Patent Application
20060228654
1. Field of the Invention
This invention relates to a Solution Builder Wizard that utilizes templates and interfaces with predefined intelligence to allow speedy assembly of various software components into one cohesive product form.
2. Background of the Invention
Recently, a shift has occurred among enterprise computing supplies to address “vertical markets”. These “solutions” are targeted to the specific needs, business processes, and problems for a certain industry, such as insurance claim processing, health care insurance filing, mortgage application handling, etc. Industry solutions often consists of one or more operating systems and middleware products that are packaged along with customized, industry specific, data, and code that are installed and configured to function as one cohesive business solution. There are many software and consulting firms who are focused on implementing vertical industry solutions using a collection of disparate products produced by a wide array of vendors.
To implement a vertical industry solution, a single expert is not sufficient to complete the project because it requires expert level skills and knowledge of such a wide array of products, systems, platforms, configurations, options, protocols, etc. Further, all of these different components must be integrated and cooperate with each other in specific, often proprietary ways.
As a result, a team of specialists are usually required to install and deploy the entire project. To mitigate risk, customers often request that a prototype or proof of concept system be installed or demonstrated in order to provide concrete evidence of viability of the solution, and of the business value of the solution, prior to purchase.
This places much engineering and development work up front and before a formal purchase order is issued, which increases the financial risk to the supplier or suppliers. In some cases, it can take eight weeks or even more to gather requirements, and to create a prototype that solves the customer's problems. Then, it can take months to implement and test a prototype, including producing some sort of data which simulates various scenarios and test cases.
This “up front” effort requires a massive amount of time and expenditures in some cases. Because it lasts so long, there is a very real possibility that components (e.g. software applications, operating systems, etc.) will be revised and patched, so the final configuration, if ordered, will have unknown characteristics as the newer releases and patches will also have to be integrated and tested before formal deployment.
Thus, the processes currently employed in the industry place a heavy risk and financial burden on the supplier prior to a sale being completed, which is reflected in the pricing of the final systems to the customers, the increased cost of which must be either absorbed by the customers or passed on to their own clients. In either situation, the customer may either experience reduced profitability, reduced ability to compete on price, or both.
The present invention utilizes a Graphical User Interface driven model in an integrated development environments (“IDEs”), such as IDE's based upon the open-sourced Eclipse platform, to create diverse end-to-end computing solutions from building block components. The building block components are available in the GUI to the solution developer on a “solution component palette”. The solution developer selects, drags and drops instances of each required solution component into a “solution design area”, and then connects them together in a logical manner according to system interactions and data flow.
Each time the solution developer specifies or creates a “connection” between two components in the design area, the invention invokes specific logic which determines the needed configuration and option parameters to interface the selected components to each other. This logic provides a “pop-up” dialogue to the solution developer to prompt the user for selections and input. The input information is then used by the logic to configure the two components to interact with each other within the pre-defined constraints and conditions of the logic, thereby relieving the user of needing to be an expert in the configuration and installation of either of the components.
For example, a component palette may include an IBM DB/2 database icon, an IBM WebSphere web server application icon, and an IBM MQ server icon with a backend server such as an IBM 390. The solution developer can drag an instance of the DB/2 icon from the palette to the solution design area of the display, thus making it a component of the current solution. Next, the developer can drag an instance of the WebSphere from the palette to the design area, followed by connecting it to the DB/2 instance, or followed by dragging and dropping more instances of more components.
When a connection between two or more components is made or defined, the invention automatically recognizes the need for customization information for this type of connection, and prompts the developer to enter the required configuration data necessary to make the connection valid and functional, such as user id and password, data source, network address, encryption options, etc. This information is then saved to configuration files which can later be used during actual installation of the system components into the solution.
