Interface module, system and method

摘要

An interface module is provided for a sales processing system that facilitates the integration of a payment system and external systems with the sales processing system. In one implementation, the interface module includes a first interface configured to support a first protocol for communication with a sales processing module of the sales processing system, a second interface configured to support a second protocol for communication with a payment system, and a third interface configured to support a third protocol for communication with a transaction system for external services. The interface module further includes a controller operable to control routing of messages between the first, second and third interfaces, and reformatting of the messages in accordance with the first, second and third protocols, respectively.

主权项

1. A sales processing system, comprising:
at least one processor configured to implement a communication interface module, the communication interface module comprising component modules including: a first interface module operable to support a first protocol for communication with a sales processing module of the sales processing system; a second interface module operable to support a second protocol for communication with a payment system; a third interface module operable to support a third protocol for communication with a transaction system for external services and operable to extend a communication ability of the sales processing system to the transaction system for external services, the external services including an element selected from the group consisting of a direct currency conversion host and a tax-free shopping host; and a routing module operable to: receive incoming messages from the first, second and third interface modules, the incoming messages having corresponding incoming message protocols; determine corresponding destinations for the incoming messages; transform the incoming messages into outgoing messages having corresponding outgoing message protocols, wherein the outgoing message protocols are determined based on source and destination information from the incoming messages; and transmit the outgoing messages to the determined destinations; wherein the routing module includes message type entries accessible based on message identifiers from the incoming messages, the message type entries defining respective message types; and wherein the routing module includes field definition entries accessible based on field identifiers from the incoming messages, the field definition entries defining contents of respective message fields.