SYSTEM AND METHOD FOR IMPLEMENTING DYNAMIC FORMS

• US 20080126396A1
• Filed: 06/25/2007
• Published: 05/29/2008
• Est. Priority Date: 06/26/2006
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Hyland Switzerland, Sarl
• Original Assignee: Perceptive Software LLC (Hyland Software Incorporated)
• Inventors: Gagnon, Martin J.
• Granted Patent: US 8,055,997 B2
• Time in Patent Office: Days
• US Class Current: 707/102
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 40/143 Markup, e.g. Standard Generalized Markup Language [SGML] or Document Type Definition [DTD]
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 40/186 Templates

Abstract

A system and method is provided for implementing a dynamic form using file data retrieved from an external file source. An application executing on a server computer is responsive to a form request received from a user system computer to transform the retrieved file data into a format that includes new input elements. Unique namespaces are assigned to each of the new input elements, and the requested form and transformed file data are transmitted to the user system. The application is configured to create new XML file data that is mapped to the original XML file data in response to a user of the user system inputting data into the form. The new XML file data is compared to the original XML file data to identify missing elements. Missing elements are inserted into the new XML file data, and the new XML file data is stored in a memory.

Claims

1. A computerized system for implementing a dynamic form in response to a form request received at a server computer from a user system computer, the form request comprising information identifying a transformation file that defines the dynamic form and references original file data, the original file data comprising at least one data element defining a data value for a corresponding input field of the dynamic form, the system comprising:

a dynamic form generation application comprising;

a pre-processing component comprising;

a file transformation module to retrieve the original file data and to create a dynamic document file comprising at least one input element corresponding to the at least one data element in the original file data;

a namespace assignment module to assign a unique namespace to the at least one input element in the dynamic document file; and

a user interface module to transfer the dynamic document file to the user system computer; and

a user system application executable on the user system computer to read the dynamic document file and to generate the dynamic form for display, the dynamic form displaying the data value in the corresponding input field for the at least one data element.

2. The system of claim 1 wherein the file transformation module is configured to retrieve the original file data from an eXtensible Markup Language (XML) file stored in a memory.

3. The system of claim 2 wherein the file transformation module is configured to execute an eXtensible Stylesheet Language Transform (XSLT) code to retrieve the original file data from the XML file.

4. The system of claim 1 wherein the dynamic document file comprises a hypertext markup language (HTML) file.

5. The system of claim 1 wherein the namespace assignment module is configured to execute an XSLT template to dynamically embed the unique namespace for the at least one input element in the dynamic document file.

6. The system of claim 1 wherein the namespace assignment module is further configured to:

determine a level of nesting of the at least one data element included in the original file data;

annotate the corresponding at least one input element in the dynamic document file with a particular numerical value that indicates the determined level of nesting; and

insert a new attribute to the corresponding at least one input element in the dynamic document file.

7. The system of claim 6 wherein the namespace assignment module is configured to generate a document object model (DOM) representation of the dynamic document file based on the assigned unique namespace of the at least one input element.

8. The system of claim 7 further comprising:

a user interface for receiving a user input defining a new data value for a particular input field included in the dynamic form, and wherein the user system application is configured to generate an update request, the update request identifying the new data value and the particular input field;

the dynamic form generation application further comprising;

a post-processing component comprising;

a tree creation module configured to create a tree structure based on the DOM, the tree structure defining a hierarchy of the at least one input element based on the determined level of nesting and comprising the data value for the at least one data element corresponding to the at least one input element and the new data value corresponding to the identified particular input field;

a mapping module to create a new file comprising the new file data based on the created tree structure;

an examination module to compare the new file data to the original file data to identify data elements that are missing from the new file data and to modify the new file to include missing data elements; and

a storage module to store the new file as modified by the examination module in a memory.

9. The system of claim 8 wherein the user interface is configured to receive a second user input identifying a new input field for addition to the dynamic form, and wherein the user system computer is configured to generate a form addition request, the system further comprising:

a form modification module configured to receive the form addition request, to add a new input element to the dynamic document file corresponding to the new input field, and to assign a second unique namespace to the new input element.

10. The system of claim 8 wherein the user interface is configured to receive a third user input identifying at least one input field for deletion from the dynamic form, wherein the user system computer is configured to generate a form deletion request, and wherein the form modification module is configured to delete the input element from the dynamic document file that corresponds to the at least one input field identified for deletion.

