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Architecture for dynamically monitoring computer application data |
Kind Code: |
A1 |
Abstract: |
A dynamic application data monitoring architecture may include data collector, data provider, and widget software components. Data collectors convert application data from a native format into data instances having a logical hierarchical structure conforming to a schema which may be an XML schema. Data providers receiv... |
Inventors: |
Knight, Christine N. (Toronto, CA) |
Duck, Geoffrey Robert (King City, CA) |
Starkey, Michael (Vancouver, CA) |
Spatafora, Vito (Richmond Hill, CA) |
Application Number: |
10/462515 |
Publication Date: |
04/29/2004 |
Filing Date: |
06/16/2003 |
Assignee: |
INTERNATIONAL BUSINESS MACHINES CORPORATION (Armonk, NY) |
Primary Class: |
Other Classes: |
715/234, 715/236, 715/273, 715/700, 717/105, 714/E11.181 |
International Classes: |
G06F3/14; G06F9/44; G06F11/32; (IPC1-7): G06F9/44 |
View Patent Images: |
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Primary Examiner: |
SAMS, MICHELLE L |
Attorney, Agent or Firm: |
International Business Machines Corporation,Leslie A. Van Leeuwen (Intellectual Property Law Department, Austin, TX, 78758, US) |
Claims: |
What is claimed is: |
1. A method of graphically displaying application data for dynamic monitoring comprising: constructing from native format application data a presentation-centric data instance in which application data is represented as a hierarchy of logical elements representing features of a graphical data display mechanism for disp... |
2. The method of claim 1 further comprising: generating from said presentation-centric data instance a displayable representation of said graphical data display mechanism having at least some of said features. |
3. The method of claim 2 wherein said constructing comprises: receiving application data in a native format; converting said received application data from said native format into another data instance different from said presentation-centric data instance; and transforming said another data instance into said presenta... |
4. The method of claim 3, wherein said receiving and said converting occur in a data collector software component, said transforming occurs in a transform data provider software component, and said generating occurs in a widget software component. |
5. The method of claim 3 wherein said another data instance is an application-data-centric data instance in which application data is represented as another hierarchy of other logical elements representative of application data categories unrelated to a graphical data display mechanism for displaying said application d... |
6. The method of claim 3 wherein said transforming is governed by a transform that is external to a software component implementing said transforming. |
7. The method of claim 6 wherein said transform is an eXtensible Stylesheet Language Transform (XSLT). |
8. The method of claim 2 further comprising incorporating said displayable representation of said graphical data display mechanism in a dynamic world wide web page for display at a world wide web browser. |
9. The method of claim 8 wherein said constructing and said generating are triggered by a refresh of said world wide web browser. |
10. The method of claim 8 wherein said constructing and said generating occur at a server separate from a client computing device executing said world wide web browser. |
11. The method of claim 10 wherein said dynamic world wide web page is a Java™ Server Page (JSP™) and wherein said constructing and said generating is performed by at least one object invoked from said JSP™. |
12. The method of claim 3 wherein said native format of application data comprises at least one application event notification. |
13. The method of claim 3 wherein said native format of application data comprises an application log file. |
14. The method of claim 2 wherein said displayable representation is a vector graphics representation. |
15. The method of claim 14 wherein said vector graphics representation is in a Scalable Vector Graphics format. |
16. The method of claim 1 wherein said presentation-centric schema is an extensible Markup Language (XML) schema. |
17. The method of claim 1 wherein said presentation-centric data instance is a Document Object Model (DOM) document instance. |
18. The method of claim 17 wherein said DOM document instance is compliant with the DOM Level 2 recommendation. |
19. The method of claim 5 wherein said application-data-centric schema is an XML schema. |
20. The method of claim 6 wherein said features include aesthetic features of said graphical data display mechanism that are configurable by amending said transform. |
21. The method of claim 2, wherein said constructing occurs in a data collector software component and said generating occurs in a widget software component. |
22. The method of claim 2 wherein said graphical data display mechanism is selected from the group consisting of a bar graph, a stacked bar graph, a line graph, a pie graph, and a rate indicator. |
23. A computer program product having media including computer programmed instructions for directing a computing device to implement the method of any of claims 1 to 22. |
24. A presentation-centric schema defining a hierarchy of logical elements representing features of a graphical data display mechanism for displaying application data. |
25. A widget software component comprising programmed instructions for directing a computing device to: receive from an associated data source a presentation-centric data instance in which application data is represented as a hierarchy of logical elements representing features of a graphical data display mechanism for ... |
26. The widget software component of claim 25 further comprising programmed instructions for directing a computing device to: set said associated data source of said widget software component to a specified data source at run time. |
27. A computing device comprising a processor and persistent storage memory in communication with said processor storing processor readable instructions for directing said device to undertake the method of any of claims 1 to 22. |
Description: |
FIELD OF THE INVENTION |
[0001] The present invention pertains to the field of computer applications, and more particularly to an architecture for dynamically monitoring computer application data. |
BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION |
