BPEL Model Generation for Legacy System Integration
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Solution Overview
Problem
Legacy systems pose challenges due to their obsolete hardware, difficulty in maintenance, integration with newer systems, and lack of documentation, making it costly and risky to modernize them, while Service Oriented Architecture (SOA) and Business Process Execution Language (BPEL) offer solutions for flexibility and integration but require expensive implementation methods.
Innovation Solution
A method for capturing and converting legacy applications into a BPEL model supporting SOA capabilities by identifying business entry types, mapping variables, generating partner links, and creating fault handlers, ultimately producing an Enterprise Archive file that packages business process resources as SOA services.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Adaptability or versatility
If legacy systems are modernized by rewriting from scratch, then integration with newer systems and maintenance ease are improved, but project failure risk and costs increase
Solution Approach 1:
The patent creates a BPEL model that copies and represents the legacy application's functionality and process logic. This model serves as a virtual replica that can be integrated with modern systems without physically rewriting the legacy system, thus maintaining project reliability while achieving integration capabilities.
Solution Approach 2:
The BPEL model acts as an intermediary layer between legacy systems and modern SOA-based systems. It captures the legacy application's behavior and exposes it through standardized web service interfaces, enabling integration without direct modification of either system.
2Ease of operation
If legacy systems are rewritten from scratch, then maintenance and expansion ease are improved, but costs and project risk increase
Solution Approach 1:
Instead of rewriting the legacy system, the patent creates a BPEL model that copies its process logic and behavior. This model can be maintained and modified independently using standard BPEL tools, improving maintenance ease without the complexity of a full rewrite.
3Adaptability or versatility
If Service Oriented Architecture is implemented, then flexibility and integration are improved, but implementation costs increase
Solution Approach 1:
The patent uses BPEL to copy and represent legacy application logic in a standardized format that natively supports SOA principles. This approach provides flexibility and integration capabilities while avoiding the complexity of complete system redesign.
Data Source
AI summary
A method for capturing and converting legacy applications into a Business Process Execution Language (BPEL) model supporting a Service Oriented Architecture (SOA), the method comprising: starting a recorder for recording the legacy applications; mapping the plurality of variables of the legacy applications to a plurality of fields and to a plurality of sub-fields of the BPEL model; highlighting and identifying the plurality of fields and the plurality of sub-fields; identifying and generating partner links; identifying additional input variables of the legacy applications; mapping the additional input variables of the legacy applications to arbitrary variables; repeating the previous steps until an end result is generated; and ending the recorder.