Generic Web Service Adaptor for Multi-Source Data Extraction
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Solution Overview
Problem
Conventional methods for accessing modern cloud-based data sources like Salesforce, ServiceNow, and NetSuite are limited by the lack of support for protocols like ODBC, JDBC, and OLE DB, requiring custom web service adapters for REST or SOAP style web services, which are not standardized, making it difficult to consume web services in a generic fashion and necessitating the development of multiple adapters for each source.
Innovation Solution
A processor-implemented method using a generic web service adaptor that reads metadata to identify entities, retrieves specific API semantics and configurations, validates API signatures, and extracts data, supporting multiple data sources with configurations for connection times, authentication, parallelism, and data volumes, allowing for scalable data sourcing without writing adapters for each source.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Adaptability or versatility
If custom web service adapters are written for each data source, then data extraction capability is achieved, but device complexity and development time increase
Solution Approach 1:
The patent creates a universal web service adapter that can extract data from multiple different data sources (Salesforce, ServiceNow, NetSuite, Eloqua, Marketo) using a single standardized interface. The adapter uses metadata-driven configuration to adapt to different sources without requiring custom code for each one, thus achieving multi-functionality and reducing the need for multiple specialized adapters.
Solution Approach 2:
The adapter uses configurable parameters and metadata to adjust its behavior based on the specific data source being accessed. By changing parameters such as authentication methods, API endpoints, and data extraction configurations, the same adapter can work with different web service providers without modifying its core structure.
2Ease of operation
If standardized protocols like ODBC, JDBC, or OLE DB are used, then ease of operation is improved, but compatibility with modern cloud data sources deteriorates
Solution Approach 1:
The patent introduces a metadata-driven intermediary layer that sits between the standardized adapter interface and the various web service protocols (REST, SOAP). This intermediary uses configuration metadata to translate standardized data extraction requests into source-specific web service calls, maintaining ease of operation while achieving compatibility with modern cloud data sources.
3Reliability
If multiple specialized adapters are developed for different web service providers, then data extraction accuracy is maintained, but productivity and scalability decrease
Solution Approach 1:
The patent implements a single universal adapter that maintains data extraction accuracy across multiple data sources by using metadata-driven configuration. This eliminates the need to develop and maintain multiple specialized adapters, significantly improving productivity and scalability while preserving extraction accuracy through standardized validation and error handling.
Solution Approach 2:
The adapter uses metadata templates and configuration copies that can be replicated across different data sources. Once a working configuration is established for one source, it can be copied and adapted for other sources, maintaining consistency and accuracy while reducing development effort.
Data Source
AI summary
Approaches for extracting data from data sources using a generic web service adaptor that implements a web services processing framework. Metadata stored in the database is read to identify specified named entities from a plurality of web service providers. Application protocol interface (API) semantics and configurations are retrieved from the metadata. Metadata objects for the specified named entities are fetched. Web services operation API signatures of the metadata objects are validated by comparing with predefined web services operation API signatures stored in the metadata. Web services operations for the specified named entities of the web service providers comprising the data sources are performed to obtain returned result objects. The returned result objects are serialized to XML using the same framework as used by the source web service. An adaptor may be configured to support the plurality of web service providers based on configurations.