U.S. patent application number 10/807151 was filed with the patent office on 2005-01-27 for method and apparatus for processing a web service with management information.
Invention is credited to Adachi, Isamu, Yamaguchi, Satoshi.
Application Number | 20050021692 10/807151 |
Document ID | / |
Family ID | 33478252 |
Filed Date | 2005-01-27 |
United States Patent
Application |
20050021692 |
Kind Code |
A1 |
Adachi, Isamu ; et
al. |
January 27, 2005 |
Method and apparatus for processing a Web service with management
information
Abstract
The present invention provides service processing used in a
computer system comprising a plurality of computers, each of which
receives a message and executes a Web service on the basis of the
message and then outputs a message generated from the result of the
execution. The computer system realizes a Web service by
transmitting and receiving the message among the computers. A
message including first information about the execution of the
service, and second information about notification of progress
information in the service, is received. The service is executed
according to the first information, and then the second information
is analyzed. After that, on the basis of the execution result of
the service, a message is generated according to the second
information, and the message is then transmitted to the computer
that is identified by a destination of progress information
notification included in the second information.
Inventors: |
Adachi, Isamu; (Yokohama,
JP) ; Yamaguchi, Satoshi; (Yamato, JP) |
Correspondence
Address: |
MATTINGLY, STANGER & MALUR, P.C.
1800 DIAGONAL ROAD
SUITE 370
ALEXANDRIA
VA
22314
US
|
Family ID: |
33478252 |
Appl. No.: |
10/807151 |
Filed: |
March 24, 2004 |
Current U.S.
Class: |
709/220 |
Current CPC
Class: |
G06Q 30/06 20130101 |
Class at
Publication: |
709/220 |
International
Class: |
G06F 015/16 |
Foreign Application Data
Date |
Code |
Application Number |
Mar 26, 2003 |
JP |
2003-084085 |
Jan 23, 2004 |
JP |
2004-015117 |
Claims
1. A service processing method used in a computer system comprising
a plurality of computers, each of which receives a message,
executes a Web service on the basis of the message, and then
outputs a message generated from the result of the execution, said
computer system realizing a Web service by transmitting and
receiving the messages among the computers, said method comprising
the steps of: receiving a message including first information about
the service execution, and second information about notification of
progress information in the service; executing said service
according to the first information; and analyzing the second
information, and after that, on the basis of the execution result
of the service, generating a message according to the second
information, and then transmitting the message to the computer that
is identified by a destination of progress information notification
included in the second information.
2. A service processing method according to claim 1, wherein: if a
hierarchical level included in the second information is higher
than that of a source of the second information, a message in which
predetermined third information about notification of progress
information in the service is added to the second information is
generated and is then output.
3. A service processing method according to claim 1, wherein: a
message including progress information which is identified by a
degree of details of return information included in the second
information is generated, and the message is then transmitted to
the computer that is identified by the destination of progress
information notification included in the second information.
4. A service processing method according to claim 3, wherein: if
the degree of details of return information included in the second
information is maximum, a message including all progress
information is generated, and the message is then transmitted to
the computer that is identified by the destination of progress
information notification included in the second information.
5. A service processing method according to claim 3, wherein: if
the degree of details of return information included in the second
information is debug, a message including predetermined detailed
progress information required for a test is generated, and the
message is then transmitted to the computer that is identified by
the destination of progress information notification included in
the second information.
6. A service processing apparatus used in a computer system
comprising a plurality of computers, each of which receives a
message, executes a Web service on the basis of the message, and
then outputs a message generated from the result of the execution,
said computer system realizing a Web service by transmitting and
receiving the messages among the computers, said apparatus
comprising: receiving means for receiving a message including first
information about the execution of the Web service, and second
information about notification of progress information in the
service; execution means for executing said service according to
the first information; and means for analyzing the second
information, and after that, on the basis of the execution result
of the service, generating a message according to the second
information, and then transmitting the message to the computer that
is identified by a destination of progress information notification
included in the second information.
7. A service processing apparatus according to claim 6, further
comprising: means for generating and then outputting a message in
which predetermined third information about notification of
progress information in the service is added to the second
information if a hierarchical level included in the second
information is higher than that of a source of the second
information.
8. A service processing apparatus according to claim 6, further
comprising: means for generating a message including progress
information that is identified by a degree of details of return
information included in the second information, and then for
transmitting the message to the computer that is identified by the
destination of progress information notification included in the
second information.
