Patent Application
20080184140
The present disclosure relates to data processing by digital computer, and more particularly to analytics applications in a visual programming environment.
Application programs, sometimes referred to simply as applications, are programs that an end-user runs to accomplish certain tasks. Applications typically work in conjunction with one or more back-end systems, which store the data to be worked on (e.g., business objects and other business data), as well as logic for manipulating the data (e.g., transactions or other business logic). Examples of back-end systems include database systems, enterprise resource planning (ERP) systems, and customer relationship management (CRM) systems. A user interface (UI) is designed to work in concert with application programs, and facilitates interaction between humans and computers by inviting and responding to user input.
A structured approach to developing applications includes a model-driven tool such as VISUAL COMPOSER, which is a visual modeling program manufactured by SAP AG of Walldorf (Baden), Germany (SAP). A tool like the VISUAL COMPOSER allows a developer to compose applications in a flexible way by using patterns. A pattern graphically depicts functional components (e.g., entities of a modeling language) as drag-and-drop services, and a data flow definition between them. A pattern (sometimes referred to as a UI pattern) is a configurable, reusable unit designed to let users accomplish a specific but generically-defined task, such as searching for business objects, and editing the objects that are retrieved. Generally, each pattern has a specific semantic meaning and defined interaction behavior. In some implementations, a pattern can include a predefined arrangement of UI elements. Using patterns promotes uniform design throughout an application or group of applications because similar tasks are represented and handled in the same manner. For example, a user can always search in the same way, whether searching for a sales order, a business partner, or a product. User interface patterns can be defined at various levels, and can be nested within each other, thus creating hierarchies of patterns. At the top level of the hierarchy, a pattern can act as a “floor plan” for a user interface that is designed to help end-users complete a specific business process.
A visual modeling language environment can have a separation between a design-time and a run-time version of an application. A design-time version of an application can include a combination of patterns and configuration of properties of those patterns that can define an application being developed. Underlying a design-time version of an application can be a model of the application, which can be an implementation-independent model (e.g., a model in accordance with a Universal Modeling Language (UML) specification) or a more implementation-specific model (e.g., a model in accordance with a programming language, such as the JAVA programming language from SUN MICROSYSTEMS, INC. of Santa Clara, Calif.). A run-time version of an application can be generated by a visual modeling program based on a design-time version of the application, with the use of a model underlying the design-time version of the application. For example, a design-time version of an application can be used to devise a model with JAVA classes, and, the JAVA classes can be compiled to generate a JAVA run-time version of an application.
As applications that can be modeled in a visual modeling language environment are based on patterns that make up the applications, a set of application functionality may be based on the functionality derived from patterns or combinations of patterns.
The subject matter disclosed herein provides methods and apparatus, including computer program products, that implement techniques related to analytics applications in a visual programming environment.
In a first aspect, first and second visual representations of first and second remote function modules, respectively, may be generated, and the first and second visual representations may be connected to first and second data sources, respectively, with first and second links. A design-time representation of a user interface connected to the first and second visual representations may be configured, and a configuration of the user interface and the first and second links may be persisted such that the run-time version of the application displays the user interface to provide interaction with and results of a business intelligence planning query to a user. The first visualization may represent a service to send data from a run-time version of an application generated in a visual modeling environment to the first remote function module of the business intelligence planning query and the second visualization may represent a service to receive data at the run-time version of the application from the second remote function module of the business intelligence planning query. The first and second links, respectively, may cause remote function calls to first and second remote function modules with the first and second data sources. The remote function call to the first remote function module may cause data to be read to a system and the remote function call to the second remote function module may cause data to be written to a system.
In another aspect, data in a visual modeling tool may be received that characterizes a connection between a first data source and a first remote function call module, and a connection between a second data source and a second remote function call module. The first remote function call module may cause an application to send data to a first remote function module of a business intelligence planning query, and the second remote function call module may cause the application to request data from a second remote function module of the business intelligence planning query. A first link between the first remote function call module and the first data source may be generated, and a second link between the second remote function call module and the second data source may be generated. The first and second links may enable the first and second remote function call modules to interface with a user interface to provide user access to the business intelligence planning query.
The subject matter may be implemented as, for example, computer program products (e.g., as source code or compiled code), computer-implemented methods, and systems.
Variations may include one or more of the following features.
The design-time representation of the user interface may be a user interface pattern connected to the first and second modules. The user interface pattern may include user interfaces of the run-time application.
A design-time version of the application may include a planning function pattern representing a planning function to work on data sent by the application to the business intelligence planning query.
The first and second modules may be part of a business intelligence platform different from a platform of the run-time application. The run-time application may be a client-server application that interacts with a client running a web browser environment. The business intelligence query platform may have connectivity of writing data to the run-time application limited to remote function calls.
