Methods and systems for packaging and deployment of applications in a multitenant platform

A system that deploys applications in a multi-tenant computing platform, the system comprising:

• one or more servers having one or more processors and one or more memories, the one or more processors being communicatively connected to one or more data storage devices;
• a bundle library in the one or more data storage devices;
• a bundle manager implemented by the one or more processors of the one or more servers, wherein the bundle manager is coupled to the bundle library and stores a plurality of undeployed application metadata bundles in the bundle library, wherein each of the plurality of application metadata bundles contains application metadata corresponding to a different specific version of a specific non-user-customized application that is capable of being deployed to multiple tenants of the multitenant computing platform, and wherein for each specific application version, the corresponding application metadata bundle comprises an incremental bundle that contains metadata defining incremental changes from a preceding version of the specific application to the corresponding specific version of the specific application, wherein each of the application metadata bundles contains a descriptor artifact that describes operations for deploying the corresponding specific version of the specific application and one or more metadata payload artifacts that define a configuration of the corresponding specific version of the specific application,
• wherein the descriptor artifact contains an ordered list of deployment operation entries, and wherein each deployment operation entry includes an action, an artifact type and an operation payload,
• wherein the artifact types selected from the group consisting of:
• namespaces, categories, validation definitions, trait definitions, type definitions, event handlers, and master data;
• and
• a deployment manager on the one or more servers, wherein in response to identifying the specific version of the specific application to which a tenant is subscribed, the deployment manager is configured to:
• retrieve from the bundle library one or more of the plurality of application metadata bundles which are associated with the subscribed one of the specific versions of the specific application, the retrieved application metadata bundles including at least a first incremental bundle corresponding to the subscribed one of the specific versions of the specific application and any additional incremental bundles corresponding to specific versions of the specific application preceding the subscribed one of the specific versions of the specific application, and
• deploy the retrieved incremental bundles to the multitenant computing platform, wherein the retrieved incremental bundles are deployed in an order of the corresponding specific versions of the specific application, each of the incremental bundles applying incremental changes to a previous version of the application to collectively install the subscribed one of the specific versions of the specific application, wherein upon deployment, the deployment operation entries are executed in the order:
• the namespaces, then the categories, then the validation definitions, then the trait definitions, then the type definitions, then the event handlers, then the master data.

A computer program product comprising a non-transitory computer-readable medium storing instructions executable by one or more processors to perform:

• storing a plurality of undeployed application metadata bundles in a bundle library in one or more data storage devices, wherein each of the plurality of application metadata bundles contains application metadata corresponding to a different specific version of a specific non-user-customized application that is capable of being deployed to multiple tenants of the multitenant computing platform, wherein for each specific application version, the corresponding application metadata bundle comprises an incremental bundle that contains metadata defining incremental changes from a preceding version of the specific application to the corresponding specific version of the specific application, wherein each incremental bundle comprises a compressed data structure that contains a descriptor artifact, wherein the descriptor artifact describes operations for deploying the corresponding specific version of the specific application and one or more metadata payload artifacts that define a configuration of the corresponding specific version of the specific application, wherein the descriptor artifact contains an ordered list of deployment operation entries, and wherein each deployment operation entry includes an action, an artifact type and an operation payload, the artifact types selected from the group consisting of:
• namespaces, categories, validation definitions, trait definitions, type definitions, event handlers, and master data;
• in response to a tenant request to install the specific application,
• retrieving a subscription associated with the tenant;
• identifying from the subscription of the tenant a subscribed one of the specific versions of the specific application;
• retrieving from the bundle library one or more of the plurality of application metadata bundles which are associated with the subscribed one of the specific versions of the specific application, the retrieved application metadata bundles including at least a first incremental bundle corresponding to the subscribed one of the specific versions of the specific application and any additional incremental bundles corresponding to specific versions of the specific application preceding the subscribed one of the specific versions of the specific application;
• and
• deploying the retrieved incremental bundles to the multitenant computing platform, wherein the retrieved incremental bundles are deployed in an order of the corresponding specific versions of the specific application, each of the incremental bundles applying incremental changes to a previous version of the application to collectively install the subscribed one of the specific versions of the specific application, wherein upon deployment of each incremental bundle, the corresponding deployment operation entries are executed in the order:
• the namespaces, then the categories, then the validation definitions, then the trait definitions, then the type definitions, then the event handlers, then the master data.