9. A service processing apparatus according to claim 6, wherein: if
the degree of details of return information included in the second
information is maximum, a message including all progress
information is generated, and the message is then transmitted to
the computer that is identified by the destination of progress
information notification included in the second information.
10. A service processing apparatus according to claim 6, further
comprising: means for generating a message including predetermined
detailed progress information required for a test, and then
transmitting the message to the computer that is identified by the
destination of progress information notification included in the
second information if the degree of details of return information
included in the second information is debug.
11. A service processing program used in a computer system
comprising a plurality of computers, each of which receives a
message and executes a Web service on the basis of the message and
then outputs a message generated from the result of the execution,
said computer system realizing a Web service by transmitting and
receiving the messages among the computers, said service processing
program comprising the steps of: receiving a message including
first information about the execution of the service, and second
information about notification of progress information in the
service; executing said service according to the first information;
and analyzing the second information, and after that, on the basis
of the execution result of the service, generating a message
according to the second information, and then transmitting the
message to the computer that is identified by a destination of
progress information notification included in the second
information.
12. A service processing program according to claim 11, further
comprising the step of: if a hierarchical level included in the
second information is higher than that of a source of the second
information, generating a message in which predetermined third
information about notification of progress information in the
service is added to the second information, and then outputting the
message.
Description
[0001] The present application claims priority from the Japanese
patent applications JP2003-084085 filed on Mar. 26, 2003 and
JP2004-015117 filed on Jan. 23, 2004, the content of those is
hereby incorporated by reference into this application.
BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION
[0002] The present invention relates to a technique for managing
progress information and history information, which makes it
possible to provide progress information and history information
according to a service request.
[0003] In the conventional Web service (an apparatus, a system, or
a program, which provides services by use of one Web as an I/F),
information is exchanged between systems by use of an interface
that has been determined in advance between two specific services.
Even when handling notification of progress and history
information, a specific interface is defined in advance between the
services.
[0004] The technique including Web services is disclosed in "Java
Web Services" by David A. Cbappell and others (publishing company:
O' Reilly & Associates, Inc., 2002.3, pp. 3-9).
SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION
[0005] Heretofore, if a plurality of Web services are interfaced
with one another to realize a series of functions, how to handle
progress and history information to be exchanged among the Web
services needs to be determined as an interface among specific Web
services. Therefore, the following problem arises: in the event of
a system in which a plurality of Web services are interfaced with
one another, in order to manage progress and history information, a
requester of progress and history information is required to issue
a request in consideration of interfaces of all related Web
services; accordingly, if the number of related Web services
increases, processing becomes complicated in response to the number
of combinations of the related Web services.
[0006] In addition, if Web services are interfaced with one another
in multiple stages, i.e., if a Web service which directly receives
a request sends a request to an unspecific Web service, interfaces
of all related Web services cannot be taken into consideration, and
there is also a case in which a progress request cannot be issued
from a Web service other than a direct requester. In this case,
progress and history information which can be obtained is limited
to information which can be returned by the Web service that
directly receives the request.
[0007] An object of the present invention is to provide a service
processing method capable of dynamically controlling the obtaining
of history information and progress information, and an apparatus
thereof.
[0008] According to the present invention, the above-mentioned
problems are solved by the following steps: without individually
determining an interface of progress and history information among
specific systems, prescribing an information format used to
exchange progress and history information among a plurality of
systems; then issuing a request for progress and history
information together with an individual API request; and when a
state changes in each Web service, transmitting required
information in the common format.
BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWING
[0009] FIG. 1A is a diagram illustrating an example of a service
request adopted when an online order system is built by combining a
plurality of Web services together;
[0010] FIG. 1B is a diagram illustrating an example of service
progress notification adopted when an online order system is built
by combining a plurality of Web services together;
[0011] FIG. 2 is a diagram detailing a configuration of request
data transmitted from each Web service;
[0012] FIG. 3 is a diagram illustrating how systems of an A
Company, a B Company, and a C Company are configured;
[0013] FIG. 4 is a diagram detailing order specification data
transmitted from an A Company Web service to a B Company Web
service;
[0014] FIG. 5 is a diagram detailing data of an order of basic
configuration equipment, which is transmitted from the B Company
Web service to a C Company Web service;
[0015] FIG. 6 is a diagram detailing data of an order of basic
configuration equipment, which is transmitted from the B Company
Web service to the C Company Web service;
[0016] FIG. 7 is a diagram illustrating a process flow of the B
Company Web service;
[0017] FIG. 8 is a diagram detailing contents of progress
information notification data of the B Company Web service;
[0018] FIG. 9 is a diagram illustrating how a format of progress
information request data is defined;
[0019] FIG. 10 is a diagram illustrating how a format of progress
information notification data is defined;
[0020] FIG. 11 is a table for managing progress information request
data that is transmitted to the B Company Web service;
[0021] FIG. 12 is a table used for managing progress notification
information of the B Company Web service; and
[0022] FIG. 13 is a table used for managing progress notification
information of the A Company Web service.
DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS
[0023] FIGS. 1A and 1B are diagrams each illustrating an example in
which a plurality of Web services are combined to build an online
order system.
[0024] Reference numeral 101 in FIG. 1A denotes an A Company Web
service used for an order system which places an order of
custom-ordered system equipment from an A Company. Reference
numeral 102 in FIG. 1A denotes a B Company Web service. With
respect to the custom ordered system, the order of which is
received from the A Company, the B Company Web service transmits an
order of the basic configuration equipment to a C Company Web
service 103 shown in FIG. 1A, and also transmits an order of an
optional device to a D Company Web service 104 shown in FIG.
1A.
[0025] Moreover, the Company D Web service 104 transmits an order
of a component of the optional device to an E Company Web service
105 shown in FIG. 1A, and transmits an order of another component
of the optional device to a F Company Web service 106 shown in FIG.
1A.
[0026] Reference numeral 107 in FIG. 1A denotes transmit data of
the order of the custom-ordered system equipment, which is
transmitted from the A Company Web service 101 to the B Company Web
service 102. Reference numeral 108 in FIG. 1A denotes transmit data
of the order of the basic configuration equipment, which is
transmitted from the B Company Web service to the C Company Web
service. Reference numeral 109 in FIG. 1A denotes transmit data of
the order of the optional device, which is transmitted from the B
Company Web service to the D Company Web service. Reference numeral
110 in FIG. 1A denotes transmit data of the order of the optional
device, which is transmitted from the D Company Web service to the
E Company Web service. Reference numeral 111 in FIG. 1A denotes
transmit data of the order of the optional device, which is
transmitted from the D Company Web service to the F Company Web
service.
[0027] As for a request for the order of the custom-ordered system
equipment 107 coming from the A Company Web service, a message 801
in FIG. 1B includes progress information notification data of the B
Company Web service which is transmitted from the B Company Web
service to the A Company Web service.
[0028] Messages 901 and 902 are progress information notification
data of the C Company Web service. When a state of the C Company
Web service changes, the messages 901 and 902 are transmitted as
data having a format similar to that of the progress information
notification data 901 of the B Company Web service.
[0029] The progress information notification data 901 of the C
Company Web service is progress information notification data
corresponding to progress information request data (for the A
Company Web service) 502 transmitted through the B Company Web
service. The progress information notification data 902 of the C
Company Web service is progress information notification data
corresponding to progress information request data (for the B
Company Web service) 503.
[0030] In a similar manner, messages 903 and 904 are progress
information notification data of the D Company Web service. When a
state of the D Company Web service changes, the messages 903 and
904 are transmitted as data having a format similar to that of the
progress information notification data 801 of the B Company Web
service.
[0031] The progress information notification data 903 of the D
Company Web service is progress information notification data
corresponding to progress information request data (for the A
Company Web service) 502 transmitted through the B Company Web
service. The progress information notification data 904 of the D
Company Web service is progress data corresponding to progress
information request data (for the B Company Web service) 503.
[0032] FIG. 2 is a diagram illustrating a part of the processing
shown in FIGS. 1A and 1B, in which the C Company Web service 103
and the D Company Web service 104 are called from the A Company Web
service 101 through the B Company Web service 102. In addition to
it, FIG. 2 illustrates details of the request data.
[0033] The order of custom-ordered system equipment 107 is order
data transmitted from the A Company Web service 101 to the B
Company Web service. The order of custom-ordered system equipment
107 includes order specification data of the custom-ordered system
equipment shown in a message 401 in FIG. 4, and progress
information request data 402 used in a Web service history and
progress management method. In this embodiment, information
included in both of the messages 401 and 402 is described on the
basis of the XML format as an example. The present invention is not
limited to the XML.