The first remote function module may write a table of information to the business intelligence planning query.
The first and second remote function modules may be represented as data services in the visual modeling language environment.
Data sources may be views or data services. Views may be user interface elements.
The visual modeling environment may support a model-view-controller paradigm, or another paradigm.
The subject matter described herein can be implemented to realize one or more of the following advantages. Patterns that represent remote function calls that send data to an application may be generated for a visual modeling language environment. The patterns may allow for functionality to be implemented in applications developed in the visual modeling language environment that use data sent as a result of the remote function call. For example, analytics planning applications may be implemented in a visual modeling environment, where planning functions rely on data sent to an application that performs the planning functions. Data may also be sent from an application in response to a remote function call to an application developed in a visual modeling language environment. A combination of remote function calls that send data to and from an application may be implemented to achieve different planning functionality. Using patterns that represent remote function calls may simplify an interface to another platform and may simplify modeling of applications in a visual modeling language environment.
Details of one or more implementations are set forth in the accompanying drawings and in the description below. Further features, aspects, and advantages will become apparent from the description, the drawings, and the claims.
Like reference numbers and designations in the various drawings indicate like elements.
The design-time environment 102 allows users to use read and write remote function calls patterns, such as the write and read remote function call patterns 108, 110 to generate connectivity with a system (e.g., a remote server providing service applications; e.g., a back-end system accepting queries, such as a business intelligence back-end system). This may be advantageous, for example, if a visual modeling language environment has limited or no support for writing information to a back-end system that provides services to an application developed in a visual modeling language environment. In particular, this may be advantageous for analytics planning applications that may require data to be written back to a back-end system. For example, to provide planning functionality that is dependent on user-input in a user interface of a client application, user selections of data may need to be sent to a back-end system to provide planning data responsive to user-selected data.
For the example design-time version of the application 130, the write remote function call pattern 108 may correspond to a write remote function call module 118 of a corresponding run-time version of the application 116. Also, the read remote function call pattern 110 may correspond to a read remote function call module 120 of the corresponding run-time version of the application 116. Properties of the remote function call patterns 108, 110, such as an indication of a remote function module to be called, may be configured in the design-time environment 102 such that connectivity is provided in the run-time environment 104. For example, the arrows 134, 136 between the remote function calls 118, 120 and the respective remote function modules 122, 126 they call may reflect a configuration of the remote function call patterns 108, 110.
At the server 114, the remote function modules 122, 126 may cause reading or writing of data of a query 124 to be performed. The query may correspond to a selection and layout of data for an analytics planning application. For example, a query may correspond to an object that holds data corresponding to a certain selection and layout and the object may have functions to read the data and write changed data back to the query. For example, the read remote function module 126 may read a selection of rows and columns corresponding to the query 124 that is provided from the server 114 to an application server 138. As another example, the write remote function module 122 may write a selection of data corresponding to the query 124 to the server 114. In a model-view-controller paradigm, the remote function modules 122, 126 may represent a model that holds data and provides access to the data, and views may be user interface controls to display the data of the remote function modules 122, 126. For example, the user interface 132 may be a view that displays data of the model of data of the remote function module 122.
The separation of a client 112, the application server 138, and the server 114 illustrates that remote function call patterns may be used to cause data to be read and write across a client/server landscape. The server 114 may include a back-end system that is accessible by remote function calls and otherwise has limited connectivity with the client application 116 (e.g., the server 114 may run applications (e.g., legacy applications) that are not developed on a same platform as the client 112; e.g., the server 114 might provide services that are not developed in the design-time environment 102). Thus, the use of remote function call modules to read and write data to the server 114 may provide a degree of connectivity otherwise not available. As planning applications may require writing of data, write remote function calls may advantageously allow for planning applications to be developed in the visual modeling language environment 102 in conjunction with services provided by the server 114. The remote function calls may be remote in the sense that a call from outside of an application is used to request the application to perform a function and remote need not imply a physical distance. For example, a remote function call to the remote function module 118 may be a call to the remote function module 118 from an application that does is not part of the remote function module 118.
The client 112 and application server 138 illustrate a client/server relationship, where a the application 116 is a service application that may provide services to a client application 140 running on a client 112 separate from the application server 138. Thus, the user interface 102 of the application being developed in the design-time environment 102 may include the back-end user interface 132 which provides a front end user interface 142 to a client, where the front end user interface 142 is interacted with by an end-user and the back-end user interface 132 provides the interface to the client 112 (e.g., by providing updates to the user interface 142). Although not called a client and server, the application server 138 and the server 112 may be viewed as being in a client/server relationship, as the server 112 may respond to remote function calls from the application server 138.