The following detailed description when taken in conjunction with the figures presented herein provide a complete disclosure of the invention.
a and 12b show an example item description in XML for an MQ Series server component, also according to the example DTD of
a-13g show an example item description in XML for a WAS component according to the example DTD of
Our invention, referred to as the “Solution Builder Wizard”, uses a Graphical User Interface (“GUI”), a set of predefined “templates” for each component, and implementation intelligence logic, to enable speedy assembly of various solution components together into one cohesive solution. Each “template” coupled with the implementation logic for each combination of component interfaces defines a set of configuration options and parameters which can be used to customize the combination of components, without need of a high level of expertise in either component. Preferably, the templates incorporate the most common options and configurations employed, leaving out obscure or rarely used options to reduce confusion by the system developer. Default configuration parameters and values may aid in quickly defining interfaces between components so that the system developers must only change the parameters that need to be changed from default values.
Prototypes and proof of concept systems can be quickly achieved using pre-defined interfaces and configurations between disparate components of the solution. Using the invention, a tangible, operable solution can be demonstrated and tested in less time than using traditional processes, because all components are integrated with each other based upon the templates rather than upon customized or semi-customized interface and configuration definitions from various experts.
In an aspect of a preferred embodiment, each component is declared as an object using eXtensible Markup Language for the templates. Because of this advantage, the solution can be defined in a written format which can then be archived and managed by any of the widely available and widely used code repository systems, such as CATIA Viewing Services (“CVS”), IBM's Configuration Management and Version Control (“CMVC”) system, Serena™ Software's PVCS Version Manager, or a similar product.
Terms, Definitions and Related Technology
We will first describe some terms and related technologies which will be of use in understanding the present invention and one or more preferred embodiments.
Unified Modeling Language (“UML”) is an open standard for notation of modeling of objects in the real-world. The objects can conceivably be any real thing, such as a computer with a specific program, a system device such as a printer, a peripheral such as a motor, etc. Modeling such objects is usually a first step in developing an object-oriented design methodology. UML's notation derives from approaches of three other object-oriented design and analysis methodologies, including Grady Booch's methodology for describing a set of objects and their relationships, James Rumbaugh's Object-Modeling Technique (“OMT”), and Ivar Jacobson's approach which includes a use case methodology, according to one online Information Technology source WhatIs? (dot.com). The UML standard is now maintained and promoted by the Object Management Group. In the following paragraphs, it shall be understood that references to UML are to one available embodiment, and that use of alternate modeling languages and methodologies may be employed without departing from the spirit and scope of the invention.
Graphical User Interface (“GUI”) is an user interface that is based on graphics such as icons, menus, and pictures. In the late 1970's, the Xerox Palo Alto Research Laboratory first created the GUI concept. Today, users are most familiar with either the Apple MAC™ or Microsoft's Window™ operating systems. Most applications today use the elements of the GUI that come with the operating system and add or modify their own graphical user interface elements for customization. GUI elements can consists of items such as: windows, buttons, iconic images, pull-down menus, wizards, and mouse. Often the phrase “look-and-feel” is use to describe a system's GUI along with its input devices. In the following paragraphs, it shall be understood that references to GUI are to just one available embodiment, and that use of alternate platform and methodologies may be employed without departing from the spirit and scope of the invention.
Eclipse is an open platform aims as a tool for integration built by an open community of tool providers such as Borland™, International Business Machines (“IBM”)™, and Red Hat™. It is designed to build integrated development environments (“IDEs”) which allow the creation of diverse end-to-end computing solutions for multiple computer environments while providing flexibility and management for developers in their software technology. According to the Eclipse Foundation, it has formed an independent open eco-system around royalty-free technology and an universal platform for tools integration. The Eclipse platform is a mechanism for discovering, integrating, and running modules called plug-ins based on the foundation's white paper. The plug-in based framework enables ease in creation, integration, and utilization of software tools. Developers have the privilege to choose in a multi-language, multi-platform, multi-vendor environment. The Eclipse Platform is written in Java language and comes with extensive plug-in construction tool kits and examples. It has been deployed on a range of development workstations including Linux, HP-UX, AIX, Solaris, QNX, OSx, and Windows based systems. In the following paragraphs, it shall be understood that references to Eclipse are to one available embodiment, and that use of alternate platform and methodologies may be employed without departing from the spirit and scope of the invention.
