System and method for delivering results of a search query in an information management system

• US 8,577,847 B2
• Filed: 10/21/2011
• Issued: 11/05/2013
• Est. Priority Date: 11/10/2005
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: CA, Inc. (d/b/a CA Technologies) (Broadcom, Inc.)
• Original Assignee: CA, Inc. (d/b/a CA Technologies) (Broadcom, Inc.)
• Inventors: Blazejewski, Edward, Angle, Thomas
• Primary Examiner(s): Lee, Wilson
• Assistant Examiner(s): Le, Jessica N
• Application Number:
  US13/278,639
• Publication Number:
  US 20120036109A1
• Time in Patent Office: 746 Days
• Field of Search: 707/661, 707/736
• US Class Current: 707/661
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 16/258 Data format conversion from or to a database
• CPC Class Codes: Y10S 707/99955 Archiving or backup

Abstract

A system and method for managing data repositories may include providing techniques for end users to access and manipulate reports stored in the repositories. Text-based, image-based, or other types of reports may be stored in online and offline repositories, and in response to a search request, reports stored in the online and offline repositories may be retrieved. End users may export report data from text-based and image-based formats by converting the data into a spreadsheet format using various customization techniques. Thus, end users may edit, modify, analyze, or otherwise manipulate information in online and offline reports, while maintaining integrity of the information in the repositories.

Claims

1. A method of delivering a search query result in an information management system that manages data associated with reports stored offline, the method comprising:

searching, by a processor, multiple archived or compressed reports stored in a long-term backup repository to identify a report among the multiple archived or compressed reports that matches criteria provided in a search query;

bringing an offline data repository that stores the identified report in the long-term backup repository online, wherein bringing the offline data repository online includes unarchiving or decompressing the identified report to make data associated with the identified report available;

exporting, by the processor, the data associated with the unarchived or decompressed report in accordance with an export option provided in a request to view the unarchived or decompressed report;

delivering, by the processor, the data exported from the unarchived or decompressed report to a spreadsheet application, wherein manipulating the data delivered to the spreadsheet application does not modify the identified report stored in the offline data repository associated with the long-term backup repository;

searching, by the processor, multiple immediately available reports stored in an online data repository to identify a report among the multiple immediately available reports that matches the criteria provided in the search query;

exporting, by the processor, data associated with the immediately available report that matches the criteria provided in the search query in accordance with the export option; and

delivering the data exported from the immediately available report that matches the criteria provided in the search query to the spreadsheet application, wherein manipulating the exported data associated with the immediately available report that matches the criteria provided in the search query via the spreadsheet application does not modify the immediately available report that matches the criteria provided in the search query stored in the online data repository.

2. The method recited in claim 1, wherein exporting the data associated with the unarchived or decompressed report comprises:

identifying, by the processor, criteria associated with the export option that indicates a delimiter character to organize the data exported from the unarchived or decompressed report; and

treating multiple consecutive occurrences associated with the delimiter characters as one occurrence to eliminate an additional delimiter character accidentally included in the data to export from the unarchived or decompressed report.

3. The method recited in claim 1, wherein bringing the offline data repository online further comprises:

displaying a proceed message that displays a prompt to confirm whether to recall the identified report to make the data associated therewith available, wherein the proceed message further displays an availability associated with the identified report and an expected time to recall the identified report from the offline data repository; and

displaying a confirmation message in response to receiving a confirmation to the prompt displayed in the proceed message, wherein the confirmation message displays an indication that a recall request associated with the identified report has been submitted to the long-term backup repository, an expected time until the data associated with identified report will be available, and an elapsed time since the recall request was submitted to the long-term backup repository.

4. The method recited in claim 1, wherein the processor searches the multiple archived or compressed reports stored in the offline data repository associated with the long-term backup repository in response to the criteria provided in the search query by selecting a first option to search the offline data repository or a second option to search the online data repository and the offline data repository.

5. The method recited in claim 1, wherein the processor searches the multiple archived or compressed reports stored in the long-term backup repository in response to the criteria provided in the search query using a predefined mandatory field.

6. The method recited in claim 1, further comprising:

securing access to the multiple archived or compressed reports in the long-term backup repository, wherein the processor delivers the data exported from the unarchived or decompressed report to the spreadsheet application in response to a user that submitted the search query having permission that permits the secured access; and

tracking activity that relates to manipulation or interaction associated with the data delivered to the spreadsheet application.

7. The method recited in claim 1, wherein the processor uses thread in a scalable dynamic thread pool to bring the offline data repository online, recall the identified report from the long-term backup repository, and make the data associated with the identified report available.

8. The method recited in claim 1, wherein exporting the data associated with the unarchived or decompressed report comprises the processor converting an image associated with the unarchived or decompressed report into text using optical character recognition.

9. The method recited in claim 1, wherein the export option provided in the request to view the unarchived or decompressed report comprises criteria to indicate a page, a delimiter character, a column offset value, a data type, an inclusion filter, or an exclusion filter to organize the data exported from the unarchived or decompressed report.

