Patent ID: 7536343

Claim:
A computer network for processing trading transactions, comprising: a customer trading system comprising a customer trading application; a provider trading system comprising a provider trading application; an online trading server comprising a state machine processor, a collection of state transition rules and a memory; a first data communications link connecting said online trading server to said customer trading system; and a second data communications link connecting said online trading server to said provider trading system; wherein said online trading server receives, via said first data communications link, a request from said customer trading system to process a quote or trade, said processing to be carried out according to a particular trading protocol, stores a current state for said quote or trade in said memory, and sends said request to said provider trading system via said second data communications link, said provider trading application creates a defined sequence of protocol-independent gestures, the defined sequence being arranged to model a protocol-dependent workflow for said particular trading protocol, and serially transmits each protocol-independent gesture in said defined sequence to said online trading server, and in response to receiving said each protocol-independent gesture in said defined sequence, said state machine processor modifies said memory to reflect a new state for said quote or trade, said new state being determined based on said current state, said each protocol-independent gesture received and a state transition rule retrieved from said collection of state transition rules; whereby the state machine processor transitions the quote or trade through a series of distinct states to carry out the protocol-dependent workflow in a manner that does not require the state machine processor to know the protocol-dependent workflow for the particular trading protocol.