11. A computerized system for implementing a dynamic form in response to a form request received from a user system computer, the form request comprising information identifying a transformation file that defines the dynamic form and references original file data, the original file data comprising at least one data element defining a data value for a particular input field of the form, the system comprising:

a pre-processing component comprising;

a file transformation module to retrieve the original file data and to create a dynamic document file comprising at least one input element corresponding to the at least one data element;

a namespace assignment module to assign a unique namespace to the at least one input element in the dynamic document file and to generate a document object model (DOM) representation of the dynamic document file based on the assigned unique namespace of the at least one input element; and

a user interface module to transmit the dynamic document file for reception by the user system computer;

a user system application executable on the user system computer to generate the dynamic form for display, the dynamic form displaying the data value in the particular input field for the at least one data element corresponding to the at least one input element;

a user interface configured to receive a user input defining new file data, the new file data defining a new data value for the particular input field, and wherein the user system application is configured to generate an update request based on the user input; and

a post-processing component comprising;

a tree creation module configured to create a tree structure based on the DOM, the tree structure defining a hierarchy of the at least one input element based on the determined level of nesting and comprising the new data value corresponding to the identified particular input field;

a mapping module to create a new file comprising the new file data based on the created tree structure;

an examination module to compare the new file data to the original file data to identify data elements that are missing from the new file data and to modify the new file to include missing data elements; and

a storage module to store the new file as modified by the examination module in a memory.

12. A computerized method for implementing a dynamic form in response to a form request from a user system computer, the dynamic form comprising at least one input field for displaying file data, the form request identifying a transformation file that defines the dynamic form and references original file data, the original file data comprising at least one data element defining a data value for a particular input field of the form, the method comprising:

retrieving the transformation file;

retrieving the original file data referenced in the transformation file to populate the at least one input field in the dynamic form;

creating a dynamic document file that comprises at least one input element corresponding to the at least data one element in the original file data;

assigning a unique namespace to the at least one input element in the dynamic document file;

transferring the dynamic document file to the user system computer; and

processing, at the user system computer, the dynamic document file to display the dynamic form.

13. The method of claim 12 further comprising retrieving original file data from an extensible Markup Language (XML) file stored in a memory.

14. The method of claim 13 further comprising using an eXtensible Stylesheet Language Transform (XSLT) to retrieve original XML file data from the XML file.

15. The method of claim 12 wherein the dynamic document file comprises a hypertext markup language (HTML) file.

16. The method of claim 12 further comprising dynamically embedding the unique namespace for the at least one input element in the dynamic document file with an XSLT template.

17. The method of claim 12 further comprising:

determining a level of nesting of the at least one data element included in the original file data;

annotating the corresponding at least one input element in the dynamic document file with a particular numerical value that indicates the determined level of nesting; and

assigning a new attribute to the corresponding at least one input element.

18. The method of claim 17 further comprising:

generating a document object model (DOM) representation of the dynamic document file based on the assigned unique namespace of the at least one input element;

receiving an update request from the user system computer, the update request comprising user input defining a new data value for the particular input field in the dynamic form;

creating a tree structure based on the DOM, the tree structure defining a hierarchy of the at least one input element based on the determined level of nesting and comprising the new data value for the at least one input element that corresponds to the particular input field;

creating new file data based on the created tree structure;

comparing the new file data to the original file data to identify data elements that are missing from the new file data;

modifying the new file data to include the missing elements; and

storing the new file data as modified in a memory.

19. The method of claim 18 further comprising:

generating a form addition request in response to a second user input identifying a new input field for addition to the dynamic form;

adding a new input element that corresponds to the new input field to the dynamic document file; and

assigning a second unique namespace to the new input element.

20. The method of claim 18 further comprising:

generating a form deletion request in response to a third user input, the third user input identifying at least one input field for deletion from the dynamic form; and

deleting an input element from the dynamic document file corresponding to the at least one input field identified for deletion.