[0034] In a similar manner, the order of basic configuration
equipment 108 shown in FIG. 2 is order data from the B Company Web
service to the C Company Web service. The order of basic
configuration equipment 108 includes order specification data 501
of the basic configuration equipment in FIG. 5, progress
information request data (for the A Company Web service) 502, and
progress information request data (for the B Company Web service)
503. The order of optional device 109 shown in FIG. 2 is order data
from the B Company Web service to the D Company Web service. The
order of optional device 109 includes order specification data 601
of the optional device in FIG. 6, progress information request data
(for the A Company Web service) 502, and progress information
request data (for the B Company Web service) 503.
[0035] FIG. 3 is a diagram illustrating how systems of an A
Company, a B Company, and a C Company, which are shown in FIG. 1,
are configured.
[0036] To be more specific, FIG. 3 illustrates in detail how the A
Company Web service 101, the B Company Web service 102, and the C
Company Web service 103 are configured. The A Company Web service
101 has an order specification input unit 201 for inputting
specifications of the custom-ordered system, an order and request
transmission unit 202, and an order information storing area 203
for storing transmitted order data. In addition, the A Company Web
service 101 also has a progress and history notification receiving
unit 204 for receiving progress and history information from the
other systems, a progress and history information storing area 205
for storing the information, and a progress and history display
unit 206 for displaying a stored history.
[0037] The B Company Web service 102 has the following: an order
and request receiving unit 207 for receiving order data transmitted
from the A Company, and the like; a component order transmission
unit 208 for transmitting an order request for a component to the C
Company Web service and the D Company Web service; and an order
information storing area 209 for storing order data. In addition,
the B Company Web service 102 has a progress and history
notification receiving unit 210 for receiving progress and history
information; a progress and history notification storing area 211
for storing the received progress and history information; a
progress and history notification transmission unit 212 for
transmitting progress and history information; and a progress and
history display unit 213 for displaying progress and history
information.
[0038] The C Company Web service 103 has an order and request
receiving unit 214 for receiving order data transmitted from the B
Company, and the like, and an order information storing area 215
for storing order data. In addition, the C Company Web service 103
has the following: a progress and history information transmission
unit 216 for transmitting progress and history information; a
progress and history information storing area 217 for storing the
progress and history information; and a progress and history
display unit 218 for displaying progress and history information.
These Web services 101 through 103 are realized by use of
information processing devices. The processing units 201 through
206, 207, 208, 210 through 213, 214, 216, 218 are functions
achieved by the execution of programs. The information 203, 205,
209, 211, 215, 217 are stored in storage devices including a memory
and a magnetic disk.
[0039] The order specification data 401 shown in FIG. 4 is order
specification data used to specify the order for the custom-ordered
system equipment, which is transmitted from the A Company Web
service to the B Company Web service. The order specification data
401 is specified when using each function of the Web services.
Contents of the order specification data 401 correspond to contents
of each Web service. The order specification data of the
custom-ordered system equipment includes a system type, the number
of orders, the delivery date, an additional optional device, and
another additional optional device which are specified to be
"general-purpose system 2 type", "3", "2002/5/21", "memory
expansion", and "NIC expansion" respectively. This data is required
for each service to perform services. A format for specifying the
data is determined on the basis of contents of each service. The
order specification data 401 shown in FIG. 4 is one example of how
the format is determined.
[0040] The progress information request data 402 is information
that is used to pass history request information many times among
the plurality of Web services, and thereby to manage history and
progress information of the plurality of systems. Reference numeral
1001 in FIG. 9 shows definitions of a format of the progress
information request data 402. Information 403 through 407 in FIG. 4
corresponds to progress information request data, a destination of
progress information notification, a requester ID, a degree of
details of return information, a hierarchical level respectively,
all of which are defined in the definition of progress information
request data 1001. Each of the above-mentioned items will be
described in detail by use of an example as below.
[0041] The progress information request data 402 shows details of
the progress information request data. With the object of
indicating that the progress information request data 402 is an
information group used to notify the A Company Web service of
progress information, information 403 specifies "progress
information request". The information 403 defines a progress
information request that includes information 404 through 407 used
to notify the progress information.
[0042] Information 404 is a destination of progress information
notification. Information indicating a destination which is
notified of progress information is set. In this embodiment,
information used to receive progress information of the A Company
Web service is set by use of an URL.