Although the run-time version of the application 116 has components that have a one to one correspondence to patterns in the design-time version of the application 130, such cardinality need not exist. For example, the user interface pattern 106 may correspond to multiple user interfaces of the application 116. Also, although a pair of write and read remote function call patterns 108, 110 are part of the application 130, an application may be developed to include any number of read or write remote function call patterns. Also, although one each of read and write remote function modules 122, 126 exist for a single query 124, in some implementations the cardinality may differ. For example, a query may be developed for each type of function module.
Data characterizing connections between a data source of an application and remote function modules of a business intelligence planning query are received (310). For example, data may be passed from one function of a visual modeling tool to another. The connections may be made by a user of a visual modeling tool in a visual modeling language environment. For example, the connections may be characterized by dragging and dropping a link between a pattern representing a read query data service and a pattern representing a table. The data sources may be data services or views. For example, a pattern representing a read query remote function call may be connected to a pattern representing a write query remote function call.
A business intelligence planning query is a query, for example, for planning services to collect data and perform analysis in furtherance of a process that is intended to determine a desired future state for a business entity and to define overall strategies for accomplishing the desired state. For example, one business planning function may predict a future sales trend based on a historic analysis of a table of values corresponding to a sales history.
In contrast to some other forms of business analysis, a business planning query may require that data be written or stored at a back-end system. For example, sales data from a table user interface may need to be written to a business intelligence system for the system to provide a future trend prediction. Write and read queries may be one form of providing data to a business intelligence system. As a business intelligence system may run on a platform different from the platform of an application developed to interface with the system, the write and read queries, in the form of remote function calls to remote function modules of the business intelligence system, may be one of few, if not the only, path for interaction.
To interface with the remote function calls in a visual modeling language environment, patterns that are visual representations of specific remote function calls may be generated and those visualizations may be used to link portions of a design-time application being modeled in a visual modeling language environment with the remote function modules, such that input and output of the remote function calls may interface with input and output of modules of the application. For example, an author of a visual modeling language environment may generate patterns that are used in the visual modeling language environment, where each pattern represents a remote function call.
In some implementations, if a business intelligence system does not already have remote function modules that allow for remote function calls to write data to the system, such function calls may be implemented in the system (e.g., the system may be adapted to include support for such remote function calls; e.g., a plug-in including remote function call patterns may be configured to add such patterns to a visual modeling language environment).
Links between a data source and remote function modules of the query are generated (320). The links may be made in a visual modeling language environment, for example, by a visual modeling tool in response to user-input characterizing connections between views and remote function modules. For example, a user may draw a link between a read remote function call pattern and a table user interface pattern and a link may be generated to reflect that connection. Generating a link may include modifying a property of a pattern to indicate a link to another pattern or (e.g., input=pattern_query_read_planning where the input of a table pattern is set to a query read remote function call pattern), generating a visual representation of a connection (e.g., a line between patterns), and the like.
Implementations of the process of
In the drafting area 408, remote function call patterns are represented as data services patterns with cylindrical-outline shapes; and data services patterns other than the remote function call patterns are part of the design-time view 402 of the application. The remote function call patterns in the drafting area 408 include read remote function call patterns 414, 416, 418 and a write remote function call pattern 420. Other data services include a data service to execute a function of a function pattern 422 and a data service to save data as represented by a save data pattern 424. In addition to data services, the design-time view 402 of the application includes views, including a table pattern 426, form patterns 428, 430, and chart patterns 432, 434, 436.
Input and output ports of patterns, represented by circles, represent input and out of the underlying pattern. For example, the read remote function call pattern 414 has an output port 438 linked to an input port 440 of the table 426.
The read and write remote function call patterns 414, 416, 418, 420 expose a business intelligence planning query of a system through the use of patterns to represent remote function calls to remote function modules of that system. Advantageously, the pattern representation may provide a clean interface in the visual modeling environment for interfacing with a system that accepts remote function calls. In addition, as a visual modeling language environment may have limited connectivity and options to avoid confusing a user with an overwhelming environment (e.g., avoiding too many options and properties requiring technological expertise to master), a pattern for a remote function call may simplify user interaction with a system accepting remote function calls, and, simplify the ability to generate analytics planning functionality with an application developed in a visual modeling language environment.
The data service of the function pattern 422 provides planning functionality in response to data written to a system accepting remote function calls from the write remote function call pattern 420.
As another example, the monthly sales plan table 446 corresponds to the monthly sales table pattern 426. Data from a read data service, as modeled by the read remote function call pattern 414, populates the monthly sales plan table 446. Changes in the monthly sales plan table 446 may be sent by a write data service to a back-end system, as modeled by the write remote function call pattern 420. And, in response to clicking on the calculate revenue button 448, a planning function may be executed, as modeled by the planning function pattern 422. The execution of the planning function pattern 422 may result in changes to the monthly sales plan table 446 and a revenue chart 450, as shown by the lines 452, 454 to the read remote function call pattern 414 and the read remote function call pattern 416 preceding the monthly sales plan table pattern 426 and the revenue chart 432, respectively. In addition, the data may affect actual and plan revenue charts 456, 458, as modeled by the lines 460, 462 from the read remote function call pattern 426. The update of data in the monthly sales plan table 446 may also cause an update to the total revenue box 442, as modeled by a line 464 to the read remote function call pattern 418 which leads to the total revenue form pattern 430.
