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Abstract

A relational database residing on a second computer, and is accessed by a user interface via a global information network such as the Internet. The relational database is accessed through four intermediate processing layers: an interaction layer, an application layer, a business object layer, and an information model layer, each located on a second computer, with the information model layer logically adjacent to the database, and the interaction layer logically adjacent to the user interface operating on the browser. The information model layer maintains a first relational tree of the information in the relational database. This relational tree appears as a plurality of entities in a mark up language (such as XML) to the business object layer and the information in the relational database is accessible via the relational tree. The business object model layer includes a plurality of business object instances, each of which maintains a second relational tree corresponding to a portion of the first relational tree. The second relational tree appears as a plurality of entities in a mark up language (such as XML) to the application layer. The application layer includes a plurality of application object instances, each of which includes an application object definition which specifies one or more methods and business object instances available to the application object. The application layer appears as a plurality of entities in a mark up language to the interaction layer. The interaction layer includes a plurality of interaction objects, each interaction object including information identifying an application object and information specifying a manner in which requests from a user interface are to be processed for transmission to the application object and in which responses from the application object are to be transmitted to the user interface. The interaction layer appears as a plurality of entities in a mark up language to the user interface.

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