Linking data objects to a project development system

#This invention relates to data objects and project development systems.

#Project development systems allow a user to, e.g., develop and manage a project. These systems support various sorts of projects including marketing projects, product design projects, product manufacturing projects, consulting projects, development projects, and any combination thereof. Project development systems usually include project development applications and computing devices.

#Project development systems often use a project structure to describe projects. In general, a project structure maps real-world aspects of a project, such as deadlines and tasks, into an electronically accessible format. For example, many project development systems describe a start, finish, and other schedule dates of a project, the tasks that are performed and the results that are achieved during the project, and the data objects that are generated by the project or used to complete the project.

#FIG. 1 shows a method, in accordance with the invention, for accessing data objects of remote systems.

#FIG. 2 shows a system in accordance with the invention.

#FIG. 3 shows one example of an object-link storage.

#FIG. 1 shows a method 100, in accordance with the invention, for accessing data objects of remote systems. As shown, the system receives link information for a first data object of a first remote system (step 102). The link information includes, for example, information for locating the first data object such as a globally unique identifier and information for accessing the first data object such as information specifying an application program interface. The system can store the link information in an object link storage, which is further described below. The system receives link information for a second data object of a second remote system (step 104). The first and second remote systems can be different from each other as well as different from the system itself. The first and second data objects can be of different types and be created by different applications. The system maintains the received link information (step 106).

#The system receives a request to access information of the first data object (step 108). In response to the request, the system accesses the first data object using the object link information to locate the first data object and to extract information from the first data object (step 110). The system receives a request to access to the second data object (step 112). In response, the system accesses the second data object using the object link information (step 114).

#As shown in FIG. 2, a system 200 in accordance with the invention includes an application of type Z 205, a collection of objects 210, 215, 220, and 225, and an object-link storage 230. The application of type Z 205 is a set of executable instructions that access objects 210, 215, 220, and 225 to execute. Objects 210, 215, 220, and 225 originate from remote and different software systems, namely systems A, B, C, and D respectively. The object link storage 230 stores a collection of object links that identify objects 210, 215, 220, and 225 to the application of type Z 205. The object links can include, e.g., the location of objects 210, 215, 220, and 225, information needed to locate objects 210, 215, 220, and 225, information needed to access objects 210, 215, 220, and 225, and information identifying the object type of objects 210, 215, 220, and 225.