Self-presenting report

• US 9,984,163 B2
• Filed: 03/31/2011
• Issued: 05/29/2018
• Est. Priority Date: 03/31/2011
• Status: Expired due to Fees

• Current Assignee: International Business Machines Corporation
• Original Assignee: International Business Machines Corporation
• Inventors: Hammoud, Amer
• Primary Examiner(s): Thomas, Ashish
• Assistant Examiner(s): Ferrer, Jedidiah P
• Application Number:
  US13/076,796
• Publication Number:
  US 20120254195A1
• Time in Patent Office: 2,616 Days
• Field of Search: 707748
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 16/9038 Presentation of query results
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 16/9535 Search customisation based on user profiles and personalisation

Abstract

A method, system and computer program product may identify information of interest to form identified points of interest using a report specification, create a master detail relationship using the identified points of interest, apply an order to the identified points of interest, apply annotations to the identified points of interest, apply highlighting to the identified points of interest, generate an enhanced report specification based on at least the order, annotations, or highlighting of the identified points of interest, and execute the enhanced report specification.

Claims

1. A computer-implemented method comprising:

receiving a report specification, wherein the report specification comprises a plurality of groups of values, wherein each respective group of values comprises a plurality of respective values associated with a plurality of respective line items, wherein each value in a respective group of values is associated with a respective line item, and wherein each respective line item has an associated value in at least two groups of values of the plurality of groups of values;

for at least one line item, extracting, by a computing device and from the report specification, each respective value from the plurality of groups of values associated with the same respective line item to form a respective line item group, wherein the respective line item group comprises a plurality of values each associated with the same respective line item, and wherein each respective value of the plurality of values is from a different respective group of the groups of values;

applying, by the computing device and to at least one line item group, an order to the respective values in the respective line item group;

generating, by the computing device, an enhanced report specification comprising data that indicates the order applied to the respective values in the respective line item group; and

processing the enhanced report specification that includes the at least one line item group, wherein processing the enhanced report specification comprises;

sequentially iterating through the at least one line item group;

displaying at least one graphical representation of each of the at least one line item groups one at a time during the sequential iterating, wherein each graphical representation depicts the respective values of the respective line items in the plurality of values of the respective line item group;

determining textual information associated with each of the at least one graphical representations that is indicative of the value of a particular line item within the respective graphical representation, wherein the respective textual information is based at least in part on the order applied to the plurality of values of the respective line item group, and wherein the respective textual information further describes a progression of the respective plurality of values of the respective line item group by describing a difference between the value of the particular line item in the respective line item group and an immediately previous value for an immediately previous line item in the applied order for the respective line item group;

generating a self-presenting report using a selected output format by locating injected fields within layers capable of conditionally displaying in the self-presenting report, wherein the injected fields contain objects with configurable attributes enabling the objects to self-present content controls and information; and

displaying the respective textual information simultaneously with each of the at least one graphical representations that is indicative of the respective plurality of values of the respective line item group.

2. The computer-implemented method of claim 1, wherein extracting each respective value from the plurality of groups of values associated with the same respective line item to form the respective line item group further comprises:

adding extraction queries into the report specification.

3. The computer-implemented method of claim 1, wherein applying, to the at least one line item group, the order to the respective values in the at least one line item group further comprises:

injecting ordering queries into the report specification;

ranking the respective values in the at least one line item group using predetermined criteria associated with the ordering queries; and

injecting fields into the enhanced report specification enabling selective ordering using the ranking.

4. The computer-implemented method of claim 1, wherein generating the enhanced report specification further comprises:

injecting a user interface control enabling selective switching between a typical report mode and a self-presenting report mode, wherein responsive to the user interface control applying a selected pagination mode.

5. The computer-implemented method of claim 1, further comprising:

generating the self-presenting report further using a selected output format, wherein generating the self-presenting report further comprises;

selecting an output format from one of a static multi-paged format and a single-paged on-demand generation of each page related to an active annotation format.

6. The computer-implemented method of claim 1, further comprising:

generating the self-presenting report further using a selected output format.

