System and method for electronic business transaction reliability

Abstract

A system and method for performing a business transaction including delivering a business message, comprising providing in a first transaction the business message to a first workflow process; transferring the business message from the first workflow process to a second process wherein the transfer is not part of the first transaction; wherein the business message is transferred to the second process using a protocol; and wherein transferring the business message to the second process will be successful even if the first workflow process abnormally terminates.

1 . A method for performing a business transaction including delivering a business message, comprising:
 persisting a business message within a first transaction;   providing the business message to an escrow process wherein the providing is not part of the first transaction;   transferring the business message from the escrow process to a second process;   wherein the escrow process transfers the business message to the second process using a protocol; and   wherein transferring the business message from the escrow process to the second process will be successful even if the first workflow process abnormally terminates.   
     
     
         2 . The method of  claim 1  wherein:
 the workflow process is an instantiated workflow template.   
     
     
         3 . The method of  claim 2  wherein:
 a workflow template is a sequence of one or more tasks derived from a graphical representation of the tasks.   
     
     
         4 . The method of  claim 1  wherein:
 the first transaction is an set of one or more operations that can be rolled-back in the event that the first transaction does not complete.   
     
     
         5 . The method of  claim 1  wherein:
 the protocol is one of: 1) ebXML; and 2) RosettaNet.   
     
     
         6 . The method of  claim 1  wherein:
 the business message is based on Extensible Markup Language (XML).   
     
     
         7 . The method of  claim 1  wherein:
 the first transaction holds an exclusive lock on a first set of shared resources.   
     
     
         8 . The method of  claim 1  wherein:
 the first workflow process and the second process both execute on the same computing device.   
     
     
         9 . The method of  claim 1  wherein:
 the transfer of the business message is reliable.   
     
     
         10 . A system for performing a business transaction including delivering a business message, comprising:
 a first workflow process to persist the business message within a first transaction;   an escrow process coupled to the first workflow process, the escrow process to accept the business message from the first workflow process wherein the transfer takes place outside of the first transaction;   a second process coupled to the escrow process, the second process to accept the business message from the escrow process using a protocol; and   wherein transferring the business message from the escrow process to the second process will be successful even if the first workflow process abnormally terminates.   
     
     
         11 . The system of  claim 10  wherein:
 the workflow process is an instantiated workflow template.   
     
     
         12 . The system of  claim 11  wherein:
 a workflow template is a sequence of one or more tasks derived from a graphical representation of the tasks.   
     
     
         13 . The system of  claim 10  wherein:
 the first transaction is an set of one or more operations that can be rolled-back in the event that the first transaction does not complete.   
     
     
         14 . The system of  claim 10  wherein:
 the protocol is one of: 1) ebXML; and 2) RosettaNet.   
     
     
         15 . The system of  claim 10  wherein:
 the business message is based on Extensible Markup Language (XML).   
     
     
         16 . The system of  claim 10  wherein:
 the first transaction holds an exclusive lock on a first set of shared resources.   
     
     
         17 . The system of  claim 10  wherein:
 the first workflow process and the second process both execute on the same computing device.   
     
     
         18 . The system of  claim 10  wherein:
 the transfer of the business message is reliable.   
     
     
         19 . A machine readable medium having instructions stored thereon that when executed by a processor cause a system to:
 persist a business message within a first transaction;   provide the business message to an escrow process wherein the providing is not part of the first transaction;   transfer the business message from the escrow process to a second process;   wherein the escrow process transfers the business message to the second process using a protocol; and   wherein transferring the business message from the escrow process to the second process will be successful even if the first workflow process abnormally terminates.   
     
     
         20 . The machine readable medium of  claim 19  wherein:
 the workflow process is an instantiated workflow template.   
     
     
         21 . The machine readable medium of  claim 20  wherein:
 a workflow template is a sequence of one or more tasks derived from a graphical representation of the tasks.   
     
     
         22 . The machine readable medium of  claim 19  wherein:
 the first transaction is an set of one or more operations that can be rolled-back in the event that the first transaction does not complete.   
     
     
         23 . The machine readable medium of  claim 19  wherein:
 the protocol is one of: 1) ebXML; and 2) RosettaNet.   
     
     
         24 . The machine readable medium of  claim 19  wherein:
 the business message is based on Extensible Markup Language (XML).   
     
     
         25 . The machine readable medium of  claim 19  wherein:
 the first transaction holds an exclusive lock on a first set of shared resources.   
     
     
         26 . The machine readable medium of  claim 19  wherein:
 the first workflow process and the second process both execute on the same computing device.   
     
     
         27 . The machine readable medium of  claim 19  wherein:
 the transfer of the business message is reliable.