System, multi-tier interface and methods for management of operational structured data

• US 9,292,306 B2
• Filed: 11/10/2008
• Issued: 03/22/2016
• Est. Priority Date: 11/09/2007
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: AVRO Computing Incorporated
• Original Assignee: AVRO Computing Incorporated
• Inventors: Deremigio, Kevin, Day, Fred
• Primary Examiner(s): DRAGOESCU, CLAUDIA B
• Application Number:
  US12/267,815
• Publication Number:
  US 20090125796A1
• Time in Patent Office: 2,689 Days
• Field of Search: 715/731, 715/762, 715/763
• US Class Current: 1/1
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 9/451 Execution arrangements for user interfaces

Abstract

The invention provides a computer implemented, methods, systems, software program devices, and a Multi-Tier Graphical Interface level General User Interface (GUI) screen designed to support data integration processes for IT and Subject Matter Experts User access and use of structured data sources. The software enables create, extract, transform, programs, processes, and load data integration application Data Integration Application (Composite Object)s through an object based software design enabling efficient and rapid retrieval, processing, and positioning of structured data directly from one or multiple data sources to the required formats, processes, and application support at the skills set levels of the user. The software is a command and processes design for Data Integration Application (Composite Object) that can be transaction oriented, recurring process, as well as periodic The software is an open, data oriented system design for rapid generation and support of Data Integration Application (Composite Object)s using a Multi-Tier three dimensional graphical interface design for cell based data applications. The Data Integration Application (Composite Object) are compiled, independent object applications residing in an object library designated by the user/user IT organization. The compiled data application object are run on the organization'"'"'s existing computing systems under standard compute processing procedures as either independent applications or in support of the organizations ongoing business/operational requirements for data use requirements.

Claims

1. A method of processing data applications using a computer, comprising:

managing, by the computer, processing of data that is distributed among one to multiple data sources, including;

providing a data application object as a compiled union of a variable object, a language object, a connector object, and one or more user objects that provide functionality to browse, analyze or edit the variable, language and connector objects or to zoom onto the data application object, wherein the data application object is adapted to be managed as a single integrated object;

providing a programming process for creating the variable object as a data schema of a source and a target data structure in the data, the language object as a data application for an execution process, and the connector object which defines a connection between the source and target data structures,

wherein a structured framework is provided for defining data variables of the variable object, creating a compute application for the language object, and defining the source and target data structures for the connector object; and

allowing for asynchronous execution of the compiled data application object as an Import, Compute, Export (ICE) method, the execution being allowed to be performed in parallel and serially in relation to the execution of other data application objects; and

managing, by the computer, display of the data applications, including;

providing a virtual graphical display that comprises a horizontal plane (X), vertical plane (Y) and depth plane (Z);

automatically placing graphical cells on the virtual graphical display along one or more of the horizontal, vertical and depth planes; and

providing display controls used to navigate, search and investigate data application objects that are represented by the graphical cells and that operate on the data and for exploding selected graphical cells into screens used to build, drill into and maintain the data application objects, and

enabling subject matter expert users to achieve application characteristics applied to data sources among the one to multiple data sources, the enabling step including;

providing a bi-directional algorithm to enable a data application object to support data movement between data sources bi-directionally through an iterative inverse process with execution of a connector object process;

providing a function for extending a current formula or adding new command options;

providing a function for extending current or additional formulas through a series of spread sheet function and for enabling creation of one or more components of the language object; and

providing an automatic documentation process of each of the variable, language, connector and analysis objects within the compiled data application object,

wherein the step of providing the bi-directional algorithm allows for executing an application in the forward and then executing the application in the reverse direction to yield the equivalent results of an original source equivalent; and

wherein the automatic placement of the graphical cells provides a single display component group as a composite of graphical cells that are arranged horizontally, vertically and/or in depth in accordance with one or more placement algorithms performed using the data operated on by the corresponding data application objects represented by the graphical cells.

2. The method according to claim 1, wherein the placement algorithms include determining intra and inter-relationships among objects.

3. The method according to claim 1, wherein the placement algorithms include determining one or more of component heuristics, inter-component relationships and intra-component relationships.

4. The method according to claim 1, wherein the placement algorithms include applying one or more of usage, process and expert user knowledge defined into an algorithm.

5. The method according to claim 1, wherein the placement algorithms include a placement strategy to place graphical cells representing related data application objects in one or more of a left to right process clustered around a center horizontal axis in a “

T”

configuration, a bottom to top and left to right process in an “

L”

configuration.

6. The method according to claim 1, wherein a “

Z”

algorithm that places data application objects onto cells using a composite of “

L” and

“

T”

configurations based on the clumping of intra-relationships of related components and inter-relationships of related components represented by the graphical cells.

7. The method according to claim 1, wherein the component groups comprise a plurality of hierarchical levels, and wherein the display controls include a navigation aid that provides a quick one or two button click from any primary level (application) and/or secondary level (library) component to a third level (object) component group located anywhere on the virtual graphical display.

8. The method according to claim 1, wherein the component groups comprise a plurality of hierarchical levels, and wherein the display controls include a single click function on a neutral image area in the virtual graphical display that turns “

on”

or “

off”

the display of all third level component groups.

9. The method according to claim 1, wherein the component groups comprise a plurality of hierarchical levels, and wherein the display controls include a single click function on a primary level (application) image that turns “

on”

or “

off”

the display of all third level component groups that belong to the selected primary level component group.

10. The method according to claim 1, wherein the component groups comprise a plurality of hierarchical levels, and wherein the display controls include a single click function on a primary level (application) component group that highlights the display of all secondary level component groups that belong to the selected primary level component group.

11. The method according to claim 1, wherein the component groups comprise a plurality of hierarchical levels, and wherein the display controls include a single click function on a secondary level (library) component group that highlights the display of all third level component groups that belong to the selected secondary level component group.