21. A system comprising components executable with at least one processor for creating a dynamic document file displayable as a dynamic form in response to a form request, the form request comprising information identifying a transformation file that defines the dynamic form and references original file data, and the original file data comprising at least one data element defining a data value for a corresponding input field of the dynamic form, the system comprising:

a pre-processing component comprising;

a file transformation module to retrieve the original file data and to create a dynamic document file comprising at least one input element corresponding to the at least one data element in the original file data;

a namespace assignment module to assign a unique namespace to the at least one input element in the dynamic document file; and

a user interface module to transmit the dynamic document file for reception by a processing device, the dynamic document file displayable as a dynamic form.

24. The system of claim 21 wherein the dynamic document file comprises a hypertext markup language (HTML) file.

25. The system of claim 21 wherein the namespace assignment module is configured to execute an XSLT template to dynamically embed the unique namespace for the at least one input element in the dynamic document file.

26. The system of claim 21 wherein the namespace assignment module is further configured to:

determine a level of nesting of the at least one data element included in the original file data;

annotate the corresponding at least one input element in the dynamic document file with a particular numerical value that indicates the determined level of nesting; and

insert a new attribute to the corresponding at least one input element in the dynamic document file.

27. The system of claim 26 wherein the namespace assignment module is configured to generate a document object model (DOM) representation of the dynamic document file based on the assigned unique namespace of the at least one input element.

28. The system of claim 27 further comprising:

a post-processing component comprising;

a tree creation module to create a tree structure based on the DOM in response to an update request, the update request defining a new data value for a particular input field included in the dynamic form, the tree structure defining a hierarchy of the at least one input element based on the determined level of nesting and comprising the data value for the at least one data element and the new data value for the particular input field identified in the update request;

a mapping module to create a new file comprising the new file data based on the created tree structure;

an examination module to compare the new file data to the original file data to identify data elements that are missing from the new file data and to modify the new file to include missing data elements; and

a storage module to store the new file as modified by the examination module in a memory.

29. The system of claim 28 further comprising:

a form modification module configured to receive a form addition request identifying a new input field for addition to the dynamic form and, in response thereto, to add a new input element to the dynamic document file and to assign a second unique namespace to the corresponding new input element.

30. The system of claim 28 comprising a form modification module configured to receive a form deletion request identifying at least one input field for deletion from the dynamic form and to delete an input element from the dynamic document file corresponding to the at least one input field identified for deletion.

22. The system of 21 wherein the file transformation module is configured to retrieve the original file data from an eXtensible Markup Language (XML) file stored in a memory.

23. The system of claim 22 wherein the file transformation module is configured to execute an eXtensible Stylesheet Language Transform (XSLT) code to retrieve the original file data from the XML file.

31. A method for creating a dynamic document file displayable as a dynamic form comprising:

retrieving a transformation file defining the dynamic form and referencing original file data, the original file data comprising at least one data element defining a data value for a corresponding input field of the dynamic form;

retrieving the original file data;

creating a dynamic document file comprising at least one input element corresponding to the at least one data element in the original file data;

assigning a unique namespace to the at least one input element in the dynamic document file; and

transmitting the dynamic document file.

32. The method of claim 31 further comprising retrieving original file from an extensible Markup Language (XML) file stored in a memory.

33. The method of claim 32 further comprising using an eXtensible Stylesheet Language Transform (XSLT) to retrieve original XML file data from the XML file.

34. The method of claim 31 wherein the dynamic document file comprises a hypertext markup language (HTML) file.

35. The method of claim 31 further comprising dynamically embedding the unique namespace for the at least one input element in the dynamic document file with an XSLT template.

36. The method of claim 31 further comprising:

determining a level of nesting of the at least one data element included in the original file data;

annotating the corresponding at least one input element in the dynamic document file with a particular numerical value that indicates the determined level of nesting; and

assigning a new attribute to the corresponding at least one input element.

37. The method of claim 36 further comprising:

generating a document object model (DOM) representation of the dynamic document file based on the assigned unique namespace of the at least one input element;

receiving an update request defining a new data value for the particular input field in the dynamic form;

creating a tree structure based on the DOM defining a hierarchy of the at least one input element based on the determined level of nesting and comprising the new data value for the at least one input element that corresponds to the particular input field;

creating new file data based on the created tree structure;

comparing the new file data to the original file data to identify data elements that are missing from the new file data;

modifying the new file data to include the missing elements; and

storing the new file data as modified in a memory.

