FORM 2
THE PATENTS ACT, 1970 (39 of 1970) & THE PATENTS RULES, 2003
COMPLETE SPECIFICATION
(See section 10, rule 13)
1. Title of the invention:
ENTERPRISE SEARCH FOR BUSINESS OBJECTS
*. sipplicant(s)
NAME NATIONALITY ADDRESS
TATA CONSULTANCY SERVICES Nirmal Building, 9th Floor, Nariman Point,
Indian
LIMITED Mumbai Maharashtra-400021, India
3. Preamble to the description
COMPLETE SPECIFICATION
rru~ following specification particularly describes the invention and the manner in which it
is to be performed.

TECHNICAL FIELD
[0001] The present subject matter, in general, relates to data searching, and in particular
relates to searching business objects within an enterprise.
BACKGROUND
[0002] In day to day operations of an enterprise, a large number of searches need to be
conducted to search different types of business objects. Such a search, generally referred to as
an enterprise search, allows a user to search the business objects within the enterprise. The
enterprise search is typically different from a web search and a desktop search as it includes
searching the business objects from a variety of disparate data sources of the enterprise, such as
file systems, intranets, document management systems, emails, and databases.
[0003] Typically, a business application implemented within the enterprise is provided
with an enterprise search facility to allow searching of the business objects in the variety of
disparate data sources of the enterprise that are associated with the business application. For
example, in banks, a banking application may be provided with the enterprise search facility to
allow searching a banking object, such as an account, a customer, or a payment.
[0004] To search a particular business object within the business application, the user
needs to locate a relevant search screen corresponding to the business object. For example, to search for customer related details, the user needs to locate a customer search screen of the business application. To locate the relevant search screen in accordance with the business object to be searched, the user often navigates through various search screens, such as, an account search screen, a transaction search screen, a payment search screen, etc., of the business application. In certain cases, the navigation though the business application for locating the relevant search screen involves multiple clicks of a computer mouse, or any similar input device, from the user to shuffle between the different screens. Accordingly, the navigation may appear as a tedious and time consuming process to the user resulting in user dissatisfaction. Furthermore, the time spent by the user in the navigation may result in non-optimum utilization of server resources of the enterprise.

SUMMARY
[0005] The subject matter described herein relates to methods and systems for
searching business objects within an enterprise, which are further described below in the detailed description. This summary is not intended to identify essential features of the claimed subject matter nor is it intended for use in determining or limiting the scope of the claimed subject matter.
[0006] In one implementation, one or more syntax independent keywords are received
to search business objects in an enterprise. Multiple data sources of the enterprise are searched based on the one or more syntax independent keywords to provide search results. In one embodiment, the business objects are searched based on all the various attributes associated with the business object.
BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS
[0007] The detailed description is provided with reference to the accompanying figures.
In the figures, the left-most digit of a reference number identifies the figure in which the reference number first appears. The same numbers are used throughout the drawings to reference like features and components.
[0008] Fig. 1 illustrates an exemplary network environment for implementing an
enterprise search system, in accordance with an embodiment of the present subject matter.
[0009] Fig. 2a and fig. 2b illustrate an exemplary enterprise search system and its
modules, respectively, in accordance with an embodiment of die present subject matter.
[00010] Fig. 3 illustrates an exemplary method of searching business objects within an
enterprise, in accordance with an embodiment of the present subject matter.
[00011] Fig. 4 illustrates another exemplary method of searching business objects, in
accordance with an embodiment of the present subject matter.
DETAILED DESCRIPTION
[00012] An enterprise generally implements one or more business applications to
accomplish various business activities of the enterprise. Such business activities utilize a large volume of business related data that is available in various disparate data sources of the enterprise. The business related data is generally data that is modeled after a business concept

