Patent Application
20130166603
This description is directed generally to metadata models, and in particular, to a consumer-related specialization of metadata models based on a template-projection approach.
Data models may define structure and behavior of one or more corresponding data objects. For example, a M1 model may define a specific structure (e.g., hierarchical nodes and associated fields or attributes) and behavior (e.g., one or more enabled services) for a specific type of business object.
Business objects are real world entities modeled as objects in an information system. Business objects encapsulate both data structures and the functions or services applied to the data, while hiding their full complexity from other objects. This encapsulation of data and functions/services makes it easier to modify program components by allowing one to program with the relevant entities without having to know all the implementation details. Business objects also allow for the reuse of existing functions.
In one general aspect, a computer program product is provided. The computer program product is tangibly embodied on a computer-readable storage medium and includes executable code that, when executed, is configured to cause at least one data processing apparatus to receive a metadata model template that generically defines structure and behavior for a plurality of metadata models, the metadata model template including a union of the attributes and services needed by runtime engines associated with any of the metadata models, receive a first runtime engine-specific projection definition that identifies a first subset of the attributes that have been selected and the services that have been enabled for a first runtime engine, and generate a first metadata model projection based on the metadata model template and the first runtime engine-specific projection definition, the first metadata model projection associated with the first runtime engine.
In another general aspect, a computer implemented method is provided that includes receiving, receiving a metadata model template that generically defines structure and behavior for a plurality of metadata models, the metadata model template including a union of the attributes and services needed by runtime engines associated with any of the metadata models. The method also includes receiving a first runtime engine-specific projection definition that identifies a first subset of the attributes that have been selected and the services that have been enabled for a first runtime engine, and generating a first metadata model projection based on the metadata model template and the first runtime engine-specific projection definition, the first metadata model projection associated with the first runtime engine.
In another general aspect, an apparatus includes template receiving logic configured to receive a metadata model template that generically defines structure and behavior for a plurality of metadata models, the metadata model template including a union of the attributes and services needed by runtime engines associated with any of the metadata models. The apparatus also includes projection definition receiving logic configured to receive a first runtime engine-specific projection definition that identifies a first subset of the attributes that have been selected and the services that have been enabled for a first runtime engine. The apparatus also includes generating logic configured to generate a first metadata model projection based on the metadata model template and the first runtime engine-specific projection definition, the first metadata model projection associated with the first runtime engine.
The subject matter described in this specification can be implemented as a method or as a system or using computer program products, tangibly embodied in information carriers, such as a CD-ROM, a DVD-ROM, a semiconductor memory, and a hard disk. Such computer program products may cause a data processing apparatus to conduct one or more operations described herein.
In addition, the subject matter described herein may also be implemented as a system including a processor and a memory coupled to the processor. The memory may encode one or more programs that cause the processor to perform one or more of the method acts described in this specification.
The details of one or more implementations are set forth in the accompanying drawings and the description below. Other features will be apparent from the description and drawings, and from the claims.
In the following, a detailed description of examples will be given with reference to the drawings. It should be understood that various modifications to the examples may be made. In particular, elements of one example may be combined and used in other examples to form new examples.
Two M1 models, 120 and 122, are shown in
M0 instances 130 and 132 are shown. M0 instance 130 of M1 model 120 follows the structure and behavior defined by the M1 model 120, e.g., the invoice business object 120. For example, M0 instance 130 may be an instance of the invoice business object 120, and may include data or information related to invoice #374. Similarly, M0 instance 132 of M1 model 120 follows the structure and behavior of M1 model 120. M0 instance 132 may include data related to invoice #533, for example.
Referring again to
A plurality of runtime engines are shown, where each runtime engine may consume or receive M1 model data (e.g., a M0 instance of a M1 model) from a model infrastructure 208, and may process the received data to perform one or more services or functions related to an aspect of a business based on only a portion or subset of all of the metadata in M2 metadata model 210. For example, a user interface engine 224 may perform functions or services related to user interfaces based on user interface metadata 214 and documentation metadata 216; authorization engine 226, may perform functions or services related to access and authorization based on header 212, access and authorization metadata 220; mass-data processing engine 228 may perform functions or services related to mass-data processing based on mass-data processing metadata 218; analytical engine 230 may perform functions or services related to analytical tasks based on analytical metadata 222. These are merely some examples, and the disclosure is not limited thereto.
