Web Browser Extension Merging for Update Compatibility

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Solution Overview

Problem

Customized enterprise business applications often become incompatible with provider updates or miss out on future improvements, leading to high costs due to modification or standalone development.

Innovation Solution

A method that merges a custom application with a base application provided by a service provider within a web browser, allowing the custom application to extend the base application without modifying it, ensuring compatibility with updates and future improvements.

Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles

VSEngineering Contradiction Analysis

1Adaptability or versatility

If the customer modifies the enterprise business application to suit specific business requirements, then the application can be customized to meet customer needs, but the modifications become incompatible with provider updates causing application breakage

Engineering Contradiction:

Improvecustomization capabilityVSAvoidcompatibility with updates

Core Design Contradiction:

Adaptability or versatilityVSReliability

Solution Approach 1:

The patent divides the application into two separate but interconnected components: the base application provided by the service provider and custom extensions developed by the customer. This segmentation allows the base application to remain intact and updatable while custom extensions can be independently developed and attached. The runtime environment dynamically loads and integrates these extensions without modifying the core base application, thus resolving the contradiction between customization and update compatibility.

Inventive Principle:

Principle #1Segmentation

2Adaptability or versatility

If the customer creates an entirely new standalone enterprise business application, then the application can be fully customized, but it cannot take advantage of future improvements from the service provider

Engineering Contradiction:

Improvecustomization capabilityVSAvoidmissed improvements

Core Design Contradiction:

Adaptability or versatilityVSLoss of time

Solution Approach 1:

The patent implements a nested structure where custom extensions are contained within and attached to the base application at runtime. The custom application does not replace the base application but rather nests its functionality on top of it. This allows the custom application to leverage all future improvements, bug fixes, and enhancements provided by the service provider while maintaining full customization capability through the extension mechanism.

Inventive Principle:

Principle #7Nested doll (Nesting)

3Adaptability or versatility

If the customer modifies the enterprise business application, then the application can be customized, but it becomes an expensive investment requiring costly redevelopments

Engineering Contradiction:

Improvecustomization capabilityVSAvoidcost of customization

Core Design Contradiction:

Adaptability or versatilityVSEase of manufacture

Solution Approach 1:

The patent extracts the customization functionality from the base application and places it in separate, independent extension modules. This extraction allows customers to develop, maintain, and update custom extensions independently without affecting the base application. The runtime environment handles the integration automatically, eliminating the need for expensive manual reconfiguration and redevelopment when updates are applied to the base application.

Inventive Principle:

Principle #2Taking out (Extraction)

Data Source

PatentUS9661056B2Modification free extension of web based applications

Publication Date: 2017.05.23 SAP SE

AI summary

A system is described for creating a customized modification free extension of a software application. The software application can be an application configured to be executed in a runtime framework on a web browser. When the web browser launches the custom application, the base application can be identified and retrieved. Once retrieved, the web browser can merge the custom application and the base application and execute the resulting merged application.