and is often referred to as business objects that represent real world things, such as employees, customers, products, invoices, and payments. A business application is often required to be searched for business objects for different purposes, such as data visualization, information discovery, or routine business activities. Accordingly, an enterprise search facility to search the business objects is provided in the business application.
[00013] Conventionally, the user of the business application often navigates through
various screens of the business application to locate a search screen for searching the business
objects. For example, in order to search a business object, such as a customer, a user of a
banking application navigates through various screens of the banking application to locate a
search screen where a search for customer related details may be carried out. Such navigation is
generally a time consuming process resulting in user dissatisfaction. Moreover, novice users
may consume more time in locating the relevant search screen, which leads to non-optimum
utilization of server resources of the enterprise. Therefore, the novice users typically require
training to get acquainted with the conventional enterprise search systems.
[00014] Furthermore, upon locating the search screen, the user specifies a query based
on one or more searchable attributes of the business objects. For example, in order to search a business object, such as a customer, the user specifies a query based on attributes associated with the customer. The attributes associated with the customer may include name, address, phone number, email address, etc. Conventionally, enterprise search systems accept queries with the attributes specified in a predefined syntax only. The queries that do not conform to stringent syntax requirements fail to generate any search results. For example, in a banking application, a bank account number attribute needs to be specified in a predefined syntax in order to search a business object, such as a customer owning that bank account number. In certain cases, the predefined syntax of the attributes may be complex for the novice users. Accordingly, the novice users also require training to get acquainted with the predefined syntax of the attributes and to be able to carry out a search using the conventional enterprise search systems.
[00015] In addition, there may be hundreds of attributes associated with the business
objects. However, the user typically gets a limited number of the attributes to search the business objects. In other words, all the attributes associated with the business objects are typically not available to the user for searching the business objects. This limitation is mainly

due to performance issues and limited screen space available to the user, and often results in an
incomplete search.
[00016] To this end, described herein are methods and systems for searching business
objects within an enterprise. An enterprise search system, in accordance with an embodiment of
the present subject matter, is implemented in a business application of the enterprise. The
enterprise search system is configured to receive a query having one or more syntax
independent keywords and to search any business objects matching to the query. In that respect,
training that may be required by a user for complex and numerous predefined syntaxes of the
attributes associated with the business objects is significantly reduced.
[00017] In an embodiment, the enterprise search system is configured to search all the
attributes of the business objects with respect to the query. Therefore, the user is able to search
the business objects on basis of attributes that are conventionally not available for searching the
business objects due to performance issues and limited screen space.
[00018] In an embodiment, each screen of the business application includes a single
textbox for searching the business objects. In that respect, the user is able to avoid unnecessary
and time consuming navigation through the various screens of the business application,
resulting in optimum utilization of the server resources of the enterprise.
[00019] In an embodiment, the enterprise search system is configured to receive a query
through a screen of the business application and search the business objects in data sources
associated with said screen of the business application. For example, if a user submits the query
in a home screen of the business application, then the enterprise search system searches all data
sources associated with business application. On the other hand, if the user submits the query
from a customer screen, then it searches only those data sources that are associated with
customers.
[00020J While aspects of described systems and methods for searching business objects
within an enterprise can be implemented in any number of different computing systems,
environments, and/or configurations, the embodiments are described in the context of the
following exemplary systems and methods.
EXEMPLARY SYSTEMS
[00021] Fig. 1 illustrates an exemplary network environment 100 implementing an
enterprise search system 102 for searching business objects within an enterprise, according to

an embodiment of the present subject matter. The network environment 100 includes a user interface device(s) 104 in communication with the enterprise search system 102 using network 106, As shown in Fig. 1, communication links communicatively couple the user interface device 104 and the enterprise search system 102 to each other through the network 106. The communication links enable a desired form of communication, for example, via dial-up modem connections, cable links, digital subscriber lines (DSL), wireless or satellite links, or any other suitable form of communication.
[00022] Further, the network 106 may be any type of communications network
including, but not limited to, a direct PC to PC connection, a local area network (LAN), a metropolitan area network (MAN), a wide area network (WAN), a modem to modem connection, the Internet, a combination of the above, or any other communications network which permits two or more computers to communicate with each other.
J00023J Further, the user interface device 104 may be any processor-driven computing
device that is compatible with the network 106, such as desktop computer, laptop computer, network computer, online terminal, hand-held computer, or other similar equipment. The enterprise search system 102 is also a processor-driven computing device, such as a server computer, that manages network resources and responds to commands from the user interface device 104. In addition, the enterprise search system 102 may include multiple servers to perform mirrored tasks for users, thereby relieving congestion or minimizing traffic. The user interface device 104 and the enterprise search system 102 both include computer readable data storage media such as hard disk drives and RAM memory that store program instructions and data. Using such stored programs, the enterprise search system 102 run application programs that respond to the commands from the user interface device 104.
[00024] The network environment 100 of the enterprise may also include application
servers (not shown in the figures). Such application servers implements one or more business applications for various routine business activities. Such business activities utilize a large volume of business related data, often referred to as business objects that represent real world information, such as employees, customers, products, invoices, and payments. Moreover, each of such business objects may have hundreds of attributes associated with it. For example, a payment type business object has attributes, such as, a payment id, a payment source, a payment amount, a payment date. In addition, each of such attributes has a predefined syntax.

