PROVIDING DIRECT MANIPULATION OF AN ANALYTICS DATA VISUALIZATION WITHIN AN ANALYTICS REPORT

• US 20130185624A1
• Filed: 01/12/2012
• Published: 07/18/2013
• Est. Priority Date: 01/12/2012
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: International Business Machines Corporation
• Original Assignee: International Business Machines Corporation
• Inventors: APPLEYARD, JAMES P., FITZPATRICK, GREGORY P.
• Granted Patent: US 9,037,964 B2
• Time in Patent Office: Days
• US Class Current: 715/234
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 16/168 Details of user interfaces specifically adapted to file systems, e.g. browsing and visualisation, 2d or 3d GUIs query results presentation G06F16/156
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 16/248 Presentation of query results
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 16/26 Visual data mining; Browsing structured data
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 16/283 Multi-dimensional databases or data warehouses, e.g. MOLAP or ROLAP
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 40/143 Markup, e.g. Standard Generalized Markup Language [SGML] or Document Type Definition [DTD]
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 40/154 Tree transformation for tree-structured or markup documents, e.g. XSLT, XSL-FO or stylesheets
• CPC Class Codes: G06Q 10/10 Office automation; Time management

Abstract

A direct manipulation event associated with a chart of an analytics report can be detected. The event can be a user interface input and the chart can be an information graphic. The graphic can be a graphically rendered HTML compliant element and a data set. The report can conform to a JAVASCRIPT OBJECT NOTATION (JSON) format. The analytics report can be presented within a browser. An action can be run responsive to the detecting. The action can be an immediate rendering of the graphic based on the event. When the action executes a request for data not in the data set data from a different data set can be obtained. When the action executes a request for data in the data set, the data from the data set can be automatically retrieved. The analytics data can be immediately rendered as a chart within the canvas element of an HTML document.

Claims

1. A method for performing direct manipulation on an analytics report comprising:

detecting a direct manipulation (DM) event associated with an chart of an analytics report, wherein the DM event is a user interface (UI) input, wherein the chart is an information graphic, wherein the information graphic is at least one of a graphically rendered HTML compliant element and a data set, wherein the analytics report presented within a browser interface;

responsive to the detecting, executing an appropriate DM action, wherein the DM action is an immediate rendering of the information graphic based on the DM event;

when the DM action executes a request for analytics data not in the data set, obtaining the analytics data from a different data set;

when the DM action executes a request for analytics data in the data set, automatically retrieving the requested data from the data set; and

render the analytics data as a chart within the canvas element of an HTML document.

2. The method of claim 1, wherein the report conforms to a JAVASCRIPT OBJECT NOTATION (JSON) format.

3. The method of claim 1, wherein the HTML element is an HTML5 element.

4. The method of claim 1, wherein the chart is at least one of a diagram, a graph, a table, a map, and a list.

5. The method of claim 1, wherein the DM event is detected within the application level of the browser interface.

6. The method of claim 1, wherein the user interface input is at least one of a drag and drop input, a select input, a multi-select input, a hover input, and a disperse input.

7. The method of claim 1, wherein the rendering is performed by a Document Object Model (DOM) script.

8. The method of claim 1, further comprising:

presenting a notification associated with the chart within the browser interface, responsive to the rendering.

9. A method for an enhanced analytics report comprising:

identifying an Extensible Markup Language (XML) formatted analytics report associated with a Representational State Transfer (REST) compliant communication, wherein the REST compliant communication is associated with a requesting entity;

dynamically converting the report to a JavaScript Object Notation (JSON) format and conveying the report to the requesting entity as an enhanced report, wherein the converting occurs within the presentation layer, wherein the presentation layer is a data organization layer of the Open Systems Interconnect (OSI) model;

presenting a chart of the enhanced report within the canvas element of a Hypertext Markup Language (HTML) document, wherein the HTML document is presented within a browser interface of the requesting entity; and

immediately modifying the chart within the application level of the browser interface responsive to a user interface event, wherein the event is a user initiated input manipulating a portion of the chart.

10. The method of claim 9, wherein the requesting entity is a mobile computing device, wherein the mobile computing device is at least one of a laptop, a tablet computer, a mobile phone, a portable gaming system, and a PDA.

11. The method of claim 9, wherein the event triggers a drill down action associated with the chart.

12. The method of claim 9, wherein the modifying combines at least a portion of the chart with at least a portion of a different chart.

13. The method of claim 9, wherein the modifying is affected by a user preference setting.

14. The method of claim 9, wherein the method is performed by an IBM COGNOS MASHUP SERVICE.

15. A system for adaptive analytics reports comprising:

a reporting engine configured to permit object level analytics report deconstruction, manipulation, and rendering of a chart within an analytics report, wherein the analytics report is at least one of a dynamically generated report and a previously generated report, wherein the analytics report is associated with analytics data; and

a data store able to persist at least one of an analytics report, a conversion ruleset, and a rendering ruleset.

16. The system of claim 15, wherein the analytics report is a JavaScript Object Notation (JSON) compliant report.

17. The system of claim 15, wherein the chart is a data visualization of at least one of the analytics data and a different analytics data.

18. The system of claim 15, wherein the chart is at least one of a diagram, a graph, a table, a map, and a list.

19. The system of claim 15, wherein the rendering ruleset is associated with at least one of a direct manipulation (DM) event and direct manipulation action.

20. The system of claim 19, wherein the DM event is at least one of a drag and drop input, a select input, a multi-select input, a hover input, and a disperse input.

21. The system of claim 15, wherein the reporting engine is a component associated with an IBM COGNOS software.

22. The system of claim 15, wherein the engine is associated with a JAVA application configured to dynamically convert an Extensible Markup Language (XML) formatted analytics report to a JSON formatted analytics report.

23. A computer program product comprising:

one or more computer-readable, tangible storage devices;

program instructions, stored on at least one of the one or more storage devices, to detect a direct manipulation (DM) event associated with an chart of an analytics report, wherein the DM event is a user interface (UI) input, wherein the chart is an information graphic, wherein the information graphic is at least one of a graphically rendered HTML compliant element and a data set, wherein the analytics report presented within a browser interface;

program instructions, stored on at least one of the one or more storage devices, to, responsive to the detecting, execute an appropriate DM action, wherein the DM action is an immediate rendering of the information graphic based on the DM event;

program instructions, stored on at least one of the one or more storage devices, to, when the DM action executes a request for analytics data not in the data set, obtain the analytics data from a different data set;

program instructions, stored on at least one of the one or more storage devices, to, when the DM action executes a request for analytics data in the data set, automatically retrieve the requested data from the data set; and

program instructions, stored on at least one of the one or more storage devices, to, render the analytics data as a chart within the canvas element of an HTML document.

24. The computer program product of claim 23, wherein the report conforms to a JAVASCRIPT OBJECT NOTATION (JSON) format, wherein the HTML element is an HTML5 element, wherein the rendering is performed by a Document Object Model (DOM) script.

25. The computer program product of claim 23, wherein the chart is at least one of a diagram, a graph, a table, a map, and a list, wherein the DM event is detected within the application level of the browser interface, wherein the user interface input is at least one of a drag and drop input, a select input, a multi-select input, a hover input, and a disperse input.