System and method for collaborative hosted analysis of data bases via a network portal

• US 6,405,195 B1
• Filed: 03/27/2000
• Issued: 06/11/2002
• Est. Priority Date: 05/06/1996
• Status: Expired due to Term

• Current Assignee: Cloud Software Group
• Original Assignee: Spotfire AB (Cloud Software Group)
• Inventors: Ahlberg, Christopher
• Primary Examiner(s): Metjahic, Safet
• Assistant Examiner(s): LE, UYEN T
• Application Number:
  US09/536,866
• Time in Patent Office: 806 Days
• Field of Search: 707/1-10, 707/100, 707/101, 707/102, 705/10, 705/7, 706/61, 345/326, 345/700, 709/200
• US Class Current: 709/219
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 16/2428 Query predicate definition using graphical user interfaces, including menus and forms G06F16/2423 takes precedence
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 16/248 Presentation of query results
• CPC Class Codes: Y10S 707/954 Relational
• CPC Class Codes: Y10S 707/959 Network
• CPC Class Codes: Y10S 707/99933 Query processing, i.e. searching
• 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

Data to be analyzed is transferred from one or more user systems to a host system, which includes an analysis/decision support module. Queries are generated, either automatically by the analysis/decision support module, or by the user, who then submits them to the host system. More than one user may participate in the system, including transferring data to the host. This joint participation includes the option of collaboratively submitting or adjusting queries and viewing the results of the data analysis, either in real time, or asynchronously. Data used as the basis of an analysis may therefore come from different entities, even from data bases that are available publicly via the network, but whose owners are not participants in the collaborative, hosted analysis system according to the invention. The host system thus acts as a network portal through which different users may store and share not only data for analysis, but also the results of such analysis.

Claims

1. A method for processing data from at least one data base, in which each data base contains a plurality of records and each record includes a plurality of data fields, and each field contains field data, has a field name and one of a plurality of data types, comprising the following steps:

receiving into a host system, via a network, the data from the at least one data base from at least one participating remote user system that is separate from the host system,

in the host system, upon receipt of a request for initiation from the remote user system, analyzing the data from the at least one data base according to an analysis routine and generating analysis results;

in the host system, generating a representation of the analysis results; and

transferring the representation of the analysis results via the network for display on at least one participating remote user system;

in a decision support module in the host system, automatically selecting an initial, adjustable, graphical query device as a function of and adapted to a type and range of the corresponding field data;

transferring each graphical query device via the network to at least one participating user system;

sensing, via the network, adjustment by the user of each participating user system to which each graphical query device has been transferred of any of the displayed, adjustable, graphical query devices; and

in the host system, updating the representation of the analysis results corresponding to the sensed adjustments of any of the query devices, thereby enabling interactive visualization of the analysis results of the data via the network.

2. A method as in claim 1, in which at least one of the user systems to which graphical query devices are transferred is one of the participating user systems other than the participating source user system.

3. A method as in claim 1, further including the step of allocating, for each participating user system, a corresponding memory region in the host system, each memory region storing:

data from the at least one data base transferred via the network from the respective participating user system to the host system; and

a log of accesses to the data stored in the respective memory regions.

4. A method as in claim 1, further including the step of notifying, via the network, each user whose corresponding data, stored in the respective memory region, is accessed by any other participating user.

5. A method for processing and visualizing data from at least one data base, in which each data base contains a plurality of records and each record includes a plurality of data fields that include field data, comprising the following steps:

receiving in a host system, via a network, from at least one remote participating user system separate from the host system, the data from the at least one data base;

in the host system, upon receipt of a request for initiation from the remote user system, analyzing the data from the at least one data base by detecting a relational structure between the data fields by calculating a respective relevance measure for each of the data fields, the relevance measure being a data type-dependent function indicating a measure of relational closeness between data in at least one of the data fields of the plurality of records to data in at least one other of the data fields of the plurality of records;

in the host system, generating a graphical representation of the relational structure;

transferring the graphical representation of the relational structure via the network for display on at least one participating user system;

for each of the data fields, in a decision support module in the host system, automatically selecting an initial, adjustable, graphical query device as a function of and adapted to the type and range of the corresponding field data;

transferring each graphical query device via the network to at least one participating user system;

sensing, via the network, adjustment by the user of each participating user system to which each graphical query device has been transferred of any of the displayed, adjustable, graphical query devices; and

in the host system, updating the graphical representations of the relational structures corresponding to the sensed adjustments of any of the query devices, thereby enabling interactive visualization of the relational structures of the data fields via the network.

6. A method as in claim 5, which at least one of the user systems to which graphical query devices are transferred is one of the remote participating user systems other than the initiating, participating source user system.