[00025] The business objects are scattered in various disparate data sources 108 of the
enterprise. Such data sources 108 may include both structured as well as unstructured data sources. The structured data sources may include databases, data warehouses, etc. Whereas, the unstructured data sources may include e-mails, attachments, electronic documents, web content, file systems, documents, reports, flat files, etc.
[00026] Various business objects may be required to be searched for different purposes,
such as data visualization, information discovery, or routine business activities of the business
application. Further, in order to search the business objects, the application servers hosting the
business application communicate with the enterprise search system 102. In various
embodiments, the enterprise search system 102 may be implemented within the application
servers hosting the business application or within a standalone server associated with the
application servers. The embodiments described here are only for the purpose of illustration,
various other embodiments may be apparent to the one skilled in the art.
[00027] To this end, the enterprise search system 102 includes a business object search
module 110 that is configured to receive the query from a user through the user interface device 104 across the network 106. Further, upon receiving the query, the business object search module 110 searches the data sources 108 across the network 106 for any business objects matching to the query.
[00028] In an embodiment, the enterprise search system 102 is configured to receive a
query having one or more syntax independent keywords for searching the business objects. The
one or more syntax independent keywords are keywords that are received independent of above
described predefined syntaxes of the attributes associated with the business objects.
Consequently, the enterprise search system 102 eliminates the need for training a user for
complex and numerous predefined syntaxes of the attributes associated with the business
objects. Further, the enterprise search system 102 includes a syntax independent search
interface 112. In an implementation, the syntax independent search interface 112 may be
included in the business application hosted at the application servers. The enterprise search
system 102 may thus receive the query from a user of the business application.
[00029] In an embodiment, the enterprise search system 102 is configured to search all
the attributes of the business objects with respect to the query. Therefore, the user need not specify the query with respect to a few predefined attributes and is able to search the business

objects on basis of all the attributes of the business object, resulting in a complete search. In
other words, the user is able to search through those attributes also that are conventionally not
available to search the business objects due to performance issues and limited screen space.
[00030] In an embodiment, the enterprise search system 102 is configured to receive the
query from any screen of a business application. In that respect, the syntax independent search interface 112 includes the above described single textbox in each screen of the business application. Therefore, the user may search the business objects from any screen of the business application. In said embodiment, the enterprise search system 102 reduces the time consumed in navigating though various screens of the business application to locate a search screen resulting in efficient utilization of server resources of the enterprise. In an implementation, the syntax independent search interface 112 includes the above described single textbox in a selected set of screens of the business application to provide a desired system configuration to the user,
[00031] In an implementation, in order to provide the user different types of search
tactics, the enterprise search system 102 includes the syntax independent search interface 112, according to any of the above described embodiments, along with conventional search interface. In said implementation, the syntax independent search interface 112 enables the user to submit a query in any format and the conventional search interface enables the user to submit a query that may be business object and/or syntax dependent. Additionally, the enterprise search system may include other search features, for example, keyword suggestion, ranking, keyword synonyms, spelling correction, and phrase searching.
[00032] Fig. 2 a illustrates exemplary components of the enterprise search system 102 in
accordance with an embodiment of the present subject matter. The enterprise search system 102
includes one or more processors) 202, I/O interface(s) 204 and a memory 206.
[00033J The processors) 202 can be a single or multiple processing units. The
processors) 202 can be implemented as one or more microprocessors, microcomputers, microcontrollers, digital signal processors, central processing units, state machines, logic circuitries, or any devices that manipulate signals based on operational instructions. Among other capabilities, the processors) 202 are configured to fetch and execute computer-readable instructions and data stored in the memory 206.