[0043] In this embodiment, the A Company Web service sets the data
as the progress information request in the progress information
request data 402. However, the following method can also be used:
apart from the A Company Web service, providing another Web service
that manages progress information and history information; and as a
destination of progress information notification of the information
404, instead of specifying information used to receive progress
information of the A Company Web service, specifying a
progress-information use URL of the Web service for managing
progress information and history information, which has been
provided apart from the A Company Web service.
[0044] Information 405 is a requester ID. What is specified is data
obtained by numbering a requester with the object of managing order
data of the A Company Web service. If this requester ID is
specified in the progress information notification data when
transmitting the progress information notification data from the B
Company Web service to the A Company Web service, the A Company Web
service can identify an order corresponding to this progress
information notification. In this embodiment, "000A012" is
specified as the requester ID. However, if a requester ID can be
used to identify order data which is a request from the A Company
Web service and to identify progress information notification data
which is transmitted from each of the other Web services in
association with the order data, other formats may also be used as
a character string and a numerical value.
[0045] Information 406 is data indicating a degree of details of
return information. This is information that indicates a unit of
transmission of progress information management, of which the A
Company is notified. In this embodiment, "maximum" is specified.
This indicates that as progress information of business logic in
the B Company Web service that has received this new request data,
progress information is returned in the maximum resolvable unit.
When the degree of details of return information is "maximum",
progress information is requested as detailed as possible; for
example, if a business process of each service includes a plurality
of operation steps, progress information of each operation step is
requested.
[0046] For example, the business process includes operation steps
of "receive processing", "inspection", "confirmation of delivery
date", and "ordering", progress information is notified on an
operation step basis. As the degree of details of return
information, "debug", "maximum", "input/output", "minimum",
"error", and the like, including the above-mentioned example, can
also be specified as a unit of progress information to be notified.
In this example, in the event of the "debug", the amount of
progress information notification data is largest; and in the event
of the "error", the amount of progress information notification
data is smallest.
[0047] The degree of details of return information is a value
indicating a unit expected by the A Company Web service that
requests the progress information notification data. On the basis
of the degree of details of return information, each service
returns the progress information notification data in a unit that
can be achieved by the service at the time of returning the
progress information notification data. The "debug" is specified
with the object of notifying further detailed progress information
at a stage of handling each operation step to be notified in the
event of "maximum". The "debug" is used for a test, or the like. In
this case, detailed progress information required for the test is
defined beforehand. The "input/output" indicates that progress
notification information about input/output from/to a service other
than this service is required; for example, a case where a request
is received from another service, a case where a request is further
issued to another service, or the like. Moreover, the "minimum"
indicates that progress notification information is required at a
minimum level which is considered by each service as a required
minimum level. The "error" indicates that progress notification
information is requested only when a problem which does not occur
in usual operation occurs.
[0048] The degree of details of return information indicates a
target unit of progress information. However, it is also possible
to specify a classification, and a filter condition, of requested
progress information so that only progress information relating to
a specific classification is obtained; for example, only "start"
and "completed" for a processing step such as a request to another
Web system are obtained.
[0049] The hierarchical level, which is the information 407 in FIG.
4, is used to specify a notification range of progress information
if a series of processing involves a plurality of Web services. The
hierarchical level is specified as a numerical value equivalent to
the number of stages that is counted from a first Web service. For
example, when counting from a Web service that requests a service,
a first destination Web service is a first stage. If the first
destination Web service calls another Web service, said another Web
service is a second stage. In other words, if progress up to two
stages from the A Company Web service needs to be kept track of,
for example, a hierarchical level of "2" is transmitted to the B
Company Web service. The B Company Web service transmits a
hierarchical level of "1" to the C Company Web service. Because the
C Company Web service receives "1" as the hierarchical level, the C
Company Web service judges that it is not necessary to transmit a
progress information request to a Web service, a level of which is
lower than the C Company Web service.
[0050] In the example of the information 407 shown in FIG. 4, "2"
is specified. This shows that a range within which the A Company
Web service is notified of progress information is two stages. With
reference to FIG. 2, the B Company Web service 102, which is the
first stage, and the C Company Web service 103 and the D Company
Web service 104, which are the second stage, are requested to
transmit progress information to the A Company Web service.
[0051] By setting the progress information request data 402 shown
in FIG. 4, and then by issuing a request from the A Company Web
service to the B Company Web service together with the order
specification data 401, it is possible to notify progress
information by use of data format, which is common to a plurality
of Web services, without individually creating an interface of
progress information among individual Web services to create
processing that is specific to the individual Web services.
