Patent · US Expired

Transaction data structure for process communications among network-distributed applications

US6971096B1 · kind B1 · utility

131Cited by
16References
10Claims
0Family size

Assignee

Inventors

Key dates

Filing dateMay 19, 2000
Grant dateNov 29, 2005
Priority date
Expiry dateMay 19, 2020

Classification

  • Technology area (CPC Y)Emerging Cross-Sectional Technologies
  • CPC primaryY10S707/99953
  • WIPO fieldComputer technology
  • WIPO sectorElectrical engineering

Abstract

A process automation application, referred to as a commerce exchange server, for sending transaction messages between application programs uses a transaction definition data structure for specifying the component operations and processing logic that comprise the transaction. The data structure specifies one or more operations that constitute the transaction, instructions for producing the input data needed for each operation, and conditional logic for specifying constraints on the sequence of operation execution. The conditional logic may include one or more expressions, ranging from simple to complex, including variables, math operations and functions, that are evaluated using the inputs or outputs of one or more prior operations to determine execution order of subsequent operations. The transaction definition data structure may also provide for broadcast operations and for conditioning the success of their execution. In an illustrated implementation, the transaction definition data structure is an XML (Extensible Markup Language) document in the form of a directed acyclic graph (DAG). A transaction service architecture provides for storing transaction definitions that define spec…

Source: USPTO / EPO open patent data. Objective bibliographic and citation counts.