[00034] The I/O interfaces 204 may include a variety of software and hardware
interfaces, for example, interface for peripheral device(s) such as a keyboard, a mouse, an external memory, a printer, etc. Further, the I/O interfaces 204 may enable the enterprise search system 102 to communicate with other computing devices, such as web servers and external databases. The I/O interfaces 204 may facilitate multiple communications within a wide variety of protocols and networks, such as the network 106, including wired networks, e.g., LAN, cable, etc., and wireless networks, e.g., WLAN, cellular, satellite, etc. For the purpose, the I/O interfaces 204 may include one or more ports for connecting to a number of computing devices, such as the user interface device 104.
[00035] The memory 206 can include any computer-readable medium known in the art
including, for example, volatile memory (e.g., RAM) and/or non-volatile memory (e.g., flash, etc.). The memory 206 also includes program module(s) 208, and program data 210. The program module 208 includes routines, programs, objects, components, data structure, etc., that perform particular task or implement particular abstract data types.
[00036] The program module 208 includes the business object search module 110 and
other module(s) 212. The business object search module 110 includes a business object recognizer 214 and a search engine 216. The other module(s) 212 may include programs that supplement applications implemented by the system 102.
[00037] The program data 210 includes a query 218, business objects 220, and other data
222. The query 218 includes a search string having one ore more syntax independent keywords
received from the user. The business objects 220 include various data, present in the data
sources 108, which match the query 218. The other data 222 includes data that is generated as a
result of the execution of functions of one or more modules in the other modules 212.
[00038] Fig. 2b illustrates the business object recognizer 214 that is configured to
determine at least one type of the business objects, e.g., customer type business object, payment type business objects, or transaction type business objects, to be searched based upon the at least one keyword.
[00039] In sn embodiment, the business object recognizer 214 includes a keyword
category recognizer 214-1 to perform an analysis of each of the keywords in the query 218 to provide a category, such as string, numeric, alphanumeric, date, or time category, of the keywords. For example, if the query 218 is 'ashvin delOO', then the analysis provides

information that the keyword 'ashvin' is either completely or partially a string category
keyword and the keyword 'delOO' is an alphanumeric category keyword.
[00040] In said embodiment, the business object recognizer 214 further includes an
attribute recognizer 214-2 configured to determine attributes of the business objects 220 to be
searched based upon the category of each of the keywords. In the previous example, the
keyword 'ashvin' would be searched only in those attributes which completely or partially
accept string values i.e., the keyword 'ashvin' will not be searched in attributes having
predefined syntax, such as numeric, date, and time. In the same example, the keyword 'delOO'
will not be searched in attributes having predefined syntax, such as string, date, time.
(00041] In an embodiment, the business object recognizer 214 may also include a screen
based data source recognizer 214-3 to determine one or more data sources associated with a screen accessed by the user to submit the query 218. Accordingly, the enterprise search system 100 may be configured to identify one or more data sources 108 associated with each screen of the business application. In an implementation, if a user submits the query 218 in a textbox provided in a transaction screen of the business application, the enterprise search system 100 searches transaction related data in the relevant associate data sources only. In that respect, time taken to complete the search is reduced and optimum utilization of server resources is ensured. On the other hand, if the user enters the query 218 in a textbox provided in a home screen of the business application, all the data sources associated with the business application are searched. In such a case, an exhaustive search result comprising business objects matching to the query and found in any of the data sources associated with the business application is provided.
[00042] Further, based upon inputs from the business object recognizer 214, the search
engine 216 searches for the business objects 220 in the data sources 108. The search engine 216 may typically include a crawler, an indexer, and a searcher. The crawler periodically combs through data present in the data sources 108 of the enterprise in an automated manner and gathers information about the business objects 220 present therein. Further, the indexer stores and updates all the information retrieved by the crawler in the form of a searchable index in an index database (not shown in the figures). Further, the searcher searches for the business objects 220 based upon the query 218 received through the syntax independent search interface 112. In one implementation, the searcher searches the index database connected to the