[0052] FIG. 5 illustrates contents of data to be transmitted as the
order of basic configuration equipment 108 from the B Company Web
service to the C Company Web service. The data includes the
following: order specification data 501 of the basic configuration
equipment, which shows contents of the order for basic
configuration equipment; progress information request data (for the
A Company Web service) used to request notification of progress
information to the A Company Web service 502; and progress
information request data (for the B Company Web service) 503 used
to request notification of progress information to the B Company
Web service.
[0053] The order specification data 501 in FIG. 5 is data relating
to the order for basic configuration equipment. In this embodiment,
a system type, the number of orders, the delivery date are
specified to be "general-purpose system 2 type", "3", "2002/4/20"
respectively. The system type and the number of orders have the
same values as those in the order specification data 401 of the
custom-ordered system equipment in FIG. 4. As for the delivery
date, after the basic configuration equipment and the optional
device are delivered, on the basis of the values of the order
specification data 401 of the custom-ordered system equipment in
FIG. 4, a value obtained by subtracting a period of time required
for assembling is specified.
[0054] The progress information request data (for the A Company Web
service) 502 shown in FIG. 5 is information used to return progress
information to the A Company Web service. The progress information
request data 502 is generated on the basis of the progress
information request data 402 from the A Company Web service.
Information ranging from a destination of progress information
notification 404 to a degree of details of return information 406
is similar to progress request data 402 from the A Company Web
service in FIG. 4. Because the progress information request data
502 is passed through the B Company Web service, "1" is specified
as the hierarchical level 505 as a result of decrementing its value
by one.
[0055] The progress information request data (for the B Company Web
service) 503 shown in FIG. 5 is transmit data used to request
transmission of progress information to the B Company Web service.
The progress information request data 503 has a format similar to
those of the progress information request data 402 and the progress
information request data 502. Information 507 shown in FIG. 5 is a
destination of progress information notification, which specifies
an URL indicating a destination of progress and history
notification information of the B Company Web service. Information
508 is an ID for identifying a specific order, which is set by the
B Company Web service. In this embodiment, a degree of details of
return information 509 is specified to be "maximum"; and a
hierarchical level 510 is specified to be "2".
[0056] FIG. 6 illustrates contents of data to be transmitted as the
order of the optional device 109 from the B Company Web service to
the D Company Web service. The data includes the following: order
specification data 601 of the optional device, which shows contents
of the order for the optional device; progress information request
data (for the A Company Web service) used to request notification
of progress information to the A Company Web service 502; and
progress information request data (for the B Company Web service)
503 used to request notification of progress information to the B
Company Web service.
[0057] The order specification data 601 of the optional device
shows contents of an order for the optional devices that are
included in the order specification data 401 of the custom-ordered
system equipment in FIG. 4. This order for the optional devices
needs to be placed with the C Company Web service. Device types of
the order specification data 601 are determined on the basis of the
additional optional devices in the order specification data 401 of
the custom-ordered system equipment. In this example, "memory" and
"NIC" are specified. In addition, the number of orders is specified
to be "3", which is the same as that of the order specification
data 401 of the custom-ordered system equipment. As for the
delivery date, after the basic configuration equipment and the
optional device are delivered, on the basis of the values of the
order specification data 401 of the custom-ordered system equipment
in FIG. 4, a value obtained by subtracting a period of time
required for assembling is specified.
[0058] In this embodiment, contents of the progress information
request data (for the A Company Web service) 502 and the progress
information request data (for the B Company Web service) 503, which
are shown in FIG. 6, are the same as those of the progress
information request data 502 and 503 included in the data of the
order for the basic configuration equipment which is transmitted
from the B Company Web service to the C Company Web service.
[0059] In the order specification data 601 of the optional device,
a device type, the number of orders, and the delivery date are
specified twice as the order specification data of the optional
device.
[0060] FIG. 8 is a diagram illustrating contents of the progress
information notification data 801 of the B Company Web service,
which is transmitted to the A Company Web service when a state of
the B Company Web service changes. Reference numeral 1002 of FIG.
