JP2007026008A - Task integration system - Google Patents

Abstract

<P>PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To attain efficient task integration processing when a task for which a relatively long time is required exists from an execution request till the acquisition of the execution result. <P>SOLUTION: A data cooperation server performs synchronous functional cooperation execution control since execution is requested until the acquisition of the execution result by 1 to 7. In the case of asynchronous functional cooperation execution control, a business process temporary stop control part 8 temporarily stops the execution of a BPL by a business process processing part 2 until the execution result of the task is acquired when the execution configuration of the task is an asynchronous type, and stores state storage data prior to the stop. A business process resumption control part 10 resumes the business process execution of the business processing processing part by restoring the state prior to a temporarily stop from the association of an asynchronous task result received by an asynchronous task execution result receiving part 9 and the state storage data stored prior to the temporal stop. <P>COPYRIGHT: (C)2007,JPO&INPIT

Description

  The present invention relates to a business integration system that allows various business support servers distributed and arranged via a network to function in an integrated manner using a data cooperation server, and more particularly to function cooperation execution control in a data cooperation server.

  Functions provided by various systems on the network (intranet / Internet) are made into subroutines (individual functions made into subroutines are called tasks, hereinafter referred to as tasks), and these are combined to seamlessly link the systems. A data linkage server that realizes the above has already been proposed (see, for example, Patent Document 1).

  An example of the configuration of a business integration system using this data linkage server is shown in FIG. The target system form is a Web system in which the client is a Web browser. Basically, a data linkage server C is arranged between a conventional client A and various business support servers B via a network, and a business process logic (business process logic) in which the data linkage server C is installed in advance. Is automatically executed to link data with each business support server B. With this configuration, the client A simply obtains the result of the business process simply by requesting the data linkage server C to execute the business process, thereby realizing efficiency in the business process.

  FIG. 4 shows an S / W block diagram of the data linkage server. In the figure, solid arrows indicate the flow between blocks of internal data defined by the server S / W, and broken arrows indicate the flow of information between each information source and the blocks. Details of each S / W block will be described below.

  The client gate unit 1 extracts process logic to be executed, various parameters necessary for executing the process logic, and style sheet information for the GUI to be created from the data transmitted from the client A, and stores them as internal data.

  The business process processing unit 2 executes a business process based on a logic sequence of a designated business process (hereinafter referred to as process logic). In the process logic, information necessary for execution is described in advance, and is arranged outside the S / W block. In the process logic, the name (service name) of the business process function to be executed is described.

  In the business process processing unit 2, detailed information (server name or IP address, parameter elements necessary for service execution, etc.) of the business support server corresponding to the service name is acquired from the registry management unit 3. Also, the service name and the detailed information of the business support server are passed to the task communication unit 4 to request communication (service execution) with the business support server B. The result of service execution is stored as internal data. This series of processing is executed for all the business support servers B described in the process logic to realize cooperation between the business support servers.

  The registry management unit 3 provides detailed information (server name or IP address, parameter elements necessary for service execution, etc.) of the business support server B corresponding to the business process function name (service name) specified by the business process processing unit 2. Acquired from the registry 5 arranged outside the S / W block, and notifies the business process processing unit 2 of it.

  The task communication unit 4 communicates (service execution) with the business support server B based on the service name specified by the business process processing unit 2 and the detailed information of the business support server, and the business execution result of the business support server B The process processing unit 2 is notified.

  The registry 5 stores detailed information (server name or IP address, parameter elements necessary for server execution, etc.) of the business support server corresponding to the business process function name (server name). This is an external resource separated from the S / W block of the data linkage server C.

  The GUI creation unit 6 transmits to the client A based on the processing result of the business process processing unit 2 stored as internal data and the specified style sheet information (located outside the S / W block). A GUI to be created is dynamically created.

  With the S / W block configuration described above, the data linkage server C allows the framework portion to execute processing independent of a specific business application and the external resource portion (service registry depending on the specific business application). (Information, business support server, process logic, GUI style sheet).

  The linkage procedure (business process) with each task is defined in an external file (this file is called a business process definition file, hereinafter referred to as BPD: Business Process Definition). An example in which this BPD is described in the XML format is shown in FIG. The data linkage server C interprets this BPD and performs linkage with the task according to the definition content. This BPD description method defines keywords related to function linkage (task execution, branch control, repeat control, etc.) and describes the data required for each execution (task name to execute, branch condition, repeat condition). A series of business processes with a control structure.

  The data linkage server sequentially executes tasks according to the BPD and holds the execution result as internal data. When the execution of all the tasks described in the BPD is completed, the internal data is returned to the client that is the business process execution request source.

