Late Connection Binding for Bot Software Recipes

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Solution Overview

Problem

Integrating third-party applications is complex, resource-intensive, and costly, with custom software often being unreliable due to frequent changes in APIs, making it challenging for small to mid-sized businesses to automate workflows effectively.

Innovation Solution

A system and method for customizing software recipes that involve receiving requests to execute recipes, determining connection placeholders, retrieving connection details, and establishing connections to execute recipes, allowing for dynamic adaptation to each user's authentication and reducing the need for multiple instances of integration programs.

Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles

VSEngineering Contradiction Analysis

1Adaptability or versatility

If custom software is developed for each user to integrate third-party applications, then individualized user experiences are achieved, but processing and memory resources are consumed

Engineering Contradiction:

Improveindividualized user experienceVSAvoidprocessing and memory resources

Core Design Contradiction:

Adaptability or versatilityVSUse of energy by moving object

Solution Approach 1:

Multiple user-specific integration programs are merged into a single shared program instance. The system uses connection placeholders and late connection binding to allow one program to serve multiple users by dynamically binding their specific connections at runtime, rather than requiring separate instances for each user.

Inventive Principle:

Principle #5Merging (Combining)

Solution Approach 2:

A single integration program is designed to be universal and serve multiple users. The program contains connection placeholders that can be bound to different user-specific connections, making the same program instance functional for multiple users with different third-party application integrations.

Inventive Principle:

Principle #6Universality (Multi-functionality)

2Reliability

If integration programs are individually customized for each user, then user-specific authentication is achieved, but the system becomes complex and resource-intensive

Engineering Contradiction:

Improveuser-specific authenticationVSAvoidsystem complexity

Core Design Contradiction:

ReliabilityVSDevice complexity

Solution Approach 1:

Connection placeholders are prepared in advance during program creation, but the actual user-specific connections are bound later at runtime. This preliminary setup allows the program structure to be defined once while accommodating multiple users without requiring complex pre-configuration for each user.

Inventive Principle:

Principle #10Preliminary action

Solution Approach 2:

Connection placeholders act as intermediaries between the shared program instance and user-specific connections. The placeholders serve as binding points that connect the universal program to individual user authentications, simplifying the system architecture by avoiding direct one-to-one mappings.

Inventive Principle:

Principle #24Intermediary (Mediator)

3Adaptability or versatility

If third-party application APIs change frequently, then functionality is updated, but custom integration software becomes unreliable

Engineering Contradiction:

ImproveAPI functionality updatesVSAvoidintegration software reliability

Core Design Contradiction:

Adaptability or versatilityVSReliability

Solution Approach 1:

The integration system is designed to be dynamic rather than static. Connection placeholders and late binding allow the system to adapt to API changes by updating connections at runtime without requiring redeployment of the entire integration program, thereby maintaining reliability while accommodating functionality updates.

Inventive Principle:

Principle #15Dynamics

4Reliability

If multiple instances of integration programs are created for different users, then user-specific connections are maintained, but computing resources are consumed

Engineering Contradiction:

Improveuser-specific connectionsVSAvoidcomputing resources

Core Design Contradiction:

ReliabilityVSProductivity

Solution Approach 1:

Multiple user-specific integration programs are merged into a single shared instance. The system combines multiple connection requirements into one program that uses connection placeholders to bind to different user connections dynamically, reducing the total number of program instances from many to one.

Inventive Principle:

Principle #5Merging (Combining)

Solution Approach 2:

Instead of creating multiple physical copies of integration programs for different users, the system uses a single copy with connection placeholders that reference user-specific connections. This virtual copying through placeholders allows one instance to serve multiple users without duplicating the actual program code.

Inventive Principle:

Principle #26Copying

Data Source

PatentUS12197967B2Late connection binding for bots

Publication Date: 2025.01.14 WORKATO INC

AI summary

Technology for implementing a system for customizing software recipes or applets is described. In some implementations, a method, implemented using a computing device, may include receiving request to execute a software recipe from a first software application operated by a first user and determining whether the software recipe includes a connection placeholder for a recipe connection to a second software application. The method may then determine whether a first connection to the second software application exists for the first user, retrieve first connection details of the first connection to the second software application from a recipe connection data store, and execute the software recipe using the first connection details in place of the connection placeholder for the recipe connection to the second software application. In some implementations, interaction with and execution of the software recipes is performed using bots in a chat environment.