Patent ID: 7177899

Claim:
A framework system connected so as to be capable of communication with one or more clients, said system comprising: a plurality of sets of business logic; one or more framework services, one or more of which is or are associated with at least one of the sets of business logic and which, responsive to one or more request messages from at least one of the client or clients, is or are capable of executing one or more selected sets among the sets of business logic and outputting one or more reply messages to at least one of the client or clients; one or more messaging services interposed between one or more of the client or clients and one or more of the framework service or services and capable of relaying one or more messages between the client or clients and the framework service or services; and one or more flow definition files associated with one or more of the framework service or services; at least one of the request message or messages comprising at least one subject ID identifying at least one subject of at least one of the request message or messages; at least one of the flow definition file or files comprising a plurality of definition sentences respectively corresponding to a plurality of different subject IDs, each such definition sentence indicating one or more schedules for execution of one or more prescribed sets of business logic; and at least one of the framework service or services, upon receipt of at least one of the request message or messages from the messaging service or services, referencing at least one definition sentence present within at least one of the definition file or files and corresponding to at least one subject ID of at least one of the request message or messages, and selecting at least one set of business logic for execution in accordance with at least one execution schedule indicated by at least one of the referenced definition sentence or sentences; wherein at least one definition sentence present within at least one of the flow definition file or files indicates at least one linked execution schedule for linked execution of a plurality of sets of business logic comprising one set of first business logic and at least one set of subsequent business logic; at least one of the linked execution schedule or schedules comprising indication of the state or states of one or more linking mode flags for selection of synchronous or asynchronous execution of at least one of the set or sets of subsequent business logic; at least one of the framework service or services, in the event of execution of the plurality of sets of business logic in accordance with at least one of the linked execution schedule or schedules, executing at least one of the set or sets of subsequent business logic synchronously or asynchronously with respect to execution of the set of first business logic in accordance with at least one of the linking mode flag or flags present within at least one of the linked execution schedule or schedules.