As described above, the client can realize cooperation between tasks and can receive a result of the cooperation only by requesting execution of the BPD defined in the data cooperation server.
JP 2003-242127 A

  The task execution of the conventional data linkage server is realized as one process (synchronization function linkage) from the execution request to the execution result acquisition. Therefore, after issuing an execution request, the data linkage server is in a standby state until the execution result is acquired, and during that time, the next task execution is not executed (however, in the case of a task that does not return a result, This is not the case)

  In such a task execution method, a problem occurs in cooperation with a task that requires a long time until an execution result is obtained. For example, the approval function or the like is used, and generally, the approval operation usually requires a lot of time (several hours or days) until an approval is obtained after an approval request is made.

  An object of the present invention is to provide a business integration system that solves the above problems.

  In order to solve the above-mentioned problems, the present invention makes the execution request and the execution result independent processes when the task takes a relatively long time from the execution request to the execution result acquisition. This is an asynchronous function linkage system that receives the execution result when the execution result is returned, and performs subsequent processing on the execution result, and is characterized by the following system.

(1) The data linkage server can be connected to various business support servers via a network, and is preloaded with business process logic for executing the functions of the various business support servers in cooperation with each other, requested by the client. In the business integration system provided with the function linkage execution control means for performing the task execution on the various business support servers in an integrated manner according to the business process logic,
When the task to be executed by the business support server requires a relatively long time from the execution request to the execution result acquisition, the data linkage server, after issuing the task execution request to the business support server, Suspend execution to execute processing of other business process logic, receive the execution result when the execution result is returned from the business support server in response to the execution request, and execute the business process logic of the execution result Asynchronous function cooperation execution control means for performing later processing is provided.

(2) The data linkage server
A business process processing unit that executes a business process based on a specified business process logic sequence;
When the task execution form is asynchronous, an asynchronous task communication unit that terminates processing when an execution request for the task is issued;
When the task execution form is asynchronous, the business process is temporarily stopped until the execution result of the business process processing unit is suspended and the state storage data before the stop is stored. A control unit;
An asynchronous task execution result receiver that receives the execution result of an asynchronous task;
A business process that restores the state before suspension from the relationship between the asynchronous task result received by the asynchronous task execution result receiver and the state storage data saved before suspension, and resumes the business process execution of the business process processor A resume control unit;
It is provided with.

  (3) The business process suspension control unit includes means for returning a halfway result to the client once before suspension and returning the execution result when the execution of the definition contents of all the business process logic is completed. And

  (4) The business process suspension control unit can implement at least one of an HTTP communication method, a mail communication method, and an MQ method as an asynchronous communication method with a task.

  (5) The asynchronous task communication unit is characterized in that at least one of a binary file storage method, an XML file storage method, and a database storage method can be implemented as a state storage data storage method.

  (6) The asynchronous task execution result receiving unit is characterized in that at least one of a common receiving unit method and an execution task-specific receiving unit method can be implemented as an asynchronous task execution result receiving method.

  As described above, according to the present invention, when a task takes a relatively long time from execution request to execution result acquisition, the execution request and the execution result are set as independent processes, and after the execution request is issued, other processing is performed. When the execution result is returned, the execution result is received, and the asynchronous function cooperation method for performing the subsequent processing on the execution result is added.

  (1) For a task that requires a relatively long execution time, only an execution request is issued first, and another task execution can be processed before the execution result is required. Collaboration efficiency can be improved.

  (2) Since the business process processing can be suspended until the execution result of the asynchronous task is obtained by the business process suspension function, the business process in which the asynchronous task and the synchronous task are mixed can be executed.

  (3) Until the execution result of the asynchronous task is obtained, the state information of the business process processing is saved and suspended, so that the system resources in the meantime can be released and the business process executed during that time can be executed. The influence of can be eliminated.

  (4) Since the intermediate result is returned to the client once before the suspension and this execution result is returned when execution of all the business process logic definition contents is completed, the execution result of the business process including the execution of the asynchronous task is executed to the end. If you don't, you won't be able to get it, and you can use the information you get for other tasks.

  (5) By providing an asynchronous task execution method in addition to the conventional synchronous task execution method, the data linkage server can be applied to application ranges (such as approval processing tasks) that cannot be supported by the synchronous task execution method alone. .

  FIG. 1 is an S / W configuration diagram of a data linkage server showing an embodiment of the present invention, and parts equivalent to those in FIG.

  In the present embodiment, function cooperation by asynchronous function cooperation is enabled with respect to a conventional data cooperation server that has been only in synchronous function cooperation in function cooperation.

  A solid line arrow in FIG. 1 in which this non-same function cooperation is implemented indicates a flow between internal data blocks defined by the data cooperation server S / W, and a broken line arrow indicates a flow of information between each information source and the block. .

