrontPage 2000, May 1999, 1-2, 7, 52, Que, USA.42Sandhu, et al., "Role-Based Access Control Models", IEEE Computer, Feb. 1996, pp. 38-47, vol. 29, No. 2.43Sundsted, Todd, "JNDI Overview, Part 1: An Introduction to Naming Services"; JavaWorld; Jan. 2000, pp. 1-6; downloaded from: www/javaworld.com/javaworld/jw-01-howto<SUB>-</SUB>p.html).44Supplementary European Search Report; Application No. 01975484.5; dated Dec. 12, 2006; 2 pages.45T. Howes, "The String Representation of LDAP Search Filters"; Dec. 1997 (RFC 2254); pp. 1-8.46T. Kistler et al., "WebL- A Programming Language for the Web"; Computer Networks and ISDN Systems, North Holland Publishing, Amsterdam, NL; vol. 30, No. 1-7; Apr. 1998; pp. 259-270.47Tzelepi, et al., "A Flexible Content and Context-Based Access Control Model for Multimedia Medical Image Database Systems", International Multimedia Conference, Proceedings of the 2001 workshop on Multimedia and security: new challenges, 4 pages, 2001.48Yao, et al., "A Model of OASIS Role-Based Access Control and its Support for Active Security", ACM workshop on Role Based Access Control, Proceedings of the Sixth ACM Symposium on Access Control Models and Technologies, 11 pages, 2001.49Zhang et al., "Designing a Robust Namespace for Distributed File Services", Reliable Distributed System, 2001. Proceedings, 20th IEEE Symposium on Oct. 28-31, 2001, pp. 162-171.Referenced byCiting PatentFiling datePublication dateApplicantTitleUS7802260 *Aug 9, 2004Sep 21, 2010Oracle America, Inc.Receiver-processor-dispatcher mechanism for inbound connectorsUS8191002 *Oct 15, 2007May 29, 2012International Business Machines CorporationSummarizing portlet usage in a portal pageUS8429527Jul 12, 2006Apr 23, 2013Open Text S.A.Complex data merging, such as in a workflow applicationUS8495048Aug 26, 2009Jul 23, 2013International Business MachinesApplying user-generated deployment events to a grouping of deployable portletsUS8583658Jun 22, 2011Nov 12, 2013International Business Machines CorporationCreating and managing reference elements of deployable web archive filesUS8612945 *Apr 10, 2009Dec 17, 2013Nec CorporationXML processing device, XML processing method, and XML processing programUS8615711Jan 4, 2011Dec 24, 2013International Business Machines CorporationSummarizing portlet usage captured responsive to trigger events in a portal pageUS8645175 *Jul 12, 2006Feb 4, 2014Open Text S.A.Workflow system and method for single call batch processing of collections of database recordsUS20100088685 *Mar 31, 2009Apr 8, 2010Microsoft CorporationSystem and method for mapping a domain modeling language to a relational storeUS20110066809 *Apr 10, 2009Mar 17, 2011Satoshi KinoshitaXml processing device, xml processing method, and xml processing program* Cited by examinerClassifications U.S. Classification709/219, 709/225, 705/80, 717/137International ClassificationG06F3/033, G06F3/048, G06F15/16, G06Q30/00Cooperative ClassificationG06F3/0481, G06Q50/188, G06Q30/02European ClassificationG06Q30/02, G06Q50/188, G06F3/0481Legal EventsDateCodeEventDescriptionSep 22, 2011FPAYFee paymentYear of fee payment: 4Oct 15, 2010ASAssignmentOwner name: ORACLE INTERNATIONAL CORPORATION, CALIFORNIAFree format text: ASSIGNMENT OF ASSIGNORS INTEREST;ASSIGNOR:BEA SYSTEMS, INC.;REEL/FRAME:025192/0244Effective date: 20101008Mar 16, 2010CCCertificate of correctionRotateOriginal ImageGoogle Home - Sitemap - USPTO Bulk Downloads - Privacy Policy - Terms of Service - About Google Patents - Send FeedbackData provided by IFI CLAIMS Patent Services©2012 Google