Any-to-Any API Connector System for Scalable Integration
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Solution Overview
Problem
The existing manual coding process for integrating third-party services with information exchange platforms is inefficient, time-consuming, and unmanageable as the number of third-party service providers grows, requiring a scalable solution for seamless integration.
Innovation Solution
An any-to-any (A2A) connector system that includes an ingress router, a connector system, and enhancements to the orchestration service framework, allowing for the generation of API connectors based on third-party service documentation at design time and their execution at runtime, minimizing manual coding efforts by using a universal service to call external services through reusable API connectors.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Adaptability or versatility
If manual coding is used to integrate each third-party service provider system, then custom API calls can be made to respective systems, but the process becomes time-consuming and unmanageable as the number of service providers grows
Solution Approach 1:
The patent creates reusable API connector templates that can be copied and instantiated for different third-party service providers. Instead of manually coding each integration from scratch, the system uses pre-defined connector patterns that can be rapidly instantiated and configured for new services, significantly reducing integration time while maintaining custom adaptability.
Solution Approach 2:
The patent implements a universal connector framework that can interface with multiple different third-party service provider systems through a common architecture. The connector system provides universal functionality for authentication, data exchange, and error handling that works across all integrated services, eliminating the need for separate custom integration code for each provider.
2Adaptability or versatility
If manual coding is required for each third-party service integration, then custom API calls can be made, but the complexity of management increases as the number of service providers grows
Solution Approach 1:
The patent segments the integration complexity into separate, manageable components: reusable API connector templates, a connector runtime engine, and configuration metadata. Each third-party service integration is broken down into discrete connector instances that can be independently managed, configured, and monitored, reducing the overall management complexity despite the number of service providers.
Solution Approach 2:
The patent introduces a connector runtime engine as an intermediary layer between the information exchange platform and third-party service providers. This mediator automatically handles the complexity of API calls, authentication, and data transformation, allowing the system to manage multiple service integrations without increasing operational complexity.
3Ease of manufacture
If reusable API connectors are generated from documentation, then manual coding efforts are minimized, but the system requires automated connector generation capabilities
Solution Approach 1:
The patent implements automated connector generation where the system itself creates API connector templates from third-party service documentation without requiring manual coding. The connector runtime engine automatically parses documentation, generates appropriate connector code, and configures integration parameters, allowing users to simply provide documentation links while the system handles the complex generation process.
Data Source
AI summary
An any-to-any (A2A) connector system provides an A2A integration framework that includes an ingress router, a connector system, and enhancements to an orchestration service framework of an information exchange platform. At design time, an application programming interface (API) connector can be generated based on API documentation for the external service. At runtime, in processing an itinerary that includes a universal service, the external service is called through the universal service using the API connector. The universal service is operable to parse a request from a client system, query a connector database, and, based on a result from the connector database, sends a request to a connector engine. The connector engine fetches the API connector from the connector database, calls the external service using the API connector, handles results of the call, and returns the results to the universal service.