Patent ID: 7185345

Claim:
A method for propagating data by means of an intermediate service in a data processing apparatus comprising: an application for initiating outbound flows to a remote entity; the intermediate service; a delivery mechanism for processing outbound flows from the application and for notifying the intermediate service of each outbound flow; at least one auxiliary service, registrable with the intermediate service, for providing respective data associated with the auxiliary service to be propagated with outbound flows; the method comprising the steps of: receiving a respective registration request from each said auxiliary service, each said registration request being received in said intermediate service, each said request comprising a respective name to be associated with the auxiliary service, wherein the registration indicates that the auxiliary service requires to be called during outbound flow processing; registering each said auxiliary service in said intermediate service responsive to receiving said respective registration request; receiving a plurality of notifications, said plurality of notifications being received in said intermediate service from the delivery mechanism, each notification relating to a respective outbound flow; and responding to each notification in said intermediate service by: creating a context corresponding to the respective outbound flow; identifying a set of registered auxiliary services, each of which has been registered in said intermediate service responsive to a respective registration request, said set comprising at least one auxiliary service; calling each auxiliary service of said set of registered auxiliary services to request associated data to be propagated with the respective outbound flow; adding the respective name associated with the auxiliary service and any associated data returned from the calling step to the context; and providing the context to the delivery mechanism for inclusion with the outbound flow to which the context corresponds.