Patent ID: 7346647

Claim:
A computer-implemented method for providing a consistent interface between a client application and a plurality of software instruments, the method comprising the steps of: receiving a generic request message from the client application at a particular instrument gateway, wherein the particular instrument gateway is coupled between the client application and the plurality of software instruments, wherein the particular instrument gateway is associated with the plurality of software instruments, wherein the request message includes a message payload corresponding to a transaction or a service request to be processed by a particular one of the plurality of software instruments; sending from the particular instrument gateway to each of a plurality of instrument sponsors a request for a description of the instrument sponsor; determining, by the particular instrument gateway, which one of the plurality of instrument sponsors is associated with the particular one of the plurality of software instruments, wherein the determining is based, at least in part, on the request message from the client application and the descriptions of the instrument sponsors, wherein each of the plurality of instrument sponsors provides an interface to at least one of the plurality of software instruments; invoking, by the particular instrument gateway, the determined one of the plurality of instrument sponsors thereby exposing an interface to the particular one of the plurality of software instruments; invoking, by the determined one of the plurality of instrument sponsors, the particular one of the plurality of software instruments; providing the message payload to the particular one of the plurality of software instruments through the exposed interface thereby allowing the particular one of the plurality of software instruments to process the message payload; and communicating, by the particular instrument gateway to the client application, a result provided by the particular one of the plurality of software instruments associated with the processed the message payload.