Reusable data markup language

• US 20090083619A1
• Filed: 08/15/2008
• Published: 03/26/2009
• Est. Priority Date: 05/21/1999
• Status: Abandoned Application

• Current Assignee: e-Numerate Solutions, Inc.
• Original Assignee: e-Numerate Solutions, Inc.
• Inventors: Davis, Russell T.
• Application Number:
  US12/222,751
• Publication Number:
  US 20090083619A1
• Time in Patent Office: Days
• US Class Current: 715/234
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 16/94 Hypermedia Hyperlinking G06F40/134
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 16/9558 Details of hyperlinks; Management of linked annotations
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 40/18 of spreadsheets form-filling G06F40/174

Abstract

Methods and systems provide a computer markup language, referred to as Reusable Data Markup Language (“RDML”), and a data viewer for retrieving, manipulating and viewing documents and files in the RDML format that may be stored locally or over a network (e.g., the Internet). Generally, RDML permits the browsing and manipulation of numbers, as opposed to text and images like in HTML, and does so by including attributes describing the meaning of the numbers to be attached to the numbers. Documents compliant with the markup language encapsulate machine-readable documentation with numbers and data, and permit the data viewer to act as a combination web browser and spreadsheet to automatically read, interpret and manipulate the numbers and data.

Claims

1. A method in a data processing system, comprising the steps of:

receiving a document containing numerical values;

receiving indications of characteristics of the numerical values, the characteristics including a unit and a magnitude; and

adding the received indications into the document as tags associated with the numerical values to create a markup document.

2. The method of claim 1, further comprising the step of:

displaying the markup document.

3. The method of claim 2, further comprising the step of:

manipulating the display of the markup document using the tags associated with the numerical values.

4. The method of claim 3, further comprising the step of:

merging the markup document on the display with a second markup document having tags representing compatible characteristics.

5. The method of claim 1, wherein the characteristics further include a scale.

6. The method of claim 1, wherein the characteristics further include a modifier.

7. The method of claim 1, wherein the characteristics further include a measure.

8. The method of claim 1, wherein the characteristics further include an adjustment.

9. The method of claim 1, wherein the characteristics further include a set type for the numerical values.

10. The method of claim 9, wherein the set type is at least one of time series, category and x-y plot.

11. The method of claim 1, wherein the characteristics further include a class type for the numerical values.

12. The method of claim 1, wherein the characteristics further include a link to a second markup document.

13-31. -31. (canceled)

32. A computer-readable medium containing instructions for controlling a data processing system to perform a method comprising the steps of:

receiving a document containing numerical values, the characteristics including unit and magnitude;

receiving indications of characteristics of the numerical values; and

adding the received indications into the document as tags associated with the numerical values to create a markup document.

33. The computer-readable medium of claim 32, wherein the method further comprises the step of:

displaying the markup document.

34. The computer-readable medium of claim 32, wherein the method further comprises the step of:

manipulating the display of the markup document using the tags associated with the numerical values.

35. The computer-readable medium of claim 33, wherein the method further comprises the step of:

merging the markup document on the display with a second markup document having tags representing compatible characteristics.

36. The computer-readable medium of claim 32, wherein the characteristics further include scale.

37. The computer-readable medium of claim 32, wherein the characteristics further include a modifier.

38. The computer-readable medium of claim 32, wherein the characteristics further include measure.

39. The computer-readable medium of claim 32, wherein the characteristics further include an adjustment.

40-51. -51. (canceled)

52. A method in a data processing system, comprising the steps of:

receiving a document containing numerical values;

receiving indications of characteristics of the numerical values, the characteristics indicating format and semantics; and

adding the received indications into the document as tags. associated with the numerical values to create a markup document.

53. A method in a data processing system, comprising the steps of:

receiving a document containing numerical values;

receiving indications of characteristics of the numerical values, the characteristics indicating structure and semantics; and

adding the received indications into the document as tags associated with the numerical values to create a markup document.

54. A method in a data processing system, comprising the steps of:

receiving a document containing numerical values;

receiving indications of characteristics of the numerical values, the characteristics indicating format and value; and

adding the received indications into the document as tags associated with the numerical values to create a markup document.

55. A method in a data processing system, comprising the steps of:

receiving a document containing numerical values;

receiving indications of characteristics of the numerical values, the characteristics indicating structure and value; and

adding the received indications into the document as tags associated with the numerical values to create a markup document.

56. A method in a data processing system, comprising the steps of:

receiving a document containing numerical values;

receiving indications of characteristics of the numerical values, the characteristics indicating structure and provenance; and

adding the received indications into the document as tags associated with the numerical values to create a markup document.

57. A method in a data processing system, comprising the steps of:

receiving a document containing numerical values;

receiving indications of characteristics of the numerical values, the characteristics indicating format and provenance; and

adding the received indications into the document as tags associated with the numerical values to create a markup document.

58. A method in a data processing system, comprising the steps of:

receiving a document containing numerical values;

receiving indications of characteristics of the numerical values, the characteristics indicating format, provenance, structure, value and semantics; and

adding the received indications into the document as tags associated with the numerical values to create a markup document.

59-64. -64. (canceled)

65. A computer-readable memory device encoded with a document and a program, the document comprising:

numerical values and tags reflecting characteristics of the numerical values, the characteristics including a unit and a magnitude; and

the program comprising;

instructions that read the numerical values and the tags and that display the numerical values in a manner specified by the characteristics.

66. (canceled)