System and method for generating reports from a computer database

• US 5,692,181 A
• Filed: 10/12/1995
• Issued: 11/25/1997
• Est. Priority Date: 10/12/1995
• Status: Expired due to Term

• Current Assignee: Huawei Technologies Co., Ltd. (Huawei Investment & Holding Co., Ltd.)
• Original Assignee: NCR Corporation (NCR Voyix Corporation)
• Inventors: Lindsay, Marshall P., Meyer, Alan J., O'Flaherty, Kenneth W., Schubert, Richard N., Selfridge, Peter G., Anand, Tejwansh S., Georgantos, Michael A., Hu, Yih-Shiuan, Knutson, James F., Lettington, Drew T.
• Primary Examiner(s): Black, Thomas G.
• Assistant Examiner(s): Von Buhr, Maria N.
• Application Number:
  US08/542,267
• Time in Patent Office: 775 Days
• Field of Search: 395/601-604, 395/611, 395/613, 395/615, 395/201
• US Class Current: 707/714
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 16/252 between a Database Management System and a front-end application
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 16/283 Multi-dimensional databases or data warehouses, e.g. MOLAP or ROLAP
• CPC Class Codes: Y10S 707/954 Relational
• CPC Class Codes: Y10S 707/99932 Access augmentation or optimizing
• CPC Class Codes: Y10S 707/99934 Query formulation, input preparation, or translation
• CPC Class Codes: Y10S 707/99943 Generating database or data structure, e.g. via user interface

Abstract

A system and method for generating a report for a user which allows the user to make decisions, without requiring the user to understand or interpret data itself. A method of creating data types and data relationships within a database for generating the report for the user includes the steps of organizing the data within the database into columns of tables, providing a computer coupled to the database that executes an application program that generates the report, recording a business concept by the application program, recording an attribute associated with the business concept by the application program, displaying a list of the columns of tables in the database by the computer, recording a mapping of the attribute to one of the columns in the list, displaying a list of business indicators by the computer, recording a mapping of one of the business indicators to the column, joining the attribute table with the business indicator table so that the application program can use the additional table to create the report.

Claims

1. A method of creating data types and relationships between the data types and data within a database for generating a report for a user regarding an enterprise of the user, comprising the steps of:

organizing the data within the database into columns of tables;

providing a computer coupled to the database that executes an application program that allows a user to define the data types, to define relationships between the data types, to define parameters for the report, to define a method of analysis for the report, and to create the report;

recording a business concept by the application program, the business concept being chosen by the user by operating an input device coupled to the computer;

recording an attribute associated with the business concept by the application program, the attribute being chosen by the user by operating the input device;

displaying a list of the columns of tables in the database by the computer;

recording a mapping of the attribute to one of the columns in the list, the mapping being chosen by the user by operating the input device, and creating an attribute table based upon the mapping;

displaying a list of business indicators by the computer;

recording a mapping of one of the business indicators to the column, the mapping being chosen by the user by operating the input device, and creating a business indicator table based upon the mapping; and

joining the attribute table with the business indicator table to produce an additional table;

wherein the application program uses the additional table to create the report.