SELF-SERVICE DATABASE REPORTING SYSTEMS AND METHODS

• US 20110035744A1
• Filed: 10/19/2010
• Published: 02/10/2011
• Est. Priority Date: 12/29/2006
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Izenda, Inc.
• Original Assignee: Izenda, Inc.
• Inventors: BHATIA, Sanjay
• Granted Patent: US 8,990,258 B2
• Time in Patent Office: Days
• US Class Current: 717/174
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 16/252 between a Database Management System and a front-end application
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 16/972 Access to data in other repository systems, e.g. legacy data or dynamic Web page generation
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 3/0484 for the control of specific functions or operations, e.g. selecting or manipulating an object, an image or a displayed text element, setting a parameter value or selecting a range

Abstract

The present disclosure enables users to interactively create, customize, and execute reports on data stored in databases using only a web browser. The user can create, customize, and execute reports by selecting various report elements including, for example, data sources, fields, filters, labels, charts, dashboards, and the like. Advantageously, the present invention enables users to create the reports through an Internet connection, without any special software, such as web browser plug-ins, database applications, and the like, without knowledge of data access languages, such as SQL, and without direct access to a database server. The present invention can directly connect to a plurality of different database types through a virtual or physical network connection. It fully functions without requiring the creation of additional configuration items like catalogs, models or secondary schemas by a programmer or database administrator (DBA).

Claims

1. A database reporting method, comprising:

installing reporting software on a server, wherein the reporting software is based on a type of database associated with a database;

providing a connection string to the reporting software for the database, wherein the connection string comprises access level to the database and the method of connecting to the database;

creating a plurality of views in the reporting software; and

providing one or more end users access to the reporting software through one of Hypertext Transfer Protocol and Hypertext Transfer Protocol Secure, wherein the one or more end users utilize a web browser comprising scripting capabilities.

2. The database reporting method of claim 1, further comprising:

obtaining a copy of the reporting software, wherein the reporting software includes support for any of SQL Server 2000 or 2005, Oracle v9 and above, MySQL, IBM DB2, and wherein the reporting software comprises a C# edition and a Visual Basic .NET edition.

3. The database reporting method of claim 1, wherein the access level in the connection string is fixed and applied to all reports generated by the reporting software, and wherein an operator may edit the access level to provide one of the one or more users less than the access level.

4. The database reporting method of claim 1, further comprising:

integrating the reporting software into an existing web application, wherein the reporting software comprises an application programming interface.

5. The database reporting method of claim 4, further comprising:

adjusting the reporting software via one of a settings file or customizable code using C# or Visual Basic .NET.

6. The database reporting method of claim 4, further comprising:

incorporating a custom logo or branding into the reporting software.

7. The database reporting method of claim 1, further comprising:

providing a graphical user interface to the one or more end users, wherein the reporting software through the graphical user interface provides a direct front end to the database without requiring a developer to create models, catalogs, or secondary schema for the database.

8. The database reporting method of claim 7, wherein the reporting software is configured to provide an analysis of metadata associated with the database rather than requiring the developer to create a mapping layer.

9. The database reporting method of claim 7, wherein the graphical user interface is configured to prevent illegal operations in the database based on the type of database and particular fields within the database.

10. The database reporting method of claim 1, further comprising:

creating a report from data in the database based on input from one of the one or more users.

11. The database reporting method of claim 1, further comprising:

presenting fields for a report to one of the one or more users; and

self-joining the fields based on parent-child relationships of the fields.

12. The database reporting method of claim 11, further comprising:

showing a table of the fields;

utilizing one of a heat map or gradient shading in the fields to optimize presentation of data associated with the fields.

13. A system, comprising:

a database comprising a database type;

a web server comprising a reporting system, wherein the reporting system is configured to connect to the database over a network utilizing connection information, wherein the connection information comprises access level to the database and the method of connecting to the database;

one or more users communicatively coupled to the web server over one of Hypertext Transfer Protocol and Hypertext Transfer Protocol Secure, wherein the one or more end users utilize a web browser comprising scripting capabilities to access the reporting system and to generate reports thereon based on the access level to the database.

14. The system of claim 13, wherein the access level in the connection information is fixed and applied to all reports generated by the reporting software, and wherein an operator may edit the access level to provide one of the one or more users less than the access level.

15. The system of claim 13, further comprising a network communicatively coupling the database, the web server, and the one or more users, wherein the database and the web server are collocated and connected on a local network.

16. The system of claim 13, further comprising a network communicatively coupling the database, the web server, and the one or more users, wherein each of the database, the web server, and the one or more users are external to one another and connected via the network.

17. A web server, comprising:

a network interface configured to connect to a user through a web browser and to a database comprising one of a plurality of database types; and

a processor coupled to the network interface, wherein the processor is configured to execute computer-executable instructions configured to;

operate a reporting software, wherein the reporting software is based on the one of a plurality of database types;

connect to a database via the reporting software, wherein the connection comprises an access level to the database;

create a plurality of views in the reporting software; and

provide one or more end users access to the reporting software through one of Hypertext Transfer Protocol and Hypertext Transfer Protocol Secure over the network interface, wherein the one or more end users utilize a web browser comprising scripting capabilities.