10 denotes definitions in the format of the progress information
notification data 801 of the B Company Web service. Reference
numerals 803 through 811 shown in FIG. 8, which are defined in the
definitions of progress information notification data 1002, denote
respectively the following items: a requester of status check, a
target service, a requester ID, progress information notification
including a current status, a service ID that is a detailed item of
the current status, a service name, the date and time, target
processing, and a state. Each of the above-mentioned items will be
described in detail by use of examples as below.
[0061] Reference numeral 802 in FIG. 8 denotes progress information
notification, which includes information from the requester of
status check 803 to the current status 806.
[0062] The requester of status check 803 indicates a requester that
has requested the progress information. The contents of the
requester of status check 803 become the same as those of the
destination of progress information notification 404 in the
progress information request data 402.
[0063] The target service 804 indicates a target of the progress
information which is specified by the progress information
notification data 801. In this case, an URL indicating the B
Company Web service is specified.
[0064] Reference numeral 805 denotes a requester ID. Contents
specified as the requester ID 805 are the same as those of the
requester ID 405 in the progress information request data 402. This
information enables a requester of progress information to identify
an order corresponding to the progress information.
[0065] The current status 806 shows a status after a change in
state in the B Company Web service. The current status 806 includes
information from the service ID 807 to the state 811.
[0066] The service ID 807 is an ID used to identify a target in the
B Company Web service. When a request for the newest progress state
is transmitted from the A Company Web service to the B Company Web
service in arbitrary timing except at the time of receiving, or
when history information is requested, the progress information
notification data 801 can be used to specify a target.
[0067] The service name 808 is a service name of the B Company Web
service. When progress information collected from a plurality of
Web services is displayed in the A Company Web service, using this
name makes it possible to indicate how the Web services correspond
to the progress information.
[0068] The date and time 809 indicates the date and time when a
state has changed.
[0069] If a business process in the B Company Web service includes
a plurality of operation steps, the target processing 810 indicates
a name of an operation step, a state of which has changed.
[0070] The state 811 indicates a current state of the target
processing 810 after the state has changed. The state 811 is
provided with one of values each indicating a state. The values
include "completed", "being executed", "being stopped", "waiting
for receiving", "not executed", "forcedly stopped", "external
request is stopped", "abnormally ended", "execution is omitted", or
the like.
[0071] The progress information service 812 indicates a Web service
to which an inquiry is sent. The progress information service 812
is used, for example, when it is necessary to send an inquiry about
the newest progress information to the B Company Web service.
[0072] FIG. 11 illustrates a table for managing progress
information request data that is transmitted to the B Company Web
service.
[0073] A destination of progress information notification 1101, a
requester ID 1102, a degree of details of return information 1103,
and a hierarchical level 1104 are items that correspond to the
items 404, 405, 406, 407 of the progress information request data
402 of the A Company Web service. The service ID 1105 is data that
is obtained as a result of unique numbering in a service. When a
state of a transaction is changed, the service ID 1105 is used to
identify a destination of progress information notification.
[0074] FIG. 12 illustrates a table for managing progress
notification information of the B Company Web service. The service
ID 1201 has the same value as that of the service ID 1105. The
service ID 1201 is data that is obtained as a result of unique
numbering in a service. A transaction name 1202, target processing
1203, a person in charge 1204 are information used for management
in the B Company Web service. A progress information service 1205,
a target service ID 1206, a target service name 1207, the target
update time 1208, target processing 1209, and a target state 1210
are areas for storing progress information notified by the other
Web services.
[0075] FIG. 13 illustrates a table for managing progress
notification information of the A Company Web service. Contents of
items 1301 through 1310 are similar to those of the items 1201
through 1210 in the progress notification information of the A
Company Web service.
[0076] FIG. 7 is a flowchart illustrating a series of processing
from the time when the B Company Web service has received an order
of the custom-ordered system equipment 107 from the A Company Web
service 101 until the B Company Web service returns progress data
to the A Company Web service.
[0077] As soon as the B Company Web service receives an order of
custom-ordered system equipment 107 by use of the order and request
receiving unit 207 (step 701), the B Company Web service checks
contents of order data, and then creates, as component order data,
the order specification data 501 of the basic configuration
equipment, which is transmitted to the C Company Web service, and
the order specification data 601 of an optional device, which is
transmitted to the D Company Web service (step 702).
[0078] Next, a unique ID is created as an ID corresponding to the
order of the custom-ordered system equipment 107. Then, the order
data is stored in the order information storing area 209 shown in
FIG. 3 (step 703). In addition, contents of the progress
information request data 402 are stored in a progress information
request management table 1100 (for the B Company Web service) in
the progress and history information storing area 211 shown in FIG.
