Abstract: An interactive chat-bot user interface to a communication-enabled business process (CEBP) application is provided. The user interface receives instant message commands from a user. The received instant message commands are parsed and transformed into commands formatted according to the application programming interface of the CEBP application. Feedback or other output from the CEBP application can be provided to the user by the interactive interface in an instant message. In addition, the interface can participate in a dialog with the user, all in the natural language of the user and using instant messages, in order to obtain the instructions and parameter information required by the CEBP application in order to perform a requested operation.

Abstract: An arrangement that enables an adjunct processor to determine the service status of switching system communication ports to which the adjunct processor is connected, without reliance on switch-to-adjunct status-conveying messages. In-service and idle ones of the ports participate in calls on a rotating basis. Following receipt of N calls, where N is the number of in-service ports connected to the adjunct processor, the arrangement determines whether each port that is presently designated as being in-service and idle has participated in one communication before a port has participated in a second communication. The arrangement then treats as out-of-service any port presently designated as being in-service that has been so determined a predetermined number of sequential times. It also selectively designates as in-service ports that have participated in communications since the last determination had been made.