System, method and computer program product for storing reports for use by tenants of a multi-tenant on-demand database service

• US 8,996,493 B2
• Filed: 03/12/2013
• Issued: 03/31/2015
• Est. Priority Date: 09/12/2008
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Salesforce.com, Inc.
• Original Assignee: Salesforce.com, Inc.
• Inventors: Rana, Neelav, Wisnovsky, Peter S., Kim, Thomas
• Primary Examiner(s): LE, THU NGUYET T
• Application Number:
  US13/797,847
• Publication Number:
  US 20130191422A1
• Time in Patent Office: 749 Days
• Field of Search: 707/694, 707/705
• US Class Current: 707/705
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 16/00 Information retrieval; Database structures therefor; File system structures therefor
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 16/20 of structured data, e.g. relational data
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 16/22 Indexing; Data structures therefor; Storage structures
• CPC Class Codes: G06Q 10/10 Office automation; Time management
• CPC Class Codes: G06Q 50/16 Real estate

Abstract

In accordance with embodiments, there are provided mechanisms and methods for storing reports for use by tenants of a multi-tenant on-demand database service. These mechanisms and methods for storing reports for use by tenants of a multi-tenant on-demand database service may allow tenants of the multi-tenant on-demand database service to create, modify, etc. reports programmatically, as desired, and may allow the multi-tenant on-demand database service to make the reports accessible to other tenants of the multi-tenant on-demand database service.

Claims

1. A method, comprising:

receiving at a database service a report from a first customer of the database service, the report received from the first customer including;

a table including a plurality of columns and rows defining a plurality of cells,

one or more filters each including an identifier of one of the plurality of columns to which the filter is applied, an operator, and a value to be applied against the one of the plurality of columns based on the operator,

a scope of data indicating a subset of data in a database of the database service to which the one or more filters are applied, and

one or more mathematical functions to be applied to the subset of data to create results to be included in the report;

validating the one or more filters, the scope of data, and the one or more mathematical functions; and

storing the report in a database of the database service in a format usable by at least one second customer of the database service, the database service storing the data for each of the first customer and the at least one second customer in a logically separate manner.

2. The method of claim 1, wherein the report includes a plurality of portions defined by the first customer.

3. The method of claim 2, wherein the portions include the plurality of columns, the one or more filters, one or more formulas, one or more parameters, and one or more color ranges.

4. The method of claim 2, wherein the defined portions include the plurality of columns, the one or more filters, one or more formulas, one or more parameters, and one or more color ranges.

5. The method of claim 2, wherein the portions are defined by the first customer utilizing a user interface of the database service.

6. The method of claim 5, wherein the report is converted from a format associated with the user interface to a metadata schema for storing the report in the metadata schema.

7. The method of claim 2, wherein the portions are defined programmatically by the first customer utilizing a metadata schema.

8. The method of claim 7, wherein the report is stored in the metadata schema.

9. The method of claim 7, wherein the metadata schema includes an extensible markup language (XML) schema.

10. The method of claim 1, wherein the report is received by the database service utilizing an application program interface of the database service.

11. The method of claim 1, wherein the second format is accessible to the first customer and the at least one second customer.

12. The method of claim 1, wherein the at least one second customer is different from the first customer.

13. The method of claim 1, wherein the at least one second customer views the report.

14. The method of claim 1, wherein the at least one second customer modifies the report.

15. The method of claim 1, further comprising receiving a request for the report by the at least one second customer.

16. The method of claim 15, further comprising providing the report to the at least one second customer via an application program interface of the database service.

17. The method of claim 1, wherein the database service includes a database system accessible to the first customer and the at least one second customer over a network, which has hardware and software that is shared by both the first customer and the at least one second customer, which processes requests for the first customer and processes requests for the at least one second customer.

18. The method of claim 1, wherein the scope of the data indicates that data of the at least one second customer in the particular database is being reported via the report.

19. The method of claim 1, wherein in response to a request for the report received by the database service from the at least one second customer, the report is run without data that is unavailable to the at least one second customer as determined by permissions defined for the at least one second customer, such that a runtime definition of the report differs from a stored definition of the report.

20. A computer program product, comprising a non-transitory computer usable medium having a computer readable program code embodied therein, the computer readable program code causing a computer to implement method comprising:

receiving at a database service a report from a first customer of the database service, the report received from the first customer including;

a table including a plurality of columns and rows defining a plurality of cells,

one or more filters each including an identifier of one of the plurality of columns to which the filter is applied, an operator, and a value to be applied against the one of the plurality of columns based on the operator,

a scope of data indicating a subset of data in a database of the database service to which the one or more filters are applied, and

one or more mathematical functions to be applied to the subset of data to create results to be included in the report;

validating the one or more filters, the scope of data, and the one or more mathematical functions; and

storing the report in a database of the database service in a format usable by at least one second customer of the database service.

21. An apparatus, comprising:

a processor for;

receiving at a database service a report from a first customer of the database service, the report received from the first customer including;

a table including a plurality of columns and rows defining a plurality of cells,

one or more filters each including an identifier of one of the plurality of columns to which the filter is applied, an operator, and a value to be applied against the one of the plurality of columns based on the operator,

a scope of data indicating a subset of data in a database of the database service to which the one or more filters are applied, and

one or more mathematical functions to be applied to the subset of data to create results to be included in the report;

validating the one or more filters, the scope of data, and the one or more mathematical functions; and

storing the report in a database of the database service in a format usable by at least one second customer of the database service.

22. The apparatus of claim 21, wherein the processor is coupled to memory via a bus.