WebSphere Application Server (“WAS”) is a comprehensive web services technology-based application server that integrates enterprise data and transactions. It is a complete Java-servlet based Web server environment consisting of two major components: a complete runtime environment and an integrated tools environment. It is a web-based tool that allows management and deployment of dynamic enterprise applications while handling extensive Java 2 Enterprise Edition (“J2EE”), security, scalability, and application performance. According to its latest product overview, it provides virtually any-to-any connectivity with transaction management and application adaptively, because it is optimized for ease of administration in a scalable, single-server deployment environment. WAS supports key Web service open standards, such as Simple Object Access Protocol (“SOAP”), Universal Description, Discovery, and Integration (“UDDI”), and Web Service Description Language (“WSDI”). WAS can be used on a variety of platforms such as Sun Solaris, Windows NT, IBM AIX/6000, and IBM OS/2. Other similar products that exists today is BEA Weblogic Application Server™ and JBoss™ own suite of tools. In the following paragraphs, it shall be understood that references to WAS are to just one available embodiment, and that use of alternate platform and methodologies may be employed without departing from the spirit and scope of the invention.
WebSphere Studio Application Developer (“WSAD”) is a development environment tool that is role based which developers can use to simulate test environments, handle deployment, and transmit message queues such as XML messages. The WebSphere Studio family of tools is build on top of the Eclipse Workbench as a set of plug-ins conforming to the Eclipse's open standard Application Program Interface (“API”). It is designed for professional developers of Java and J2EE applications who require integrated Java, Web, XML, and Web services support. Because users can build and test business logic inside the WSAD before deploying to a production server, it has the advantages for early detection in performance bottleneck and shorten the actual test cycle with its advanced code generation. All development resources for all projects are stored in a single repository, and users have team support and can easily share work products. In the following paragraphs, it shall be understood that references to WSAD are to just one available embodiment, and that use of alternate platform and methodologies may be employed without departing from the spirit and scope of the invention.
WebSphere Business Integration (“WBI”) is a part of WebSphere suite of tools that extends using the Eclipse workbench to model, simulate and manage business integration, workflows, and processes. The WBI brand encompasses a number of software technologies that offer various business integration capabilities such as WBI Modeler, WBI Server, WBI Server Foundation, WBI Message Broker, WBI Connect, WBI Administration Tools, and WBI Design Tools. These tools facilitate users to quickly model, simulate, and analyze complex business scenarios before they are implemented by integrating with existing or new software components. In addition, the administration and design tools allow for ease in system administration and workflow creation which shares some similarities to IBM's Rational™ software. In the following paragraphs, it shall be understood that references to WBI are to just one available embodiment, and that use of alternate platform and methodologies may be employed without departing from the spirit and scope of the invention.
WebSphere MQ (“WMQ”) formerly known as IBM's MQ Series is a message queue system that exchanges information such as using XML to communicate across various platforms while integrating new and existing applications. It is a synchronous or asynchronous method of communicating between processes. It allows applications that resides on same server, different servers, or even different network across a global application environments to send and receive reliable and secured requests between each other. WMQ is integrated with latest Java™ Messaging Service interface standard and offers comprehensive security options using the Secure Socket Layer (“SSL”). One advantage of WMQ is its ability to dynamically distribute workloads across available resources which enables messages to be delivered error-free and protects from unauthorized access. There are other message queue systems such as Microsoft's Message Queue (“MSMQ”)™, Sun Java System Message Queue (“JMS”)™, and Progress Software SonicMQ™. In the following paragraphs, it shall be understood that references to WMQ are to just one available embodiment, and that use of alternate platform and methodologies may be employed without departing from the spirit and scope of the invention.
Graphical User Interface
Turning to
The GUI is pre-loaded with various solution components (100) shown in a solution component palette (18), and related intelligence logic based on customization. The available solution components can consist of different types of databases, such as DB2 or Oracle, or other application software such as WAS, WSAD, WMQ, and WBI. According to the preferred embodiment, additional solution component options can be added to the palette (18) as needed.
Connectors (20) that interface solution components with one another are shown in the palette (18), optionally. A cursor (19) is used by a developer to navigate, select, and create the solution design through the GUI, by moving components (100) from the palette (18) to the solution design area (101) of the GUI.