enterprise search system 102. In that respect, the searcher facilitates a fast and accurate retrieval of the business objects 220. In an implementation, the index database may support database SQL searches. EXEMPLARY METHODS
[00043] The exemplary methods may be described in the general context of computer
executable instructions. Generally, such computer executable instructions can include routines, programs, objects, components, data structures, procedures, modules, functions, and the like that perform particular functions or implement particular abstract data types. The methods may also be practiced in a distributed computing environment where functions are performed by remote processing devices that are linked through a communication network. In a distributed computing environment, computer executable instructions may be located in both local and remote computer storage media, including memory storage devices.
[00044] The order in which the methods are described is not intended to be construed as
a limitation, and any number of the described method blocks can be combined in any order to implement the methods, or an alternate methods. Additionally, individual blocks may be deleted from the methods without departing from the spirit and scope of the subject matter described herein. Furthermore, the methods may be implemented in any suitable hardware, software, firmware, or combination thereof. In accordance with one embodiment of the present subject matter, the exemplary methods may be implemented in the previously described enterprise search system 102. However, it will be appreciated by one skilled in the art that such an implementation is not limiting as the exemplary methods may also be implemented in a variety of enterprise search systems.
[00045] Fig. 3 illustrates an exemplary method 300 for searching business objects within
an enterprise, according to an embodiment of the present subject matter.
[00046] At block 302, a search query having one or more syntax independent keywords
is received to search the business objects. The one or more syntax independent keywords are keywords received independent of predefined syntaxes associated with different attributes of the business objects to be searched. In one implementation, the one or more syntax independent keywords are received from a user of a business application implemented within the enterprise

through a search interface, such as the syntax independent search interface 112, provided in a screen of a business application running at a user interface device, such as the user interface device 104.
100047] At block 304, a type of each of the one or more syntax independent keywords is
determined. In that respect, the one or more syntax independent keywords of the search query are analyzed to determine a type, such as string, numeric, alphanumeric, date, or time, of the keywords. For example, in a search query fdel00 15/06/2010' the keyword 'delOO' is alphanumeric type keyword and the keyword '15/06/2010' is a date type keyword. In an implementation, a keyword type recognition unit, such as the keyword category recognizer 214-1, is provided to determine the type of each of the one or more syntax independent keywords.
[00048] At block 306, based upon the type of each of the one or more syntax
independent keywords, one or more attributes of the business objects are ascertained for being
searched. In the previous example, based upon the type of each of the keywords, the keyword
'delOO' is searched in all those attributes which may accept alphanumeric values, but not in
those attributes which accept only string, only numeric, date, or time, etc. Similarly, the
keyword '15/06/2010' will be searched in those attributes which accept date type values. In an
implementation, an attribute recognition unit, such as the attribute recognizer 214-2, is
provided to ascertain which attributes of different business objects are to be searched.
[00049] At block 308, based upon the ascertained attributes, the relevant data stores of
the enterprise are ascertained and searched for the business objects. In an implementation, the one or more data stores, such as the data sources 108, are ascertained where the ascertained attributes are identified to be present. Further, the one or more data stores are searched for the business objects having the ascertained attributes.
[00050] At block 310, business objects matching to the search query are presented. In
order to determine the business objects matching to the search query, a match algorithm, such as best match algorithm, nearest match algorithm, fuzzy match algorithm, longest prefix match algorithm, pattern match algorithm, may be utilized. In case no business object matches to the search query, then no results are presented to the user and an alternate query may be suggested. In an implementation, the business objects identified as the search result may be presented at the user by means of an interface device, such as the user interface device 104.

