Data source task pane

• US 20060161533A1
• Filed: 12/22/2005
• Published: 07/20/2006
• Est. Priority Date: 02/19/2004
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Microsoft Technology Licensing LLC (Microsoft Corporation)
• Original Assignee: Microsoft Corporation
• Inventors: McCormack, Michael J., McDowell, Richard Shawn, Bryant, Christopher W., Selca, Vitore, Woodall, Zachary P., Dickinson, Richard L.
• Granted Patent: US 7,546,291 B2
• Time in Patent Office: Days
• US Class Current: 1/1
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 16/2423 Interactive query statement specification based on a database schema
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 16/28 Databases characterised by their database models, e.g. relational or object models
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 16/284 Relational databases
• CPC Class Codes: Y10S 707/99933 Query processing, i.e. searching
• CPC Class Codes: Y10S 707/99942 Manipulating data structure, e.g. compression, compaction, compilation
• CPC Class Codes: Y10S 707/99943 Generating database or data structure, e.g. via user interface

Abstract

A user interface is provided that allows users to create queries interactively. The user interface operates by creating a source query (or, for example, SQL commands) for the user while they select fields from a data source. This provides users with an alternative to using conventional designers, wizards, or other tools to manually generate a query.

Claims

1. A computer-implemented method for relating tables for a database, the method comprising:

providing a primary table comprising a first field;

providing a user interface to display the first field;

providing a secondary table comprising a second field;

displaying on the user interface the second field;

receiving commands from the user for creating a relationship between the first and second fields; and

generating a query such that the generated query produces a results set from the primary and secondary tables in accordance with the relationship between the first and second fields.

2. The method of claim 1 further comprising displaying the relationship between the first and second fields on the user interface.

3. The method of claim 1 further comprising displaying fields from the primary database in a first pane of the user interface and displaying fields from the secondary database in a second pane of the user interface.

4. The method of claim 1 wherein the generated query comprises commands for joining the primary and secondary tables.

5. The method of claim 1 further comprising receiving a command from the user to modify the generated query.

6. The method of claim 1 wherein the generated query comprises an SQL command.

7. The method of claim 1 wherein the result set creates a one-to-many relationship from the first field of the primary table to the second field of the secondary table.

8. The method of claim 7 further comprising displaying the result set in a list on the user interface.

9. A computer-implemented system for editing schema for a database, the system comprising:

a user interface to receive commands from the user for the user for creating a relationship between a first field from a primary table and a second field from a secondary table and to change a displayed image in response to the received commands; and

a query generator to generate a query for producing a results set from the primary and secondary tables in accordance with the relationship between the first and second fields.

10. The system of claim 9 wherein the user interface is further configured to receive commands from the user for entering data related to the second field.

11. The system of claim 9 further comprising displaying the relationship between the first and second fields.

12. The system of claim 9 wherein the results set is displayed in a view as a database table.

13. The system of claim 9 wherein the query generator is to further generate SQL commands to perform logical operations.

14. The system of claim 9 wherein the user interface is further to accept commands from the user for modifying the generated query.

15. A computer-implemented system for generating queries for a database, the system comprising:

means for providing a primary table comprising a first field and for providing a secondary table comprising a second field;

means for providing a user interface for displaying the first and second fields and for receiving commands from the user for creating a relationship between the first and second fields; and

means for generating a query such that the generated query is configured to produce a results set from the primary and secondary tables in accordance with the relationship between the first and second fields.

16. The system of claim 15 wherein the means for providing a user interface is further for entering data into the database.

17. The system of claim 15 wherein the means for providing a user interface is further for displaying data from the results set.

18. The system of claim 17 wherein the displayed data is displayed as a report form.

19. The system of claim 18 wherein the means for providing a user interface is an interactive user interface metaphor.

20. The system of claim 18 wherein the means for providing a user interface is further configured to display a list of template schema definitions.