Method and apparatus for implementing a dynamically updated portal page in an enterprise-wide computer system

A computer system electrically connected to at least one back-end database, the computer system configured to present a portal page to at least one user through a network interface, wherein said at least one user communicates with the network interface through a computer network, the computer system comprising:

• a service broker electrically connected to the network interface, the service broker controlling a level of access to the computer system by a user;
• a repository electrically connected to the service broker, the repository comprising a computer memory encoded with a plurality of objects including at least one job, at least one output report corresponding to said at least one job, and at least one portal page corresponding to said at least one user, wherein said at least one portal page includes a display window and at least one dynamically updated portal object associated with said at least one output report;
• wherein the computer memory of the repository is further encoded with instructions for performing the following:
• i) retrieving said at least one portal page and identifying each dynamically updated portal object included within said at least one portal page;
• ii) for each of the identified dynamically updated portal objects, retrieving a corresponding output report from the repository;
• iii) incorporating each of the retrieved output reports into said at least one portal page;
• and
• iv) providing said at least one portal page to a corresponding user;
• a job server electrically connected to the service broker, the repository, and said at least one back-end database, the job server configured to execute said at least one job and retrieve data from said at least one back-end database so as to produce said at least one output report, the job server also configured to store said at least one output report in the repository.

A computer system configured to present a portal page to at least one user through a network interface, wherein said at least one user communicates with the network interface through a computer network, the computer system comprising:

• a service broker electrically connected to the network interface, the service broker controlling a level of access to the computer system by a user;
• a repository electrically connected to the service broker, the repository comprising a computer memory encoded with a plurality of objects including at least one job, at least one output report corresponding to said at least one job, and at least one portal page corresponding to said at least one user, wherein said at least one portal page includes a display window and at least one dynamically updated portal object associated with said at least one job;
• a job server electrically connected to the service broker and to the repository, the job server configured to execute said at least one job so as to produce said at least one output report, the job server also configured to store said at least one output report in the repository;
• and
• wherein the computer memory of the repository is further encoded with instructions for performing the following:
• i) retrieving said at least one portal page and identifying each dynamically updated portal object included within said at least one portal page;
• ii) for each of the identified dynamically updated portal objects:
• retrieving a corresponding job from the repository, executing the job in a corresponding job server, and generating an output report based upon the executed job;
• iii) incorporating each of the generated output reports into said at least one portal page;
• and
• iv) providing said at least one portal page to a corresponding user.

A computer system electrically connected to at least one back-end database, the computer system configured to present a portal page to at least one user through a network interface, wherein said at least one user communicates with the network interface through a computer network, the computer system comprising:

• a service broker electrically connected to the network interface, the service broker controlling a level of access to the computer system by a user;
• a repository electrically connected to the service broker, the repository comprising a computer memory encoded with a plurality of objects including at least one job, at least one output report corresponding to said at least one job, and at least one portal page corresponding to said at least one user, wherein said at least one portal page includes a display window and at least one dynamically updated portal object associated with said at least one job;
• a job server electrically connected to the service broker, the repository, and said at least one back-end database, the job server configured to execute said at least one job and retrieve data from said at least one back-end database so as to produce said at least one output report, the job server also configured to store said at least one output report in the repository;
• wherein the computer memory of the repository is further encoded with instructions for performing the following:
• i) retrieving said at least one portal page and identifying each dynamically updated portal object included therein;
• ii) for each of the identified dynamically updated portal objects:
• retrieving a corresponding job from the repository, executing the job in a corresponding job server, and generating an output report based upon the executed job;
• iii) incorporating each of the generated output reports into said at least one portal page;
• and
• iv) providing said at least one portal page to a corresponding user.

