Data processing: software development – installation – and managem – Software program development tool – Translation of code
Reexamination Certificate
1998-10-01
2001-11-27
Dam, Tuan Q. (Department: 2122)
Data processing: software development, installation, and managem
Software program development tool
Translation of code
C717S152000, C707S793000, C709S203000
Reexamination Certificate
active
06324681
ABSTRACT:
BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION
1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to a communications gateway for providing access to an enterprise server application from a Distributed Component Object Model (DCOM) environment, and more specifically, to a gateway utility which provides an interactive interface to simplify the building of functions to access an enterprise On-Line Transaction Processing (OLTP) application from a DCOM environment.
2. Description of the Prior Art
The methods by which companies conduct business with their customers are undergoing fundamental changes, due in large part to World Wide Web technology. In addition, the same technology that makes a company accessible to the world, may be used on internal company networks for conducting operational and administrative tasks.
One of the technologies underlying the World Wide Web is the Web Browser. Web Browsers have become a de facto user interface standard because of their ability to interpret and display information having standard formats (e.g., HyperText Markup Language (HTML), standard test, GIF, etc.). Client software programs, popularly referred to as Web Browsers (e.g., Mosaic, Netscape Navigator, Microsoft Internet Explorer, etc.), execute on client systems and issue requests to server systems. The server systems typically execute HyperText Transport Protocol (HTTP) server programs which process requests from the Web Browsers and deliver data to them. The system that executes an HTTP server program and returns data to the Web Browser will hereinafter be referred to as a Web Server System. An HTTP server program itself will be referred to as a Web Server.
A Web Server System has access to on-line documents that contain data written in HyperText Markup Language (HTML). The HTML documents contain display parameters, capable of interpretation by a Web Browser, and references to other HTML documents and Web Servers (source: World Wide Web: Beneath the Surf, from UCL Press, by Mark Handley and Jon Crowcroft, on-line at http://www.cs.ucl.ac.uk/staff/jon/book/book.html).
As Web Browsers are making their mark as a “standard” user interface, many businesses have a wealth of information that is managed by prior art data base management systems such as DMS, RDMS, DB2, Oracle, Ingres, Sybase, Informix, and many others. In addition, many of the database management systems are available as resources in a larger transaction processing system. There are also mission critical applications which still reside on enterprise servers, since these type of systems have resiliency and recovery features historically not available on other smaller types of servers.
One key to the future success of a business may lie in its ability to capitalize on the growing prevalence of Web Browsers in combination with selectively providing access to the data that is stored in its databases. Common Gateway Interface programs are used to provide Web Browser access to such databases.
The Common Gateway Interface (CGI) is a standard for interfacing external applications, such as Web Browsers, to obtain information from information servers, such as Web Servers. The CGI allows programs (CGI programs) to be referenced by a Web Browser and executed on the Web Server system. For example, to make a UNIX database accessible via the World Wide Web, a CGI program is executed on the Web Server system to transmit information to the database engine, receive the results from the database engine, and format the data in an HTML document which is returned to the Web Browser.
A disadvantage with the CGI program approach described above is that the application developer must be intimately acquainted with the HTML, the CGI, and the database engine. In addition, a different CGI program may be required for each different database, thus adding to the cost of creating and maintaining the database access for the Web Browser. Thus, the application developer is required to understand multiple types of systems, and must also understand how these systems interface. The learning curve for this type of development is therefore undesirably long.
SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION
The present invention overcomes many of the disadvantages associated with the prior art by providing a utility with an interactive interface that simplifies building transaction gateway functions to access an enterprise server based On-Line Transaction Processing (OLTP) application from a Distributed Component Object Model (DCOM) environment. Thus, the automated development system of the present invention allows developers to more easily incorporate functionality from enterprise-based applications within an application running on a DCOM-based platform.
In order to utilize the present invention, a developer must first create a service on the enterprise server. An example of a service may be retrieval of data from a database associated with the enterprise On-Line Transaction Processing (OLTP) system. After the service has been developed, the developer transfers the service input and output “view files” to a location where they can be accessed by the DGateAce utility of the present invention. In a preferred embodiment, this location is a Windows NT workstation. The “view files” contain a description of the parameters used for transaction requests and responses. In other words, the input view file includes information on what the input parameters are and how they must be formatted for the service, and the output view file includes information on what the output parameters are and how they are formatted by the service to the external user. A single view file could be used for both the input and output parameters for a transaction, separate view files could be used for both input and output parameters, or a single view file could be used for only input parameters.
Upon invocation, the DGateAce utility extracts the interface information from the view files and automatically generates a source file that is compatible with the DCOM environment. This source file is subsequently used in the creation of a DCOM Server. During the source file generation process, the DGateAce utility queries the user for the type of client(s) that will be using the Server so that the Server is tailored for receiving requests from those types of Clients. These Clients may include Visual Basic, C++, Web Browsers with Active Server Pages (ASPs), or other types of Client applications. After the DCOM Server has been successfully generated, the developer must then develop an application (Client) running within the DCOM environment. When a standard call is made from a DCOM Client application to an enterprise-based On-Line Transaction Processing service, the following steps will occur: First, the request will pass from the DCOM Client to the DCOM Server. The Server will correctly format (pack) the request parameters, and pass the request onto the DGate_Server.dll Dynamic Link Library (DLL). The Dynamic Link Library (DLL), verifies that the input parameters can be read, and verifies that the output parameters can be written. The DLL then appends required additional parameters to the request and forwards the request to the DGate.Exe (the DCOM Gateway) component. This DCOM Gateway executable uses parameter information to correctly forward the request to the OLTP service on the enterprise system. The requested service is performed on the enterprise system, and a response is sent back to the DCOM Gateway executable (DGate.Exe). The DCOM Gateway executable checks for successful completion by the OLTP service, then passes the response to the Server, which correctly formats (unpacks) the data and passes it back to the requesting Client application.
In this manner, a C, C++, Visual Basic, or some other type of application running on an NT or Windows system is provided access to user-developed services running on an enterprise server. The developer does not need to understand the interface between the two systems because this information is automatically included within the automatically-generated interface software components.
RE
Erickson Joey L.
Johnson David R.
Sebesta James S.
Dam Tuan Q.
Johnson Charles A.
Nawrocki, Rooney & Sivertson P.A.
Nguyen-Ba Hoang-Vu Antony
Starr Mark T.
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