Computer implemented system and method for the generation of data access applications
A method and architecture is described that discovers software application metadata and generates data access applications based on the discovered software application metadata. The discovered metadata along with handcrafted metadata goes through a discovery process and is converted into common, generic abstract metadata objects. The abstract metadata objects then go through an instantiation process to be translated into concrete metadata objects that represent the unique configuration, context and terminology of the source software application. The concrete metadata objects can be generated into numerous forms for the purposes of data access and information sharing. The system also has upgrade protection.
1. A data access application generation system implemented on a computer system that processes a source software application, the system comprising:
a computer system having a processor and a file system that stores a set of metadata associated with the source software application;
a discovery module that interfaces with a source software application and handcrafted metadata and automatically discovers metadata in the file system associated with the source software application configuration and creates, from the discovered metadata and the handcrafted metadata, one or more source metadata objects associated with the source software application and its configuration, the discovery module further comprising a process that detects technical information to access an attribute of the source software application;
wherein the technical information includes abstracting attribute descriptive information into column descriptions, abstracting information that describes the internal database indexing information into search by and join to metadata, abstracting information that describes customer defined fields within the source application into metadata reporting object columns; and
an instantiation module that creates, using the source metadata objects created during the discovery process, one or more target metadata reporting objects corresponding to each source metadata object wherein the target metadata reporting objects are associated with a particular source software application configuration, the instantiation module uses a mapping of technical information associated with each target metadata reporting object to the particular source software application configuration that allows business data in the particular source software application with the particular source software application configuration to be reported on even when the source software application configuration changes.
2. A data access application generation method implemented on a computer system having a processor and a file system that stores a set of metadata associated with a source software application that processes the source software application, the method comprising:
a discovery process that interfaces with a source software application and handcrafted metadata and automatically discovers metadata in the file system associated with the source software application configuration and creates, from the discovered metadata and the handcrafted metadata, one or more source metadata objects associated with the source software application and its configuration, the discovery module further comprising a process that detects technical information to access an attribute of the source software application;
wherein the technical information includes abstracting attribute descriptive information into column descriptions, abstracting information that describes the internal database indexing information into search by and join to metadata, abstracting information that describes customer defined fields within the source application into metadata reporting object columns; and
an instantiation process that creates, using the one or more source metadata objects from the discovery module, one or more target metadata reporting objects corresponding to each source metadata object wherein the target metadata reporting objects are associated with a particular source software application configuration, the instantiation module uses a mapping of technical information associated with each target metadata reporting object to the particular source software application configuration that allows business data in the particular source software application with the particular source software application configuration to be reported on even when the source software application configuration changes.