A method of compiling a portal page in a computer system for presentation to at least one user, wherein the computer system is comprised of a service broker, a job server, and a repository, wherein the repository includes computer memory encoded with a plurality of objects including at least one job, at least one output report corresponding to said at least one job, and at least one portal page corresponding to said at least one user, wherein said at least one portal page includes a display window and at least one dynamically updated portal object associated with said at least one output report, the method comprising the following:

• processing said at least one job on the job server so as to generate a corresponding output report;
• receiving a request to compile a portal page corresponding to a user connected to the computer system through a network interface;
• retrieving the requested portal page from the repository and identifying each dynamically updated portal object within said at least one portal page;
• for each of the identified dynamically updated portal objects, retrieving a corresponding output report from the repository, incorporating each of the retrieved output reports into said at least one portal page;
• and
• providing said at least one portal page to a corresponding user.

A method of compiling a portal page in a computer system for presentation to at least one user, wherein the computer system is comprised of a service broker, a job server, and a repository, wherein the repository includes computer memory encoded with a plurality of objects including at least one job, at least one output report corresponding to said at least one job, and at least one portal page corresponding to said at least one user, wherein said at least one portal page includes a display window and at least one dynamically updated portal object associated with said at least one job, the method comprising the following:

• receiving a request to compile a portal page corresponding to a user connected to the computer system through a network interface;
• retrieving the requested portal page from the repository and identifying each dynamically updated portal object within said at least one portal page;
• for each of the identified dynamically updated portal objects, performing the following steps:
• i) retrieving a job corresponding to the dynamically updated portal object from the repository;
• ii) executing the retrieved job in a corresponding job server;
• iii) generating an output report based on the executed job;
• incorporating each of the generated output reports into said at least one portal page;
• and
• providing said at least one portal page to a corresponding user.

A method of compiling a portal page in a computer system for presentation to at least one user, wherein the computer system is comprised of a service broker, a job server, and a repository, wherein the repository includes computer memory encoded with a plurality of objects including at least one job, at least one set of job properties corresponding to said at least one job, at least one output report corresponding to said at least one job, and at least one portal page corresponding to said at least one user,

• wherein said at least one portal page includes a display window and at least one dynamically updated portal object associated with said at least one output report, and
• wherein said at least one set of job properties includes a list of users to be notified when a corresponding job has been executed,
• the method comprising the following:
• executing said at least one job on the job server so as to generate a corresponding output report;
• storing the output report in the repository;
• processing said at least one set of job properties on the job server to generate a list of users to be notified of the execution of the corresponding job;
• for each user in the generated list of users, revising a portal page corresponding to the user by performing the following steps:
• i) retrieving a portal page corresponding to the user from the repository;
• ii) identifying each dynamically updated portal object within the retrieved portal page;
• iii) for each of the identified dynamically updated portal objects, retrieving a corresponding output report from the repository,
• iv) incorporating each of the retrieved output reports into the retrieved portal page;
• and
• v) storing the retrieved portal page in the repository.

A method of compiling a portal page in a computer system for presentation to at least one user, wherein the computer system is comprised of a service broker, a job server, and a repository, wherein the repository includes computer memory encoded with a plurality of objects including at least one job, at least one set of job properties corresponding to said at least one job, at least one output report corresponding to said at least one job, and at least one portal page corresponding to said at least one user,

• wherein said at least one portal page includes a display window and at least one dynamically updated portal object corresponding to an exception event, and
• wherein said at least one set of job properties includes an exception condition and a list of users subscribing to the exception condition,
• the method comprising the following:
• executing said at least one job on the job server so as to generate a corresponding output report;
• storing the output report in the repository;
• comparing the output report to a corresponding exception condition to determine the existence of an exception event;
• if an exception event exists, then performing the following steps:
• i) processing said at least one set of job properties on the job server to generate a list of users to be notified of the exception condition;
• ii) for each user in the generated list of users, revising a portal page corresponding to the user by performing the following steps:
• a) retrieving a portal page corresponding to the user from the repository;
• b) revising a dynamically updated portal object corresponding to the exception event to indicate the existence of the exception event;
• c) incorporating the revised dynamically updated portal object into the retrieved portal page;
• and
• d) storing the revised portal page in the repository.