38. The method of claim 37 further comprising:

generating a form addition request in response to a second user input, the second user input identifying a new input field for addition to the dynamic form;

adding a new input element that corresponds to the new input field to the dynamic document file; and

assigning a new unique namespace to the new input element.

39. The method of claim 37 further comprising:

generating a form deletion request in response to a third user input, the third user input identifying at least one input field for deletion from the dynamic form; and

deleting an input element from the dynamic document file corresponding to the at least one input field identified for deletion.

40. A system comprising components executable with at least one processor for creating a dynamic document file displayable as a dynamic form in response to a form request, the form request comprising information identifying a transformation file that defines the dynamic form and references original file data, and the original file data comprising at least one data element defining a data value for a corresponding input field of the dynamic form, the system comprising:

a pre-processing component comprising;

a file transformation module configured to execute an eXtensible Stylesheet Language Transform (XSLT) code to retrieve the original file data from an extensible Markup Language (XML) file and to create a dynamic document file comprising at least one input element corresponding to the at least one data element in the original file data;

a namespace assignment configured to execute an XSLT template to dynamically embed a unique namespace for the at least one input element in the dynamic document file module; and

a user interface module to transmit the dynamic document file for reception by a processing device, the dynamic document file displayable as a dynamic form.

41. The system of claim 40 wherein the namespace assignment module is further configured to:

determine a level of nesting of the at least one data element included in the original file data;

annotate the corresponding at least one input element in the dynamic document file with a particular numerical value that indicates the determined level of nesting;

insert a new attribute to the corresponding at least one input element in the dynamic document file; and

generate a document object model (DOM) representation of the dynamic document file.

42. A method for creating a dynamic document file displayable as a dynamic form comprising:

retrieving a transformation file defining the dynamic form and referencing original extensible Markup Language (XML) file data, the original XML file data comprising at least one data element defining a data value for a corresponding input field of the dynamic form;

using an eXtensible Stylesheet Language Transform (XSLT) to retrieve the original XML file data from the XML file;

creating a dynamic document file comprising at least one input element corresponding to the at least one data element in the original file data;

assigning a unique namespace to the at least one input element in the dynamic document file and dynamically embedding the unique namespace for the at least one input element in the dynamic document file with an XSLT template; and

transmitting the dynamic document file.

43. The method of claim 42 further comprising:

determining a level of nesting of the at least one data element included in the original file data;

annotating the corresponding at least one input element in the dynamic document file with a particular numerical value that indicates the determined level of nesting;

assigning a new attribute to the corresponding at least one input element;

generating a document object model (DOM) representation of the dynamic document file based on the assigned unique namespace of the at least one input element;

receiving an update request defining a new data value for the particular input field in the dynamic form;

creating a tree structure based on the DOM defining a hierarchy of the at least one input element based on the determined level of nesting and comprising the new data value for the at least one input element that corresponds to the particular input field;

creating new file data based on the created tree structure;

comparing the new file data to the original file data to identify data elements that are missing from the new file data; and

modifying the new file data to include the missing elements.

44. A system comprising components executable with at least one processor for creating a dynamic document file displayable as a dynamic form in response to a form request, the form request comprising information identifying a transformation file that defines the dynamic form and references original file data, and the original file data comprising at least one data element defining a data value for a corresponding input field of the dynamic form, the system comprising:

a pre-processing component comprising;

a file transformation module to retrieve the original file data and to create a dynamic document file comprising at least one input element corresponding to the at least one data element in the original file data;

a namespace assignment module to assign a unique namespace to the at least one input element in the dynamic document file and to generate a document object model (DOM) representation of the dynamic document file based on the assigned unique namespace of the at least one input element; and

a user interface module to transmit the dynamic document file for reception by a processing device, the dynamic document file displayable as a dynamic form; and

a post-processing component comprising;

a tree creation module to create a tree structure based on the DOM in response to an update request, the update request defining a new data value for a particular input field included in the dynamic form, the tree structure defining a hierarchy of the at least one input element based on the determined level of nesting and comprising the data value for the at least one data element and the new data value for the particular input field identified in the update request;

a mapping module to create a new file comprising the new file data based on the created tree structure;

an examination module to compare the new file data to the original file data to identify data elements that are missing from the new file data and to modify the new file to include missing data elements; and

a storage module to store the new file as modified by the examination module in a memory.