For example,
Creation of Component Instances and Relationships
In
At this point, the developer could continue to drag-and-drop components from the palette to the design area to create more instances of components in the design, or the developer can begin to define the relationships between the components already in the design. For example, by using the one-way or two-way connectors available in the GUI,
Once a relationship is established between two components, the intelligence logic of the invention automatically prompts the user for inputs to complete required fields that facilitate the integration process according to pre-defined options and configuration features, as defined by the XML templates. Continuing with our example and turning to
Connection Intelligence Logic
Turning to
When each solution component in the palette is selected, dragged and dropped into the design area by the user, an object instance is created (64) in the design area. Multiple instances of the same type component can be created in this manner (e.g. multiple DB2 instances or multiple WAS instances).
Once at least two components have been added to the design area, the user can use the “make connection” option at any time. Each time a relationship between two or more components is established, a sub-template generator (65) is invoked. This displays an intelligence form (66) on the GUI to request user inputs for required and optional fields related to defining the interface between the components. When the inputs are received (67) from the user, the design area is updated to show the connection, and the sub-template is saved which defines the interface between the related components.
Turning to
For example, if the user wishes to save the entire solution including all of the component instances and their relationships, the user selects all of the components in a manner such as dragging a selection line (74) around all of the components. If the user only wishes to save a partial sub-system or sub-solution, one may select only those components for saving, such as drawing a selection line (73) around the DB2 and WAS components, followed by performing a “save” function. This capability of the invention enables users to quickly create, add, or modify existing solutions through use of individual components as well as reuse of previously defined partial solutions.
Solution Builder Wizard Advantages
Using these methods, the Solution Builder Wizard provides user the ability to quickly develop a cohesive solution using a GUI palette to create the necessary components and establish the desired logical relationships between each other. The ease in drag and drop eliminates the complexity in integration and simplifies the required input information without the user having to sort through tedious amounts of manuals and guidebooks in installation and deployment. This results in massive amount of time, resource, and expense saved using this preferred embodiment. Not only can the proof of concept be swiftly completed, but also the enormous amount of time that can be saved during the actual installation, test, and deployment phase.
Users now have the ability to see actual or close to real simulated environment before actual development occurs. The GUI provides a one-stop shop for developers to create prototypes using a variety of application components and integrate them using the simplified process driven by the intelligence logic. By updating the templates on-the-fly in the GUI, productivity increases dramatically. The flexibility of using UML allows the solution to be define in a written format that can easily be edited or modified if necessary in CVS file format.
Component Solution Templates
As mentioned earlier, the preferred embodiment includes UML models of each available solution component written in XML.
To correctly interpret information contained in an XML file, a system must also have an associated Document Type Definition (“DTD”) file, which is file defining and constraining the data or statements allowed in an XML file for a specific purpose.
Suitable Computing Platform
The invention is preferably realized as a feature or addition to the software already found present on well-known computing platforms such as personal computers, enterprise servers, and web servers. These common computing platforms can include properly configured personal computers, as well as portable computing platforms, such as personal digital assistants (“PDA”), web-enabled wireless telephones, and other types of personal information management (“PIM”) devices, providing that they have suitable resources to support the software applications and logical processes as described in the foregoing paragraphs.
Therefore, it is useful to review a generalized architecture of a computing platform which may span the range of implementation, from a high-end web or enterprise server platform, to a personal computer, to a portable PDA or web-enabled wireless phone.
Turning to
Many computing platforms are provided with one or more communication interfaces (810), according to the function intended of the computing platform. For example, a personal computer is often provided with a high speed serial port (RS-232, RS-422, etc.), an enhanced parallel port (“EPP”), and one or more universal serial bus (“USB”) ports. The computing platform may also be provided with a local area network (“LAN”) interface, such as an Ethernet card, and other high-speed interfaces such as the High Performance Serial Bus IEEE-1394.
Computing platforms such as wireless telephones and wireless networked PDA's may also be provided with a radio frequency (“RF”) interface with antenna, as well. In some cases, the computing platform may be provided with an infrared data arrangement (“IrDA”) interface, too.
