1. Technical Field
The present invention relates to the field of the automated exchange of computerized data. More particularly, the invention provides methods and systems that allow for the automated exchange of information between application programs running on different operating systems.
2. Related Information
Businesses and individuals have become increasing reliant upon the automated exchange of data between computers, computer programs and software applications. Businesses and individuals automatically interact between their own internal line of business, productivity and knowledge management applications, the applications used by their customers and partners, and services provided by their commercial and corporate providers. The use of a variety of different operating systems and software applications by those wishing to automatically exchange data has made the exchange process difficult and expensive.
Conventionally, programmers at two businesses wishing to automatically exchange data would have to agree on how the information would be exchanged. For example, when company A decides to order 10 parts having a part number 3614 for delivery on Apr. 28, 2001, company A would send company B a data stream similar to 10,3614, Apr. 28, 2001. The programmers at each company would have to modify application programs at the two locations to include computer code for the formation, transport and protocol used for the exchange of such information. Furthermore, each field would have to be a predetermined length and transmitted in the correct order.
What is needed is an approach that allows four the efficient automated exchange of data between application programs operating on different operating system platforms.