Patent ID: 8321235

Claim:
An automated method of processing an electronic transaction, the method comprising: receiving, on a computer with a processor, an order to execute a transaction electronically; identifying, on the computer, a format for the order; identifying, on the computer, a version of the format; retrieving, on the computer, a metasyntax with a rule related to the identified format and the identified version, the rule defining one or more acceptable arrangements of one or more elements in the transaction; relating, on the computer, the order to the metasyntax; determining, on the computer, whether the order conforms to the metasyntax; generating, on the computer, a message to a user that the order does not conform to the metasyntax, the message including a description of the error and an indication of how the transaction may be remediated; transmitting, using the computer, the message to the user that enables the user to enter a revision to the rule to process the order; receiving, on the computer, the revision to the rule from the user; and forwarding, on the computer, the order for subsequent processing when the order conforms to the metasyntax.