Thus, because of the write remote function call pattern 420, data is able to be written back to a system such that the planning function of the planning function pattern 422 is able to operate on the data written to the system remote from the application being developed (e.g., a back-end system). And, consequently, other planning data in charts and tables may be updated to reflect the execution of the planning function.
Although the above description includes views as user interface elements that are part of the model-view-controller paradigm, in some implementations other types of paradigms may be used which may have other types of user interface elements.
The subject matter described herein can be implemented in digital electronic circuitry, or in computer software, firmware, or hardware, including the structural means disclosed in this specification and structural equivalents thereof, or in combinations of them. The subject matter described herein can be implemented as one or more computer program products, i.e., one or more computer programs tangibly embodied in an information carrier, e.g., in a machine-readable storage device or in a propagated signal, for execution by, or to control the operation of, data processing apparatus, e.g., a programmable processor, a computer, or multiple computers. A computer program (also known as a program, software, software application, or code) can be written in any form of programming language, including compiled or interpreted languages, and it can be deployed in any form, including as a stand-alone program or as a module, component, subroutine, or other unit suitable for use in a computing environment. A computer program does not necessarily correspond to a file. A program can be stored in a portion of a file that holds other programs or data, in a single file dedicated to the program in question, or in multiple coordinated files (e.g., files that store one or more modules, sub-programs, or portions of code). A computer program can be deployed to be executed on one computer or on multiple computers at one site or distributed across multiple sites and interconnected by a communication network.
The processes and logic flows described in this specification, including the method steps of the subject matter described herein, can be performed by one or more programmable processors executing one or more computer programs to perform functions of the subject matter described herein by operating on input data and generating output. The processes and logic flows can also be performed by, and apparatus of the subject matter described herein can be implemented as, special purpose logic circuitry, e.g., an FPGA (field programmable gate array) or an ASIC (application-specific integrated circuit).
Processors suitable for the execution of a computer program include, by way of example, both general and special purpose microprocessors, and any one or more processors of any kind of digital computer. Generally, a processor will receive instructions and data from a read-only memory or a random access memory or both. The essential elements of a computer are a processor for executing instructions and one or more memory devices for storing instructions and data. Generally, a computer will also include, or be operatively coupled to receive data from or transfer data to, or both, one or more mass storage devices for storing data, e.g., magnetic, magneto-optical disks, or optical disks. Information carriers suitable for embodying computer program instructions and data include all forms of non-volatile memory, including by way of example semiconductor memory devices, e.g., EPROM, EEPROM, and flash memory devices; magnetic disks, e.g., internal hard disks or removable disks; magneto-optical disks; and CD-ROM and DVD-ROM disks. The processor and the memory can be supplemented by, or incorporated in, special purpose logic circuitry.
To provide for interaction with a user, the subject matter described herein can be implemented on a computer having a display device, e.g., a CRT (cathode ray tube) or LCD (liquid crystal display) monitor, for displaying information to the user and a keyboard and a pointing device, e.g., a mouse or a trackball, by which the user can provide input to the computer. Other kinds of devices can be used to provide for interaction with a user as well; for example, feedback provided to the user can be any form of sensory feedback, e.g., visual feedback, auditory feedback, or tactile feedback; and input from the user can be received in any form, including acoustic, speech, or tactile input.
The subject matter described herein can be implemented in a computing system that includes a back-end component (e.g., a data server), a middleware component (e.g., an application server), or a front-end component (e.g., a client computer having a graphical user interface or a web browser through which a user can interact with an implementation of the subject matter described herein), or any combination of such back-end, middleware, and front-end components. The components of the system can be interconnected by any form or medium of digital data communication, e.g., a communication network. Examples of communication networks include a local area network (“LAN”) and a wide area network (“WAN”), e.g., the Internet.
The computing system can include clients and servers. A client and server are generally remote from each other in a logical sense and typically interact through a communication network. The relationship of client and server arises by virtue of computer programs running on the respective computers and having a client-server relationship to each other.
The subject matter described herein has been described in terms of particular embodiments, but other embodiments can be implemented and are within the scope of the following claims. For example, operations can differ and still achieve desirable results. In certain implementations, multitasking and parallel processing may be preferable. As another example, although the above descriptions uses business planning queries as an example of using read and write remote function calls, other types of applications may require and/or implement read and write remote function calls to a system. Other embodiments are within the scope of the following claims.
