Report generation system and method

• US 7,031,979 B2
• Filed: 08/31/2001
• Issued: 04/18/2006
• Est. Priority Date: 08/31/2001
• Status: Expired due to Fees

• Current Assignee: Hewlett-Packard Development Company, L.P. (HP Inc.)
• Original Assignee: Hewlett-Packard Development Company, L.P. (HP Inc.)
• Inventors: Kauffman, Mark Bykerk
• Primary Examiner(s): Corrielus, Jean M.
• Assistant Examiner(s): Ly, Anh
• Application Number:
  US09/945,292
• Publication Number:
  US 20030046264A1
• Time in Patent Office: 1,691 Days
• Field of Search: 707 1- 10, 707/102, 707/104.1
• US Class Current: 379/9.04
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 40/18 of spreadsheets form-filling G06F40/174
• CPC Class Codes: Y10S 707/99945 Object-oriented database structure processing

Abstract

The present invention is directed to a system and method of improved report generation. In one embodiment, the present invention provides a computer-implemented report generation system that generally includes a first generator and a second generator. The first generator is operably linked through a first interface to one or more associated first type components which invokes first type components to generate a report element of the first type. Likewise, the second generator is operably linked through a second interface to one or more associated second type components which invokes second type components to generate a report element of a second type. The first and second type generators each invoke at least one component in response to processing first and second type included component sections that identify the at least one first and second type components to be invoked.

Claims

1. A computer-implemented report generation system, comprising:

a first generator, operably linked through a first interface to one or more associated first type components, which invokes at least one first type component to generate a report element of a first type; and

a second generator, operably linked through a second interface to one or more associated second type components, which invokes at least one second type component to generate a report element of a second type;

wherein said first and second generators each invoke at least one component in response to processing first and second type included component sections that respectively identify the at least one first and second type components to be invoked.

2. The system of claim 1 wherein the invoked at least one first and second type components acquire data from a collected data record and generate the report elements based on said acquired data.

3. The system of claim 2 wherein the collected data record is associated with the first and second type included component sections.

4. The system of claim 3 wherein the generated report elements are adapted to be combined with a report template file that is associated with the collected data record.

5. The system of claim 4 wherein the report template file includes at least one of:

at least one constant information section, at least one first type information field and at least one second type information field

wherein the at least one first type and at least one second type information fields receive the generated at least one first and second type report elements.

6. The system of claim 1 wherein the one or more first type components generate one of graph elements, text elements, and table elements.

7. The system of claim 1 wherein the one or more second type components generate one of text elements, graph elements, and table elements.

8. The system of claim 1 further comprising a third generator operably linked through a third interface to one or more associated third type components, which invokes at least one third type component to generate a report element of a third type.

9. The system of claim 8 wherein the one or more third type elements generate one of:

text elements;

graph elements; and

table elements.

10. A system of claim 1 wherein the system is implemented by a memory storage device having executable instructions.

11. The system of claim 1 wherein the first and second included component sections are contained in a common included components record.

12. A report generation system implemented on one or more computers, comprising:

a first generator, operably linked through a first interface to one or more associated first type components for invoking at least one first type component to generate a report element of a first type;

a second generator, operably linked through a second interface to one or more associated second type components for invoking at least one second type component to generate a report element of a second type; and

a database having at least one included components record, wherein said first and second generators each invoke at least one component in response to processing a selected one of the at least one included components records and the selected one included components record identifies the at least one first and second type components to be invoked.

13. The system of claim 12 wherein the invoked at least one first and second type components generate their respective report element from data acquired from a collected data record that is associated with the selected one included components record.

14. The system of claim 13 wherein the generated report elements are adapted to be combined with a report template file that is associated with both the collected data record and selected one included components record.

15. The system of claim 14 wherein the report template file includes at least one of:

at least one constant information section, at least one first type information field, and at least one second type information field, wherein at least one first type and at least one second type information field receive the generated at least one first and second type report elements.

16. The system of claim 12 wherein the one or more first type component generates a graph element, and the one or more second type component generates a text element.

17. The system of claim 12 further comprising a variable definitions database for providing first and second type element information to the first and second type components.

18. A computer implemented method for generating a report, comprising:

processing a first type included components section that identifies at least one type component;

invoking the identified at least one first type component to generate at least one corresponding first type report element;

processing a second type included components section that identifies at least one second type component;

invoking the identified at least one second type component to generate at least one corresponding second type report element; and

operably combining said generated first and second type report elements with a report template file that is associated with the first and second included components sections to generate the report.

19. The method of claim 18 wherein the act of operably combining includes:

processing the report template file with a word processing program that retrieves the generated first and second type report elements.

20. The method of claim 18 wherein the first and second type included components sections are part of a common included components record.

21. The method of claim 18 further comprising the act of:

acquiring data from a collected data record that is associated with the report template file, wherein the generated report is based on the acquired data.