System and method for creating forms

• US 20040205529A1
• Filed: 06/03/2002
• Published: 10/14/2004
• Est. Priority Date: 06/03/2002
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: General Electric Company
• Original Assignee: Ernest G. Cusick
• Inventors: Poulose, Asha, Olle, Michael Steven, Bharti, Neeraj, Kalahasthi, Rajasekhar
• Granted Patent: US 7,032,170 B2
• Time in Patent Office: Days
• US Class Current: 715/506
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 40/174 Form filling; Merging

Abstract

The invention provides a system and method for creating a form. The method includes providing a graphical user interface including a plurality of selectable components and a design space; a creator selecting at least one of the selectable components and disposing each of the selected selectable components in the design space to generate a form layout; converting the form layout to data information; and saving the data information to a form file, the form file being output to a database over a network.

Claims

1. A method for creating a form comprising:

providing a graphical user interface including a plurality of selectable components and a design space;

a creator selecting at least one of the selectable components and disposing each of the selected selectable components in the design space to generate a form layout;

converting the form layout to data information; and

saving the data information to a form file, the form file being output to a database over a network.

2. The method of claim 1, further including:

deploying the form file from the database to a web server; and

generating a web page based on the form file in the web server.

3. The method of claim 1, wherein the data information includes text information and coordinate information.

4. The method of claim 1, wherein saving the data information to a form file includes providing the form file to a web server, the web server outputting the form file to a data base.

5. The method of claim 1, the method further including;

the creator providing the form for access by an approver;

the approver accessing the form generated by the creator, a tool displaying the form layout and form characteristics, the approver reviewing the form to determine if the form is acceptable.

6. The method of claim 5, wherein an alert is sent to the approver to alert the approver that the form is ready for review by the approver.

7. The method of claim 5, wherein the approver approves and deploys the form;

and

the method further including providing the form to a translator for translation.

8. The method of claim 7, wherein each of the creator, the approver and the translator access the form, using the form file, using a web browser.

9. The method of claim 1, the form file further including a state status, the state status designating the status of the form as one of a create state, a review state, an approve state and a deploy state.

10. The method of claim 1, wherein the form file includes information related to creation of the form, database objects and connection, and web loading data.

11. The method of claim 1, wherein the form file includes:

a type A object that represents the form object;

a type B object that represents the fields in the form; and

a type C object that represents loading information of the form.

12. The method of claim 11, where each of the type A object, the type B object and the type c object is associated with policies.

13. The method of claim 1, further including retrieving the form file from the database, the data information in the form file including text information and coordinate information;

reading the form file and creating corresponding data structures based on reading the form file; and

reading the form file and creating a web page, the web page created in conjunction with linking the web page with the corresponding data structures.

14. The method of claim 13, wherein

reading the form file and creating corresponding data structures based on reading the form file is performed by a database parser in the web server;

and

reading the form file and creating the web page, the web page created in conjunction with linking the web page with the corresponding data structures, is performed by a language parser.

15. The method of claim 1, wherein disposing each of the selected selectable components in the design space includes dragging a selected selectable component into the design space.

16. The method of claim 1, wherein creation of the form includes providing for attaching mathematical expressions on selected selectable components on the form through the graphical user interface.

17. The method of claim 1, wherein the saving of data information includes transferring the form file, through a compressed byte stream, to the database.

18. The method of claim 2, wherein deploying of a generated web page includes validating inputs to the form, by a user.

19. The method of claim 2, wherein the generating a webpage includes creating scripts to execute mathematical expressions on components.

20. A system for creating a form comprising:

a web browser, the web browser providing a graphical user interface including a plurality of selectable components and a design space, the graphical user interface providing for a user to select at least one of the selectable components and to dispose each of the selected selectable components in the design space to generate a form layout that represents the form, the web browser converting the form layout to data information;

a web server, the web server saving the data information to a form file; and

a database, the form file being output to the database over a network.

21. The system of claim 20, wherein the data information includes text information and coordinate information.

22. The system of claim 20, wherein

the form file is read by a database parser and corresponding data structures are created based on reading the form file;

and

the form file is read by a language parser and a web page is created, the web page created in conjunction with linking the web page with the corresponding data structures.

23. The system of claim 20, wherein the providing for a user to select at least one of the selectable components and to dispose each of the selected selectable components in the design space includes dragging a selected selectable component into the design space.

24. The system of claim 20, wherein the web browser is accessible by a creator user, an approver user, and a translator user, each of the creator user, the approver user, and the translator user accessing the form by retrieving the form file from the database.

25. The system of claim 24, wherein the approver user receives an alert once the creator user has completed the form;

and

the translator user is provided access to the form after the approver user approves the form.

26. A method for creating a form comprising:

providing a graphical user interface including a plurality of selectable components and a design space;

a creator selecting at least one of the selectable components and dragging each of the selected selectable components into the design space to generate a form layout, the user selecting a property of at least one of the selected selectable components;

converting the form layout to data information;

saving the data information to a form file, the form file being output to a database over a network, the saving the data information to a form file including providing the form file to a web server, the web server outputting the form file to the data base; and

retrieving the form file from the database, the data information in the form file including text information and coordinate information;

reading the form file and creating corresponding data structures based on reading the form file; and

reading the form file and creating a web page, the web page created in conjunction with linking the web page with the corresponding data structures.

27. A system for creating a form comprising:

a web browser, the web browser providing a graphical user interface including a plurality of selectable components and a design space, the graphical user interface providing for a user to select at least one of the selectable components and to dispose each of the selected selectable components in the design space to generate a form layout that represents the form, the web browser converting the form layout to data information;

a web server, the web server saving the data information to a form file; and

a database, the form file being output from the web server to the database over a network; and

wherein the data information includes text information and coordinate information; and

wherein the form file is read by a database parser and corresponding data structures are created based on reading the form file; and

the form file is read by a language parser and a web page is created, the web page created in conjunction with linking the web page with the corresponding data structures; and

wherein the providing for a user to select at least one of the selectable components and to dispose each of the selected selectable components in the design space includes dragging a selected selectable component into the design space.