System and method for state management and workflow control
AssigneeMicrosoft Corporation
InventorNitin Chandel
Life of this patent
Estimating the term…
Abstract
A system and method are provided for state management and workflow control. The system includes a metadata based state management system that can be used as a workflow control system. The system enables business rules to be separated from application logic, thus allowing businesses to easily change rules and adapt and respond to competition without requiring code changes. The system preferably includes database tables that interface with procedure calls in order to manage transactions in accordance with business rules. The business rules may include action permission rules that determine if a user is in a required state before allowing a selected action. A second set of rules determines an updated user state based on user actions.
Claims34
A state management and workflow control system for managing business transactions conducted between multiple entities and an application over a computer network, the system comprising:
- a first set of rules for defining at least one prerequisite state required in order to perform an action;
- and
- a second set of rules for defining an updated state based on an initial state and a performed action,
- wherein both the first set of rules and the second set of rules are separated from the application to facilitate rule addition and removal.
A state management system for managing business transactions conducted between multiple entities and an application server over a computer network, the system comprising:
- a set of database tables incorporating rules for managing entity status and rules for regulating entity action;
- and
- a set of procedure calls stored in the application server, the procedure calls interacting with the set of database tables to regulate transaction processing and to update the entity status.
A method for managing business transactions conducted between multiple entities and an application server over a computer network, the method comprising:
- providing a set of database tables incorporating rules for managing entity status and for regulating entity action;
- interfacing the database tables with a set of procedure calls in an application server;
- and
- implementing the processes and set of database tables to update entity status and to manage transaction processing.
Dependencies are inferred from the claim text.