Generic application program interface for native drivers

US7739693B2 · kind B2 · utility

Assignee

• SAP AG · DE

Inventors

• Sven Bernhard · Waldmohr, DE
• Thorsten Stephan · Heidelberg, DE
• Claudius Fischer · Schwetzingen, DE
• Markus Schmidt-Karaca · Heidelberg, DE

Key dates

• Filing date: Nov 25, 2003
• Grant date: Jun 15, 2010
• Expiry date: Jun 24, 2026

Classification

• Technology area (CPC G): Physics
• CPC primary: G06F9/46
• WIPO field: Computer technology
• WIPO sector: Electrical engineering

Abstract

A method and system to access native drivers in a computer using a generic application interface. An embodiment of the method may include providing the generic application interface to allow access to multiple peripheral devices, where the interface is independent of the device-specific features of the peripheral devices. The interface may include generic routines commonly shared by the peripheral devices. The method may further include using the interface to call the generic routines as a function of device-specific features of a particular device upon receipt of a request to access the particular device. The method provides a generic API that may be commonly used by a plurality of applications on a computer or a plurality of computers in a network to access a plurality of peripheral devices. As such, the developer or user may port applications based on the generic API between different computers without making modifications to the applications. Exemplary applications include mobile devices in wireless communication with network peripheral devices.