For example, authorization engine 226 may receive a request from a user to create an M0 instance 130 corresponding to M1 model 120 and M2 metadata model 112 and authorization engine 226. Authorization engine 226 may determine whether the user has authorization to create the M0 instance 130 of the M1 model 120 (e.g., authorization to create invoice #374).
As shown in
Therefore, according to an example implementation, a consumer-specific specialization of M2 metadata models may be provided. Each of the runtime engines may be considered to be consumers which may consume or use at least a portion of the metadata of the M2 metadata model 210 (and the M0 instance data for the corresponding M1 data model), for example. In an example implementation, a template-projection mechanism is used at the M2 metadata level to provide consumer-specific projections of a M2 metadata template for each consumer or runtime engine. Thus, in the example shown in
Thus, according to an example embodiment, a M2 metadata model template is generated or received (e.g., by model infrastructure 208 or a computing device or computer) that generically defines structure and behavior for a plurality of metadata models. The metadata model template may include or may identify a union (e.g., superset) of all of the attributes and services needed by runtime engines (or other consumers) associated with any of the metadata models. Next, a runtime engine-specific (or consumer-specific) projection definition may be input or received that identifies a subset of the attributes that have been selected and the services that have been enabled for the specific consumer or runtime engine. A metadata model projection (or custom or consumer-specific metadata model) is generated based on the metadata model template and the consumer-specific or runtime engine-specific projection definition.
The consumers or runtime engines (e.g., runtime engines 224, 226, 228, 230 and 232) in
Furthermore, providing the template-projection mechanism at the M2 metadata model level has several advantages over providing such template-projection mechanism at another level, such as at the M1 or business object level. First, as noted, through the template-projection mechanism at the M2 level, resource usage may be decreased based on the custom projections that may be used for each consumer or runtime engine. Second, an M2 level template makes it easier to construct various M2 metadata models. Also, the M2 metadata model template may be stored in the model infrastructure 208. A M2 metadata model template can be instantiated, and thus, does not represent an abstract entity as a definition template for other entities. Thus, M1 models corresponding to the M2 template may be created and accessed via the model infrastructure 208, for example. Also, the template at the M2 metadata model level that is a union of all attributes and services for each consumer-specific metadata model projection, reduces unwanted redundancy between the projections, and makes it easier to execute checks for consistency and integrity between the templates and projections, since, in an example implementation, each M2 projection may include only a subset of the metadata provided in the M2 template. In some cases, some attributes may be shared and used by different projections but persisted and implemented once in the corresponding M2 metadata model template.
Operation 2, “generate M2 projection”, may be performed next to generate an M2 projection. This may be accomplished, for example by generating a first metadata model projection (associated with a first runtime engine) based on (e.g., as a subset of) the M2 metadata model template and the first runtime specific projection definition. A M2 projection may be generated, for example, by providing the M2 projection that identifies, from the M2 template, only attributes or fields that were selected and only services that were enabled based on the runtime specific projection definition. The resulting example M2 projection is shown in
Several additional operations will now be described that may also be performed according to various example implementations. In one example implementation, the method shown in
In another example implementation, the method shown in
In another example implementation, the method shown in
In another example implementation, the method shown in
In another example implementation, the method shown in
In another example implementation, the method shown in
In an example implementation, model infrastructure 208 may obtain or retrieve and store all M1 model data (M0 instances) corresponding to the M2 metadata model template. In an example implementation, the M1 model data associated with a M2 template, the M2 metadata model template and associated M1 models may be stored in metadata model repository 211 of model infrastructure 208, for example. In one example, an authorization engine 226 may receive a request to authorize a user to delete an invoice. Authorization engine 226 may submit a request to model infrastructure 208 to obtain M1 model data (the corresponding M0 instances) corresponding to a M1 model (e.g., corresponding to a particular invoice or particular M1 data/M0 instance).