10. A system to deliver a search query result in an information management system that manages data associated with reports stored offline, the system comprising:

a long-term backup repository configured to store archived or compressed reports; and

a processor configured to;

search the archived or compressed reports stored in the long-term backup repository to identify a report among the archived or compressed reports that matches criteria provided in a search query;

bring an offline data repository that stores the identified report in the long-term backup repository online, wherein the processor is configured to unarchive or decompress the identified report to bring the offline data repository online and make data associated with the identified report available;

export the data associated with the unarchived or decompressed report in accordance with an export option provided in a request to view the unarchived or decompressed report;

deliver the data exported from the unarchived or decompressed report to a spreadsheet application, wherein manipulating the data delivered to the spreadsheet application does not modify the identified report stored in the offline data repository associated with the long-term backup repository;

search multiple immediately available reports stored in an online data repository to identify a report among the multiple immediately available reports that matches the criteria provided in the search query;

export data associated with the immediately available report that matches the criteria provided in the search query in accordance with the export option; and

deliver the data exported from the immediately available report that matches the criteria provided in the search query to the spreadsheet application, wherein manipulating the exported data associated with the immediately available report that matches the criteria provided in the search query via the spreadsheet application does not modify the report that matches the criteria provided in the search query stored in the online data repository.

11. The system recited in claim 10, wherein the processor is further configured to:

identify criteria associated with the export option that indicates a delimiter character to organize the data exported from the unarchived or decompressed report; and

treat multiple consecutive occurrences associated with the delimiter character as one occurrence to export the data associated with the unarchived or decompressed report and eliminate an additional delimiter character accidentally included in the data exported from the unarchived or decompressed report.

12. The system recited in claim 10, wherein the processor is further configured to:

display a proceed message to confirm whether to bring the offline data repository online, wherein the proceed message displays a prompt to confirm whether to recall the identified report to make the data associated therewith available, an availability associated with the identified report, and an expected time to recall the identified report from the offline data repository; and

display a confirmation message in response to a confirmation to the prompt displayed in the proceed message, wherein the confirmation message displays an indication that a recall request associated with the identified report has been submitted to the long-term backup repository, an expected time until the data associated with the identified report will be available, and an elapsed time since the recall request was submitted to the long-term backup repository.

13. The system recited in claim 10, wherein the processor is further configured to search the multiple archived or compressed reports in the long-term backup repository in response to the criteria provided in the search query by selecting a first option to search the offline data repository or a second option to search the online data repository and the offline data repository.

14. The system recited in claim 10, wherein the processor is further configured to search the multiple archived or compressed reports in the long-term backup repository in response to the criteria provided in the search query using a predefined mandatory field.

15. The system recited in claim 10, wherein the processor is further configured to:

secure access to the multiple archived or compressed reports in the long-term backup repository and deliver the data exported from the unarchived or decompressed report to the spreadsheet application in response to a user that submitted the search query having a permission that permits the secured access; and

track activity that relates to manipulation or interaction associated with the data delivered to the spreadsheet application.

16. The system recited in claim 10, wherein the processor is further configured to use a thread in a scalable dynamic thread pool to bring the offline data repository online, recall the identified report from the long-term backup repository, and make the data associated with the identified report available.

17. The system recited in claim 10, wherein the processor is further configured to convert an image associated with the unarchived or decompressed report into text using optical character recognition to export the data associated with the unarchived or decompressed report.

18. The system recited in claim 10, wherein the export option provided in the request to view the unarchived or decompressed report comprises criteria to indicate a page, a delimiter character, a column offset value, a data type, an inclusion filter, or an exclusion filter to organize the data exported from the unarchived or decompressed report.

19. A method of delivering a search query result in an information management system that manages data associated with reports stored offline, the method comprising:

searching, by a processor, multiple archived or compressed reports stored in a long-term backup repository to identify a report among the multiple archived or compressed reports that matches criteria provided in a search query;

bringing an offline data repository that stores the identified report in the long-term backup repository online, wherein bringing the offline data repository online includes unarchiving or decompressing the identified report to make data associated with the identified report available;

exporting, by the processor, the data associated with the unarchived or decompressed report in accordance with an export option provided in a request to view the unarchived or decompressed report;

delivering, by the processor, the data exported from the unarchived or decompressed report to a spreadsheet application, wherein manipulating the data delivered to the spreadsheet application does not modify the identified report stored in the offline data repository associated with the long-term backup repository;

securing access to the multiple archived or compressed reports in the long-term backup repository, wherein the processor delivers the data exported from the unarchived or decompressed report to the spreadsheet application in response to a user that submitted the search query having permission that permits the secured access; and

tracking activity that relates to manipulation or interaction associated with the data delivered to the spreadsheet application.

20. A system to deliver a search query result in an information management system that manages data associated with reports stored offline, the system comprising:

a long-term backup repository configured to store archived or compressed reports; and

a processor configured to;

search the archived or compressed reports stored in the long-term backup repository to identify a report among the archived or compressed reports that matches criteria provided in a search query;

bring an offline data repository that stores the identified report in the long-term backup repository online, wherein the processor is configured to unarchive or decompress the identified report to bring the offline data repository online and make data associated with the identified report available;

export the data associated with the unarchived or decompressed report in accordance with an export option provided in a request to view the unarchived or decompressed report;

deliver the data exported from the unarchived or decompressed report to a spreadsheet application, wherein manipulating the data delivered to the spreadsheet application does not modify the identified report stored in the offline data repository associated with the long-term backup repository;

secure access to the multiple archived or compressed reports in the long-term backup repository and deliver the data exported from the unarchived or decompressed report to the spreadsheet application in response to a user that submitted the search query having a permission that permits the secured access; and

track activity that relates to manipulation or interaction associated with the data delivered to the spreadsheet application.