  The asynchronous task communication unit 7 is a function that is executed when the business process processing unit 2 acquires the detailed information from the registry with the task name defined in the BPD as a key, and as a result, the task execution form is asynchronous. It is a block. The task communication unit 4 waits until the execution result of the executed task is acquired, but the asynchronous task communication unit 7 ends the process when a task execution request is issued. As means for realizing such task execution request transmission, there are HTTP communication, mail communication, and MQ (Message Queueing) communication. When a task is executed, an identification ID unique to the execution task is generated and added to the task execution request. At the same time, the asynchronous task communication unit 7 manages the task ID.

  The business process suspension control unit 8 is a functional block executed when the business process processing unit 2 finds a business process suspension definition in the BPD. The business process pause definition is an extended definition for realizing the asynchronous execution method, and stops execution of a business process until an execution result of a task is acquired. The business process suspension control unit 8 performs the following information storage process before temporarily suspending the execution of the currently executing BPD. The stored various information is collectively referred to as state storage data.

  Implemented BPD definition information: Information indicating how far the data linkage server has executed the BPD.

  Data linkage server status information: various status information associated with BPD execution of the data linkage server.

  Completed task execution result information: Task execution result information obtained so far.

  The ID generated by the asynchronous task communication unit 7 is added to these state storage data. At the same time, this ID is registered in the asynchronous task execution result receiving unit 9.

  The business process suspension control unit 8 that stores the above information creates intermediate result information based on the execution results so far, returns this to the client, and suspends the business process.

  The asynchronous task execution result receiving unit 9 is a functional block that is executed by receiving an execution result from a task for which an asynchronous task execution request has been issued. In the synchronous function cooperation, the task execution result is received by the task communication unit (functional block that issued the task execution request) 4, but in the asynchronous function cooperation, the asynchronous task execution result receiving part 9 receives it. The asynchronous task execution result receiving unit 9 that has received the execution result requests the business process resumption control unit 10 to resume execution of the business process that has been temporarily stopped.

  The business process restart control unit 10 is a functional block that is executed when a request is received from the asynchronous task execution result receiving unit 9. The asynchronous task result received by the asynchronous task execution result receiving unit 9 is associated with the state storage data stored before the suspension by the ID, and the business process resumption control unit 10 loads and receives the state storage data corresponding to the ID. Restore the state before suspension using the executed result as an argument, and resume the execution of the business process. When execution of all tasks in the BPD is completed, all execution results are returned to the client using means such as mail.

  Of the above functional blocks, the asynchronous task communication unit 7 has (A) the asynchronous communication method, the business process pause control unit 8 has the (B) state storage data storage method, and the asynchronous task execution result reception unit 9 has ( C) Asynchronous task execution result reception methods can be used, and there are several methods, the details of which will be described below.

  (A) Asynchronous communication method: This is a communication method between the data linkage server and the asynchronous task, and includes at least one of the following methods.

(A1) HTTP communication method HTTP communication is used to receive asynchronous task execution requests and asynchronous task execution results. HTTP communication is a synchronous communication means in which request transmission and result reception are paired, but the result returned after sending an asynchronous task execution request (this is not the execution result of the asynchronous task) can be ignored. Asynchronous communication is realized. The execution result is realized by communicating in the same way from the asynchronous task side to the data linkage server side. The transmission parameter to the task is set as HTTP content, and the execution result is similarly set.

(A2) Mail communication method Mail is used for asynchronous task execution request transmission and asynchronous task execution result reception. The transmission parameter to the task is set as an email text or an attached file, and the execution result is acquired from the email text or an attached file. The asynchronous task execution result is received by the mail account, and the asynchronous task execution result receiving unit acquires the execution result received by the mail account.

(A3) MQ (Message Queueing) communication method MQ is used for asynchronous task execution request transmission and asynchronous task execution result reception. MQ means that when messages are exchanged between applications, messages that are sent / received are temporarily stored in a queue, and the S / W that regularly manages them performs send / receive processing for the messages. Thus, an application that performs message exchange does not have to wait for completion of message transmission / reception processing, and can implement the following processing after storing the message in the queue.

  The parameters sent to the task are set as messages, and the execution results are obtained as messages as well. The asynchronous task execution result is received by the message queue, and the asynchronous task execution result receiving unit acquires the execution result received by the message queue.

  (B) State storage data storage method: This is a state storage data storage method that is stored before suspension of business process execution, and includes at least one of the following methods.

(B1) Binary file storage method The following data that is the target of state storage data is serialized and stored as a binary file.

  Implemented BPD definition information: Information indicating how far the data linkage server has executed the BPD.