3 (step 704).
[0079] In the progress information request data 402 requesting
progress information to be transmitted to the A Company Web
service, the hierarchical level indicates two stages. Therefore,
the progress information request data 502 is created. In this case,
the progress information request data 502 shows a request for
progress information to be transmitted to the A Company Web service
from the C Company Web service and the D Company Web service, with
which the B Company Web service has placed the orders for
components. At this time, the hierarchical level 505 is specified
to be "1" as a result of decrementing by one. At the same time, the
progress information request data 503 which requests progress
information to be transmitted to the B Company Web service is
created. For the purpose of managing the association of the
progress information notification data from the C Company Web
service with that from the D Company Web service, the progress
information request management table 1100 of the B Company Web
service stores information including the service ID 1201, the
transaction name 1202 of a transaction managed in the B Company
system, the target processing 1203, and the person in charge 1204
(step 705). The service ID 1201 is the ID created in the step
703.
[0080] The order data created in the step 702 combined with the
progress information request data created in the step 705 is
transmitted to the C Company Web service 103 as data of the order
of the basic configuration equipment 108 to be transmitted to the C
Company Web service, and to the D Company Web service 104 as data
of the order of optional device 109 to be transmitted to the D
Company Web service (step 706).
[0081] On the completion of the step 706, a state of component
order transmission processing of the B Company Web service is
changed to "completed". Because the state is changed, the B Company
Web service searches for a destination of progress information
notification using as a key the service ID 1105 of the progress
information request management table of the B Company Web service.
After that, on the basis of the progress information request data
402 from the A Company Web service, the B Company Web service
creates the progress information notification data 801 shown in
FIG. 8, which indicates a progress state in the B Company Web
service (step. 707), and then transmits the progress information
notification data 801 to the A Company Web service (step 708).
[0082] In addition, as for the C Company Web service, when a state
is changed (for example, when the basic configuration equipment
which is the ordered product is dispatched), on the basis of the
progress information request data 502 from the B Company Web
service, by means of processing similar to the processing steps 707
and 708 in the B Company Web service, the C Company Web service
creates the progress information notification data 901 of the C
Company Web service, and then transmits the progress information
notification data 901 to the B Company Web service (step 709).
[0083] The B Company Web service, which has received the progress
information notification data 902 of the C Company Web service,
stores information of the progress information notification data
902 of the C Company Web service in the progress notification
information management table 1200 of the B Company Web service. At
the same time, the B Company Web service searches the progress
information request management table 1100 of the B Company Web
service for the service ID 1105, and thereby identifies a
destination of progress information notification. Then, as is the
case with the step 707, the B Company Web service creates the
progress information notification data shown in FIG. 8, which shows
a change in progress status in the B Company Web service (step
717). In the progress information notification data which is
created in the step 717, the date and time 809, the target
processing 810, and the state 811, of the progress information
notification data 801, which has been transmitted from the B
Company Web service to the A Company Web service in advance, are
changed according to the progress information notification data 902
of the C Company Web service. Their values, therefore, are replaced
with "2002/8/24 8:00:00", "receipt of delivery notification of
basic configuration equipment", and "completed" respectively.
[0084] The progress information notification data of the B Company
Web service, which has been created in the step 717, is transmitted
to a destination indicated by the destination of progress
information notification 1101 in the progress information request
management table 1100 of the B Company Web service (step 718).
[0085] In the A Company Web service, the progress information
notification data which is notified in the steps 708 and 709, and
the progress information notification data which is notified from
the C Company Web service, are stored in a progress notification
information management table 1300 of the A Company Web service
shown in FIG. 13.
[0086] When a person in charge of the A Company checks progress,
contents of the progress notification information management table
1300 of the A Company Web service are referred to.
[0087] As described above, by setting progress information request
data in the format as shown in the progress information request
data 402 in FIG. 4, and then by transmitting the set progress
information request data together with information used to realize
functions of a Web service, it is possible to notify progress
information by use of a data format, which is common to a plurality
of Web services, without individually creating an interface of
progress information among individual Web services to create
processing that is specific to the individual Web services.
Transmitting a progress information request together with a service
request for realizing the functions of a Web service makes it
possible to individually choose an interface of progress
information among Web services.
[0088] According to the present invention, it becomes possible to
dynamically control the obtaining of history information and
progress information.
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