[00051] Fig. 4 illustrates an exemplary method 400 for searching business objects within
an enterprise, according to another embodiment of the present subject matter.
[00052] At block 402, in order to search business objects, a search query having one or
more keywords is received in a screen of a business application, Jn one impJementation, a search query, such as the query 218, having one or more syntax independent keywords is received through a search interface, such as the syntax independent search interface 112, provided in a screen of a business application running at a user interface device, such as the user interface device 104.
[00053] At block 404, one or more data stores associated with the screen of the business
application are identified. In an implementation, when a search query, such as the query 218, is received from a screen then data stores associated with the screen are identified in order to search the business objects. For example, if the query 218 is submitted from the transaction screen, then transaction related business objects may be searched in data stores 108 containing transaction data of the enterprise.
[00054] At block 406, the one or more data stores are searched for the business objects
matching to the search query. For example, when a user submits the search query from a payment screen of the business application then payment related data is searched only in the data stores associated with the payment screen, resulting in reduced response time and optimum utilization of server resources of the enterprise. On the other hand, if the user submits the search query from a home screen of the business application then all the data stores associated with the business application may be searched. In one implementation, the business objects arc searched in the one or more data stores, such as the data sources 108.
[00055] At block 408, a search result having business objects matching to the search
query is presented. In order to determine the business objects matching to the search query, a match algorithm, such as best match algorithm, nearest match algorithm, fuzzy match algorithm, longest prefix match algorithm, pattern match algorithm, may be utilized. In case no business object matches to the search query, then no results are presented to the user and an alternate query may be suggested. In an implementation, the search result may be presented at a user interface device, such as the user interface device 104.
[00056] In an embodiment, the method 300 and method 400 may be implemented
together. In said embodiment, the business objects are searched in response to the search query

having one or more syntax independent keywords, while taking into account a screen in which the search query is received. For example, in a screen related to customer details, a search query comprising numerals "1234" will result in searching customers having keyword "1234" present in numeric, alphanumeric, or other relevant type of customer attributes, such as customer id and customer account number, irrespective of the predefined syntax of said attributes.
[00057] Although embodiments for enterprise search methods and systems have been
described in language specific to structural features and/or methods, it is to be understood that the invention is not necessarily limited to the specific features or methods described. Rather, the specific features and methods are disclosed as exemplary embodiments for the data generation method and system.

I/We claim:
1. A system for searching business objects within a business application, the system comprising:
a processor (202); and
a memory (206) coupled to the processor (202), wherein the memory (206) comprises a business object search module (110) configured to search the business objects, having at least one attribute corresponding to at least one syntax independent keyword of a query, in at least one data source (108) associated with the business application.
2. The system as claimed in claim 1, wherein the business object search module (110) receives the query through a syntax independent search interface (112).
3. The system as claimed in claim 1, wherein the business object search module (110) comprises:
a business object recognizer (214) configured to determine at least one type of the business objects based upon the at least one syntax independent keyword; and
a search engine (216) configured to search the business objects having the at least one attribute corresponding to the at least one syntax independent keyword of the query, in the at least one data source (108) based upon the at least one type of business object.
4. The system as claimed in claim 3, wherein the business object recognizer (214)
comprises:
a keyword category recognizer (214-1) configured to determine a category of the at least one syntax independent keyword; and
an attribute recognizer (214-2) configured to ascertain the at least one attribute based upon the category of the at least one syntax independent keyword.

5. The system as claimed in claim 3, wherein the business object recognizer (214) comprises a screen based data source recognizer (214-3) configured to identify the at least one data source (108) associated with a screen of the business application.
6. The system as claimed in claim 1, wherein the business application is a banking application.
7. A computer implementable method of searching business objects within a business application, the method comprising;
receiving a query having at least one syntax independent keyword; and
searching for the business objects, having at least one attribute corresponding to the at least one syntax independent keyword, in at least one data store associated with the business application.
8. The method as claimed in claim 7, further comprising:
determining a category of the at least one syntax independent keyword;
ascertaining the at least one attribute based upon the determined category of the at least one syntax independent keyword; and
determining the at least one data store to be searched based upon the ascertained at least one attribute.
9. A computer implementable method of searching business objects within a business
application, the method comprising:
receiving a query, having at least one keyword, in a screen of the business application;
identifying at least one data store associated with the screen of the business application, and
searching the business objects, having at least one attribute corresponding to the at least one keyword, in the identified at least one data store.

10. The method as claimed in claim 9, wherein the at least one keyword is a syntax independent keyword.
11. The method as claimed in claim 9, further comprising:
determining a category of the at least one keyword of the query;
ascertaining the at least one attribute based upon the determined category of the at least one keyword of the query; and
determining the at least one data store to be searched based upon the ascertained at least one attribute.