Computing platforms are often equipped with one or more internal expansion slots (811), such as Industry Standard Architecture (“ISA”), Enhanced Industry Standard Architecture (“EISA”), Peripheral Component Interconnect (“PCI”), or proprietary interface slots for the addition of other hardware, such as sound cards, memory boards, and graphics accelerators.
Additionally, many units, such as laptop computers and PDA's, are provided with one or more external expansion slots (812) allowing the user the ability to easily install and remove hardware expansion devices, such as PCMCIA cards, SmartMedia cards, and various proprietary modules such as removable hard drives, CD drives, and floppy drives.
Often, the storage drives (89), communication interfaces (810), internal expansion slots (811) and external expansion slots (812) are interconnected with the CPU (81) via a standard or industry open bus architecture (88), such as ISA, EISA, or PCI. In many cases, the bus (88) may be of a proprietary design.
A computing platform is usually provided with one or more user input devices, such as a keyboard or a keypad (816), and mouse or pointer device (817), and/or a touch-screen display (818). In the case of a personal computer, a full size keyboard is often provided along with a mouse or pointer device, such as a track ball or TrackPoint™. In the case of a web-enabled wireless telephone, a simple keypad may be provided with one or more function-specific keys. In the case of a PDA, a touch-screen (18) is usually provided, often with handwriting recognition capabilities.
Additionally, a microphone (819), such as the microphone of a web-enabled wireless telephone or the microphone of a personal computer, is supplied with the computing platform. This microphone may be used for simply reporting audio and voice signals, and it may also be used for entering user choices, such as voice navigation of web sites or auto-dialing telephone numbers, using voice recognition capabilities.
Many computing platforms are also equipped with a camera device (800), such as a still digital camera or full motion video digital camera.
One or more user output devices, such as a display (813), are also provided with most computing platforms. The display (813) may take many forms, including a Cathode Ray Tube (“CRT”), a Thin Flat Transistor (“TFT”) array, or a simple set of light emitting diodes (“LED”) or liquid crystal display (“LCD”) indicators.
One or more speakers (814) and/or annunciators (815) are often associated with computing platforms, too. The speakers (814) may be used to reproduce audio and music, such as the speaker of a wireless telephone or the speakers of a personal computer. Annunciators (815) may take the form of simple beep emitters or buzzers, commonly found on certain devices such as PDAs and PIMs.
These user input and output devices may be directly interconnected (88′, 88″) to the CPU (81) via a proprietary bus structure and/or interfaces, or they may be interconnected through one or more industry open buses such as ISA, EISA, PCI, etc.
The computing platform is also provided with one or more software and firmware (801) programs to implement the desired functionality of the computing platforms.
Turning to now
Additionally, one or more “portable” or device-independent programs (94) may be provided, which must be interpreted by an OS-native platform-specific interpreter (95), such as Java™ scripts and programs.
Often, computing platforms are also provided with a form of web browser or micro-browser (96), which may also include one or more extensions to the browser such as browser plug-ins (97).
The computing device is often provided with an operating system (90), such as Microsoft Windows™, UNIX, IBM OS/2™, LINUX, MAC OS™ or other platform specific operating systems. Smaller devices such as PDA's and wireless telephones may be equipped with other forms of operating systems such as real-time operating systems (“RTOS”) or Palm Computing's PalmOS™.
A set of basic input and output functions (“BIOS”) and hardware device drivers (91) are often provided to allow the operating system (90) and programs to interface to and control the specific hardware functions provided with the computing platform.
Additionally, one or more embedded firmware programs (92) are commonly provided with many computing platforms, which are executed by onboard or “embedded” microprocessors as part of the peripheral device, such as a micro controller or a hard drive, a communication processor, network interface card, or sound or graphics card.
As such,
Conclusion
Certain embodiments and design choices have been described and illustrated in the foregoing paragraphs in order to disclose the invention and its preferred embodiment. It will be appreciated by those skilled in the art, however, that the scope of the invention is not limited to these specific embodiments, and that many variations and choices regarding, but not limited to, operating system, programming language, programming methodology, and platform, can be made without departing from the spirit and scope of the present invention. Therefore, the scope of the present invention should be determined by the following claims.