[0002] Modern business enterprises employ computer applications in many aspects of their business. Dynamic monitoring of these applications (referred to as “business applications”) may thus be important for ascertaining the performance of the enterprise at any given time. |
[0003] Most business applications have a user interface which provides feedback to the user at run time which allows the application to be visually monitored. Unfortunately, known application monitoring mechanisms tend to suffer from a number of drawbacks which are associated with their architecture. |
[0004] For example, one problem with known architectures for monitoring application data is that they tend to be “hard-wired” at design time to a particular graphical data display mechanism having a particular appearance. For example, it may be determined at design time to display certain application data by way of a b... |
[0005] Many known monitoring architectures suffer from a further disadvantage in that their components do not lend themselves to being reused or linked to existing monitoring components from other applications. For example, the combination of two categories of application data from distinct applications into a single v... |
[0006] A further disadvantage of known monitoring architectures is that they tend to support only local monitoring (e.g. at a monitor or display in close physical proximity to the hardware executing the application). If remote monitoring is in fact supported, proprietary software may be employed for the purpose of send... |
[0007] Yet another problem associated with known monitoring architectures is that they are typically not easily modified to display application data by way of an alternative display device, such as a handheld wireless device rather than a computer monitor for example. |
[0008] What is therefore needed is a dynamic business application data monitoring architecture which addresses at least some of the above noted disadvantages. |
SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION |
[0009] A dynamic application data monitoring architecture may include data collector software components, data provider software components and widget software components. |
[0010] Data collector software components (or simply “data collectors”) convert application data from its native format into data instances having a logical, hierarchical structure in order to facilitate access to the data by subsequent software stages ultimately tasked with its graphical display. Generated data instan... |
[0011] Data provider software components (or simply “data providers”) receive data instances from one or more architecture software components (which may be data collectors or other data providers) acting as their data source(s) and output other data instances to further architecture software components (which may be o... |
[0012] Data provider software components may employ an external transform for transforming received data instances into generated data instances. In this case they are referred to as transform data provider software components (or simply “transform data providers”, abbreviated “TDPs”). The API of a transform data provi... |
[0013] Widget software components (or simply “widgets”) receive logical, presentation-centric application data instances from an associated data provider acting as a data source for the widget and generate therefrom a displayable representation of the received data in the form of a particular graphical data display mec... |
[0014] The architecture may be implemented according to the Model View Controller (MVC) paradigm. Data collectors may comprise the Model component; data providers may comprise the Controller component; and widgets may comprise the View component. A benefit of MVC paradigm compliance is modularity and component reusabil... |
[0015] Numerous implementations of the above described components are possible. In one embodiment, data collector software components, data provider software components, and widget software components are all implemented as Java™ objects. The objects are invoked from within a dynamic-content web page (e.g. a Java™ Serv... |
[0016] In accordance with an aspect of the present invention there is provided a method of graphically displaying application data for dynamic monitoring comprising: constructing from native format application data a presentation-centric data instance in which application data is represented as a hierarchy of logical e... |
[0017] In accordance with another aspect of the present invention there is provided a presentation-centric schema defining a hierarchy of logical elements representing features of a graphical data display mechanism for displaying application data. |
[0018] In accordance with still another aspect of the present invention there is provided a widget software component comprising programmed instructions for directing a computing device to: receive from an associated data source a presentation-centric data instance in which application data is represented as a hierarch... |
[0019] In accordance with yet another aspect of the present invention there may be provided a computer program product having media including computer programmed instructions for directing a computing device to implement the above noted method. |
[0020] In accordance with still another aspect of the present invention there may be provided a computing device comprising a processor and persistent storage memory in communication with the processor storing processor readable instructions for directing the device to undertake the above noted method. |
[0021] Other aspects and features of the present invention will become apparent to those ordinarily skilled in the art upon review of the following description of specific embodiments of the invention in conjunction with the accompanying figures. |
BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS |
[0022] In the figures which illustrate exemplary embodiments of this invention: |
[0023] FIG. 1 is a schematic diagram of a computing system exemplary of the present invention; |
[0024] FIG. 2 illustrates the server of FIG. 1 in greater detail; |
[0025] FIG. 3 is a schematic diagram illustrating data flow between software components in the computing system of FIG. 1; |
[0026] FIG. 4 is a Unified Modeling Language (UML) model of a class from which the data collector software object shown in FIG. 3 is instantiated; |
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