Electrical computers and digital processing systems: multicomput – Computer-to-computer session/connection establishing – Network resources access controlling
Reexamination Certificate
1998-09-18
2001-09-11
Geckil, Mehmet B. (Department: 2152)
Electrical computers and digital processing systems: multicomput
Computer-to-computer session/connection establishing
Network resources access controlling
C709S226000, C709S217000, C709S219000
Reexamination Certificate
active
06289385
ABSTRACT:
TECHNICAL FIELD OF THE INVENTION
This invention relates in general to the field of supply chain, enterprise and site planning and, more particularly, to a system and method for creating an object workspace.
BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION
Supply chain, enterprise and site planning applications and environments are widely used by manufacturing entities for decision support and to help manage operations. Decision support environments for supply chain, enterprise, and site planning have evolved from single-domain, monolithic environments to multi-domain, monolithic environments. Conventional planning software applications are available in a wide range of products offered by various companies. These decision support tools allow entities to more efficiently manage complex manufacturing operations. However, supply chains are generally characterized by multiple, distributed and heterogenous planning environments. Thus, there are limits to the effectiveness of conventional environments when applied to the problem of supply chain planning due to monolithic application architectures. Further, these problems are exacerbated when there is no one “owner” of the entire supply chain.
It is desirable for the next evolutionary step for planning environments to establish a multi-domain, heterogenous architecture that supports products spanning multiple domains, as well as spanning multiple engines and products. The integration of the various planning environments into a seamless solution can enable inter-domain and inter-enterprise supply chain planning. Further, an important function provided by some planning applications is the optimization of the subject environment rather than simply tracking transactions. In particular, the RHYTHM family of products available from I2 TECHNOLOGIES provide optimization functionality. However, with respect to planning at the enterprise or supply chain level, many conventional applications, such as those available from SAP, use enterprise resource planning (ERP) engines and do not provide optimization.
The success or failure of an enterprise can depend to a large extent on the quality of decision making within the enterprise. Thus, decision support software, such as I2 TECHNOLOGIES' RHYTHM family of products, that support optimal decision making within enterprises can be particularly important to the success of the enterprise. In general, optimal decisions are relative to the domain of the decision support where the domain is the extent of the “world” considered in arriving at the decision. For example, the decision being made may be how much of a given item a factory should produce during a given time period. The “optimal” answer depends on the domain of the decision. The domain may be, for example, just the factory itself, the supply chain that contains the factory, the entire enterprise, or the multi-enterprise supply chain. (The latter two can be considered to be larger domains or multiple domains.) Typically, the larger the domain of the decision support, the more optimal the decision will be. Consequently, it is desirable for decision support software to cover ever larger domains in the decision making process. Yet, this broadening of coverage can create significant problems.
Associated with current decision support software being too limited to cover an expanding domain or multiple domain decision support structure is the fact that such software is limited by an inability to provide for a common workspace that is accessible across the expanded domain or multiple domain environment. In an expanded or multiple domain environment, current decision support software are unable to share and communicate data and objects in a manner that facilitates cooperation and compatibility across the complete environment. Changes in a chain of events made by a particular enterprise or facility within an enterprise cannot be adequately tracked and utilized by other enterprises or other facilities with the same enterprise. Decision support software therefore must contend with large amounts of data and objects having local and/or global significance in the environment. Proper access, storage and maintenance of such data and objects becomes increasingly difficult as an environment expands.
SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION
In accordance with the present invention, a system and method for creating an object workspace are disclosed that provide advantages over conventional data and object storage, access and maintenance in a multi-domain, monolithic environment.
According to one aspect of the present invention, a computer workspace comprises a plurality of memory slots, the memory slots each operable to store at least one object. The computer workspace further comprises a permissibility framework in communication with the computer workspace, the permissibility framework maintaining access rights to each memory slot. The computer workspace further comprises an event manager in communication with the memory slots and the permissibility framework, the event manager operable to generate event notifications in response to the memory slots being accessed and further taking into account the access rights maintained by the permissibility framework.
A technical advantage of the present invention is to provide an improved object workspace. More specifically, a technical advantage of various embodiments of the present invention is the ability to share the object resources in a workspace among a plurality of resource users. Another advantage of at least one embodiment of the present invention is to enable a system to implement a permissibility framework for the object resources of the workspace in order to allow different resource users different levels of access to the shared object resources. Another advantage achieved by one aspect of the present invention is the ability to generate event notifications to designated resource users based on modifications that occur within the object resources. Additional technical advantages should be readily apparent to one skilled in the art from the following figures, descriptions, and claims.
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Notani Ranjit N.
Parasnis Abhay V.
Whipple Mark B.
Baker & Botts L.L.P.
Geckil Mehmet B.
i2 Technologies, Inc.
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