12. The method according to claim 1, wherein the automatic placement of graphical cells and the providing of the virtual graphical display are performed in a device-independent manner and wherein the display controls include a pan ability to point and click to slide the virtual graphical display logically via a reference link, to the left, to the right, to the top and to the bottom on a physical display device.

13. The method according to claim 12, further comprising presenting the virtual graphical display on the physical device, the physical device being one or more of a desktop computer display, a laptop computer display, a flat panel display and a smart phone display.

14. The method according to claim 1, wherein the step of managing display of the data applications further includes providing a graphical search engine to access, audit, find, display and show language object hierarchy and to display for all first instance search matches for any data application object and to display all secondary references via an INCLUDE object.

15. The method according to claim 1, wherein the step of managing display of the data applications further includes providing a version object as a visual icon to toggle through all published and unpublished versions of the data application object.

16. The method according to claim 1, wherein the step of managing display of the data applications further includes providing a zoom method to click on a variable object in a selected data application object as a logical zoom to display corresponding object detail.

17. The method according to claim 1, wherein the step of managing display of the data applications further includes providing a zoom method to click on a language object in a selected data application object as a logical zoom to display corresponding object detail.

18. The method according to claim 1, further comprising a horizontal data computing process enabling a transaction for a data application object to support the application functionality but at the data level using the data application object structure and execution process without invoking traditional vendor applications.

19. The method according to claim 1, wherein execution of the data application object data processes to obtain, process, and move data to a target location is accomplished without additional conventional programming as a single interactive transaction or as a data process with the one to multiple data sources.

20. The method according to claim 1, wherein unique data processes are provided to a user via a user object that includes allowing customized object functions created by the user for specialized function processes to be incorporated with a data application object not contained in the language, variable or connector objects.

21. The method according to claim 1, further comprising:

providing for creation of additional versions of a published data application object to be configured for new requirements, wherein the additional versions are represented by graphical cells that form the depth plane (Z) within the virtual graphical display,

wherein a new version of a data application object comprises an independently functioning data application object;

providing new version of the data object with a new, unique identifier;

providing a version object as a visual icon to toggle through all published and unpublished versions of the data application object; and

providing revision authority to the data object version to create a new data application Object.

22. The method according to claim 21, further comprising enabling an audit and tracking process for all versions of the original data application object and corresponds to a version level that provides modified data objects by author within data use and access.

23. The method according to claim 1, further comprising providing a process to execute a compiled data application object via a scheduled job that is defined and designated by a computer operating system to execute as one or more of an individual local transaction for specific data, an individual web-based transaction for specific data or an extended data process against one or multiple data sources, wherein the number of data application objects in the execution process can be one to many per each scheduled job.

24. The method according to claim 1, wherein the structured framework includes repeat-use processes used to define each of the Variable, Language, and Connector objects and to create and publish the integrated data application object,

wherein the data application object is thereby created via individual graphical displays through a series of predictable, repeat use commands, pre-defined format processes, and then analyzed with test or live data prior to and after publishing using a point and single click process, and

wherein the framework processes have the capability to produce and manage an unlimited number of variations and versions of data application objects.

25. The method according to claim 1, wherein the step of managing the data applications further includes providing a process to insert by command into a data application object other existing data application objects as an INCLUDE object that executes as part of the combined data application object, wherein a data application object can have multiple INCLUDE objects, wherein the INCLUDE object'"'"'s data processes are used by the data application object, wherein a data application object being can be used as an INCLUDE object in multiple data application objects, and wherein the data application object used as an INCLUDE object continues as an independent data object executing its data processes.

26. A system for processing data using a computer, comprising:

a managing process executed by the computer that is configured to manage the processing of data that is distributed among one to multiple data sources, including;

providing a data application object as a compiled union of a variable object, a language object, a connector object, and one or more user objects that provide functionality to browse, analyze or edit the variable, language and connector objects or to zoom onto the data application object, wherein the data application object is adapted to be managed as a single integrated object;

providing a programming process for creating the variable object as a data schema of a source and a target data structure in the data, the language object as a data application for an execution process, and the connector object which defines a connection between the source and target data structures,

wherein a structured framework is provided for defining data variables of the variable object, creating a compute application for the language object, and defining the source and target data structures for the connector object; and

allowing for asynchronous execution of the compiled data application object as an Import, Compute, Export (ICE) method; and

a display process executed by the computer for managing display of the data applications, including;

providing a virtual graphical display that comprises a horizontal plane (X), vertical plane (Y) and depth plane (Z);

automatically placing graphical cells on the virtual graphical display along one or more of the horizontal, vertical and depth planes; and

providing display controls used to navigate, search and investigate data application objects that are represented by the graphical cells and that operate on the data and for exploding selected graphical cells into screens used to build, drill into and maintain the data application objects,

an enabling process executed by the computer that allows subject matter expert users to achieve application characteristics applied to data sources among the one to multiple data sources, including;

providing a bi-directional algorithm to enable a data application object to support data movement between data sources bi-directionally through an iterative inverse process with execution of a connector object process;

providing a function for extending a current formula or adding new command options;

providing a function for extending current or additional formulas through a series of spread sheet function and for enabling creation of one or more components of the language object; and

providing an automatic documentation process of each of the variable, language, connector and analysis objects within the compiled data application object,

wherein the step of providing the bi-directional algorithm allows for executing an application in the forward and then executing the application in the reverse direction to yield the equivalent results of an original source equivalent, and wherein the automatic placement of the graphical cells provides a single display component group as a composite of graphical cells that are arranged horizontally, vertically and/or in depth in accordance with one or more placement algorithms performed using the data operated on by the corresponding data application objects represented by the graphical cells.