  Data linkage server status information: various status information associated with BPD execution of the data linkage server.

  Completed task execution result information: Task execution result information obtained so far.

  The file name for saving is uniquely set and set by the system. This file name includes an ID created at the time of saving, and the state saving data file is specified from the ID when business process execution is resumed.

  The binary file storage method described above has an advantage that can be realized without using special S / W and applications.

(B2) XML file storage method A tag is defined for each piece of data similar to the above as the target of state storage data, and is stored as an XML file. FIG. 2 shows an implementation example of state storage data using an XML file. Depending on the data type to be stored, a tag corresponding to the data type is set as a child element of each tag. This XML file storage method can be realized without using a special S / W and application, and has an advantage that it can be handled independently of the OS, application, and programming language.

(B3) Database storage method Data similar to the above-described data that is the target of state storage data is stored in the database with each information item as a data field. By using a database, there are advantages such as improved processing efficiency during data input / output and easier data management compared to the file storage method.

  (C) Asynchronous task execution result reception method: This is a reception method for receiving the execution result of an asynchronous task, and includes at least one of the following methods.

(C1) Common receiving unit method One asynchronous task execution result receiving unit is commonly used to acquire the results of all asynchronous tasks. The ID added at the time of execution request is acquired from the execution result of the executed asynchronous task, and the result information and the ID are passed to the business process restart control unit. In this method, since one receiving unit is shared for receiving all asynchronous task execution results, it is possible to suppress the consumption of system resources and to reduce the cost related to receiving unit management.

(C2) Receiving unit method by execution task The asynchronous task execution receiving unit is used exclusively for the executed asynchronous task. In this case, the identification ID of the executed asynchronous task is set in the receiving unit. When the execution result of the asynchronous task is received, the ID and result information set in the receiving unit are passed to the business process restart control unit. Since this method adds an ID to the receiving unit itself, it is not necessary to acquire the ID from the asynchronous task result, and it is possible to cope with the case where the asynchronous task result does not include the ID.

  Note that the above (A) asynchronous communication method, (B) state storage data storage method, and (C) asynchronous task execution result reception method can be combined as appropriate.

The S / W block diagram of the data cooperation server which shows embodiment of this invention. The example of the state preservation | save data XML file preservation | save system in embodiment. Configuration example of a business integration system using a data linkage server. The S / W block diagram of the conventional data cooperation server. XML of business process.

Explanation of symbols

DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 1 Client gate part 2 Business process processing part 3 Registry management part 4 Task communication part 5 Registry 6 GUI preparation part 7 Asynchronous task communication part 8 Business process suspension control part 9 Asynchronous task execution result reception part 10 Business process resumption control part

Claims (6)

The data linkage server can be connected to various business support servers via a network, and is preloaded with business process logic for executing the functions of the various business support servers in cooperation with each other. In the business integration system provided with the function cooperation execution control means for performing the task execution in an integrated manner for various business support servers according to the business process logic,
When the task to be executed by the business support server requires a relatively long time from the execution request to the execution result acquisition, the data linkage server, after issuing the task execution request to the business support server, Suspend execution to execute processing of other business process logic, receive the execution result when the execution result is returned from the business support server in response to the execution request, and execute the business process logic of the execution result A business integration system comprising an asynchronous function linkage execution control means for performing subsequent processing. The data linkage server
A business process processing unit that executes a business process based on a specified business process logic sequence;
When the task execution form is asynchronous, an asynchronous task communication unit that terminates processing when an execution request for the task is issued;
When the task execution form is asynchronous, the business process is temporarily stopped until the execution result of the business process processing unit is suspended and the state storage data before the stop is stored. A control unit;
An asynchronous task execution result receiver that receives the execution result of an asynchronous task;
A business process that restores the state before suspension from the relationship between the asynchronous task result received by the asynchronous task execution result receiver and the state storage data saved before suspension, and resumes the business process execution of the business process processor A resume control unit;
The business integration system according to claim 1, further comprising:   The business process suspension control unit includes means for returning a halfway result to the client once before suspension and returning the execution result when execution of the definition contents of all business process logic is completed. Item 3. The business integration system according to item 2.   The business process suspension control unit can implement at least one of an HTTP communication method, a mail communication method, and an MQ method as an asynchronous communication method with a task. Business integration system.   The business according to claim 2, wherein the asynchronous task communication unit can implement at least one of a binary file storage method, an XML file storage method, and a database storage method as a state storage data storage method. Integrated system. 3. The business according to claim 2, wherein the asynchronous task execution result receiving unit can implement at least one of a common receiving unit method and an execution task-specific receiving unit method as an asynchronous task execution result receiving method. Integrated system.

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