Report system and method using prompt in prompt objects
First Claim
1. A reporting system including at least one processor for creating a report, wherein a report definition specifies one or more prompt objects as properties of the report definition, comprising:
- an inner prompt object comprising a first question to be asked of a user and at least one validation property;
an outer prompt object comprising a second question to be asked of a user and at least one validation property;
wherein the inner prompt object is nested within the outer prompt object, and wherein each of the inner and outer prompt objects is an object separate in object oriented programming terms from the report definition in which it is contained such that each of the inner and outer prompt objects is useable more than once in a single report definition or is useable in more than one report definition and answers to the prompt object are storable in association with the prompt object for later retrieval; and
wherein execution of the report definition creates a report, wherein the report definition contains instructions for creating the report.
4 Assignments
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Accused Products
Abstract
A system that incorporates prompt objects in a report definition to enable a user to specify answers to questions to customize a reporting system, decision support system, business intelligence and OLAP report at execution time. A prompt object contains a single question to be answered, validation values for the answer, and attributes indicating how the prompt object is to be processed. A report is thus defined by selecting prompt objects in place of templates, filters, or any of the aspects of a template or filter. As a separate object, a single prompt may be issued once and the answer supplied to each reference to the prompt object in a report. A prompt object may also contain another prompt object nested within it, in which the answer to an inner prompt object is used by the system to validate the answer to an outer prompt object.
62 Citations
20 Claims
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1. A reporting system including at least one processor for creating a report, wherein a report definition specifies one or more prompt objects as properties of the report definition, comprising:
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an inner prompt object comprising a first question to be asked of a user and at least one validation property; an outer prompt object comprising a second question to be asked of a user and at least one validation property; wherein the inner prompt object is nested within the outer prompt object, and wherein each of the inner and outer prompt objects is an object separate in object oriented programming terms from the report definition in which it is contained such that each of the inner and outer prompt objects is useable more than once in a single report definition or is useable in more than one report definition and answers to the prompt object are storable in association with the prompt object for later retrieval; and wherein execution of the report definition creates a report, wherein the report definition contains instructions for creating the report. - View Dependent Claims (2, 3, 4, 5)
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6. A method of creating a report to be executed on a reporting system comprising the steps of:
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selecting a template with one or more template properties; selecting a filter with one or more filter properties; and specifying one or more of the template or filter properties with an inner prompt object and an outer prompt object; wherein the inner prompt object comprises a first question to be asked of a user and at least one validation property; further wherein the outer prompt object comprises a second question to be asked of a user and at least one validation property; and further wherein each of the inner and outer prompt objects is an object separate in object oriented programming terms from the report in which it is contained such that each of the inner and outer prompt objects is useable more than once in a single report or is useable in more than one report and answers to the prompt object are storable in association with the prompt object for later retrieval. - View Dependent Claims (7, 8, 9, 10)
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11. A processor-readable medium comprising code for execution by a processor to create a report to be executed on a reporting system, the medium comprising:
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code for causing a processor to enable a user to select a template with one or more template properties; code for causing a processor to enable a user to select a filter with one or more filter properties; and code for causing a processor to enable a user to specify one or more of the template or filter properties with an inner prompt object and an outer prompt object; wherein the inner prompt object comprises a first question to be asked of a user and at least one validation property; further wherein the outer prompt object comprises a second question to be asked of a user and at least one validation property; and further wherein each of the inner and outer prompt objects is an object separate in object oriented programming terms from the report in which it is contained such that each of the inner and outer prompt objects is useable more than once in a single report or is useable in more than one report and answers to the prompt object are storable in association with the prompt object for later retrieval. - View Dependent Claims (12, 13, 14, 15)
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16. A nested prompt object in a computer-readable medium, wherein the nested prompt object is used in creating a report definition to be executed in a reporting system, wherein the report definition specifies a prompt object as a property of the report, the nested prompt object comprising an outer prompt object that comprises:
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a question to be asked of a user; at least one validation property; wherein at least one of the question and the at least one validation property is defined by an inner prompt object; and further wherein each of the inner and outer prompt objects is an object separate in object oriented programming terms from the report definition in which it is contained such that each of the inner and outer prompt objects is useable more than once in a single report definition or is useable in more than one report definition and answers to the prompt object are storable in association with the prompt object for later retrieval; and further wherein execution of the report definition creates a report, wherein the report definition contains instructions for creating the report. - View Dependent Claims (17, 18, 19, 20)
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Specification