Therefore, in response to the request for specific M1 data, the runtime engine-specific M2 metadata model projection may be mapped to the corresponding M2 metadata model template, and the Mldata may be retrieved or selected by the model infrastructure 208. For example, the model infrastructure 208 may select the portion or subset of the previously retrieved M0 data corresponding to the M2 metadata model projection (e.g., attributes and services specified by the runtime engine-specific M2 projection) for the authorization engine. The model infrastructure 208 then provides this M1 model data (M0 instance(s) of a specific M1 model) as specified by the M2 metadata model projection to the authorization engine 226. The Authorization engine 226 may then process or consume the M1 data to perform authentication, e.g., to determine if a user is authorized to perform the requested service or method on the data.
In this manner, in order to decrease processing resources, model infrastructure 208 may make one read (or data retrieval) of M1 data/M0 instances corresponding to the M2 metadata model template, and may make multiple smaller outputs to each runtime engine to provide the relevant M1 data relevant to each consumer/runtime engine as specified by the M2 projection.
At 730, it is determined by the model infrastructure 208 whether the M2 metadata model is a projection. If it is, operation proceeds to 740, where the consumer-specific M2 metadata model projection (e.g., attributes, services and other metadata) is mapped to the corresponding M2 metadata model template. Based on this mapping and the previously retrieved M1 data for the M2 metadata model template, at 750, the consumer-specific M1 data that is associated with the M2 metadata model projection is retrieved by model infrastructure 208 and then returned to the calling consumer. For example, based on the mapping of the M2 metadata model projection to the M2 metadata model template, the model infrastructure 208 may access and search M1 data database 213 and select the M1 data corresponding to the M2 projection. Or, model infrastructure 208 may select a subset of the M1 data corresponding to the M2 metadata model template that was previously retrieved by model infrastructure 208.
In addition, the template projection mechanism that is provided at the M2 metadata model level, may enable verification of M2 models integrity and consistency. According to an example implementation, business application logic 209 of model infrastructure 208, or other software or computer, may include a consistency and validation module to confirm that each M2 metadata model projection is (and remains) a valid subset of the corresponding M2 metadata model template, which should provide a union of all attributes and services that are selected or enabled for each consumer or runtime engine. For example, changes made to a M2 metadata model template may invalidate one or more corresponding M2 metadata model projections, e.g., if the attributes or services that are changed on the template will impact one or more M2 metadata models. For example, a change to a M2 metadata model template will impact a M2 metadata model projection if the changed attribute, service or metadata in the M2 metadata model template is also found in the M2 metadata model projection. A M2 projection may be invalidated if a change to a M2 metadata model template (or other change) impacts a M2 metadata model projection, since the M2 metadata model projection would no longer be a subset of the attributes and services of the M2 metadata model template. Also, in such case, the M2 metadata model template would no longer be (or include) a union of all attributes and services of all corresponding M2 metadata model projections.
Implementations of the various techniques described herein may be implemented in digital electronic circuitry, or in computer hardware, firmware, software, or in combinations of them. Implementations may implemented as a computer program product, i.e., a computer program 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, such as the computer program(s) described above, can be written in any form of programming language, including compiled or interpreted languages, and 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 that might implement the techniques mentioned above might 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.
Method steps may be performed by one or more programmable processors executing a computer program to perform functions by operating on input data and generating output. Method steps also may be performed by, and an apparatus may 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. Elements of a computer may include at least one processor for executing instructions and one or more memory devices for storing instructions and data. Generally, a computer also may 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 may be supplemented by, or incorporated in special purpose logic circuitry.
To provide for interaction with a user, implementations may be implemented on a computer having a display device, e.g., a cathode ray tube (CRT) or liquid crystal display (LCD) 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.
Implementations may be implemented in a computing system that includes a back-end component, e.g., as a data server, or that includes a middleware component, e.g., an application server, or that includes 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, or any combination of such back-end, middleware, or front-end components. Components may 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.
While certain features of the described implementations have been illustrated as described herein, many modifications, substitutions, changes and equivalents will now occur to those skilled in the art. It is, therefore, to be understood that the appended claims are intended to cover all such modifications and changes as fall within the scope of the embodiments.