7. A computer program product for self-presenting reports, the computer program product comprising:

a non-transitory computer readable storage medium containing computer executable program code stored thereon, the computer executable program code comprising;

computer executable program code to receive a report specification, wherein the report specification comprises a plurality of groups of values, wherein each respective group of values comprises a plurality of respective values associated with a plurality of respective line items, wherein each value in a respective group of values is associated with a respective line item, and wherein each respective line item has an associated value in at least two groups of values of the plurality of groups of values;

computer executable program code to, for at least one line item, extract, from the report specification, each respective value from the plurality of groups of values associated with the same respective line item to form a respective line item group, wherein the respective line item group comprises a plurality of values each associated with the same respective line item, and wherein each respective value of the plurality of values is from a different respective group of the groups of values;

computer executable program code to apply to at least one line item group, an order to the respective values in the respective line item group;

computer executable program code to generate an enhanced report specification comprising data that indicates the order applied to the respective values in the respective line item group; and

computer executable program code to the enhanced report specification that includes the at least one line item group, wherein the computer executable program code to process the enhanced report specification comprises;

computer executable program code to sequentially iterate through the at least one line item group;

computer executable program code to display at least one graphical representation of each of the at least one line item groups one at a time during the sequential iterating, wherein each graphical representation depicts the respective values of the respective line items in the plurality of values of the respective line item group;

computer executable program code to determine textual information associated with each of the at least one graphical representations that is indicative of the value of a particular line item within the respective graphical representation, wherein the respective textual information is based at least in part on the order applied to the plurality of values of the respective line item group, and wherein the respective textual information further describes a progression of the respective plurality of values of the respective line item group by describing a difference between the value of the particular line item in the respective line item group and an immediately previous value for an immediately previous line item in the applied order for the respective line item group;

computer executable code to generate a self-presenting report using a selected output format by locating injected fields within layers capable of conditionally displaying in the self-presenting report, wherein the injected fields contain objects with configurable attributes enabling the objects to self-present content controls and information; and

computer executable program code to display the respective textual information simultaneously with each of the at least one graphical representations that is indicative of the respective plurality of values of the respective line item group.

8. The computer program product of claim 7, wherein computer executable program code to extract each respective value from the plurality of groups of values associated with the same respective line item to form the respective line item group further comprises:

computer executable program code to add extraction queries into the report specification.

9. The computer program product of claim 7, wherein the computer executable program code to apply to the respective values in the at least one line item group at least one of the order further comprises:

computer executable program code to inject ordering queries into the report specification;

computer executable program code to rank the respective values in the at least one line item group using predetermined criteria associated with the ordering queries; and

computer executable program code to inject fields into the report specification enabling selective ordering using the ranking.

10. The computer program product of claim 7, wherein computer executable program code to generate the enhanced report specification further comprises:

computer executable program code to inject a user interface control enabling selective switching between a typical report mode and a self-presenting report mode, wherein responsive to the user interface control applying a selected pagination mode.

11. The computer program product of claim 7, further comprising:

computer executable program code to generate the self-presenting report further using a selected output format, wherein the computer executable program code to generate the self-presenting report further comprises;

computer executable program code to select an output format from one of a static multi-paged format and a single-paged on-demand generation of each page related to an active annotation format.

12. The computer program product of claim 7, wherein computer executable program code to generate the self-presenting report using a selected output format further comprises:

computer executable program code to generate the self-presenting report further using a selected output format.

13. A system comprising:

a processor unit and memory, each connected to a communications bus;

computer executable code stored in said memory, wherein the processor unit executes the computer executable program code to direct the system to;

receive a report specification, wherein the report specification comprises a plurality of groups of values, wherein each respective group of values comprises a plurality of respective values associated with a plurality of respective line items, wherein each value in a respective group of values is associated with a respective line item, and wherein each respective line item has an associated value in at least two groups of values of the plurality of groups of values;

for at least one line item, extract, from the report specification, each respective value from the plurality of groups of values associated with the same respective line item to form a respective line item group, wherein the respective line item group comprises a plurality of values each associated with the same respective line item, and wherein each respective value of the plurality of values is from a different respective group of the groups of values;

apply to at least one line item group an order to the respective values in the respective line item group;

generate an enhanced report specification comprising data that indicates the order applied to the respective values in the respective line item group; and

process the enhanced report specification that includes the at least one line item group, wherein the processor unit executes the computer executable program code for processing the enhanced report specification to;

sequentially iterate through the at least one line item group;

display at least one graphical representation of each of the at least one line item groups one at a time during the sequential iterating, wherein each graphical representation depicts the respective values of the respective line items in the plurality of values of the respective line item group;

determine textual information associated with each of the at least one graphical representations that is indicative of the value of a particular line item within the respective graphical representation, wherein the respective textual information is based at least in part on the order applied to the plurality of values of the respective line item group, and wherein the respective textual information further describes a progression of the respective plurality of values of the respective line item group by describing a difference between the value of the particular line item in the respective line item group and an immediately previous value for an immediately previous line item in the applied order for the respective line item group;

generate a self-presenting report using a selected output format by locating injected fields within layers capable of conditionally displaying in the self-presenting report, wherein the injected fields contain objects with configurable attributes enabling the objects to self-present content controls and information, and

display the respective textual information simultaneously with each of the at least one graphical representations that is indicative of the respective plurality of values of the respective line item group.

14. The system of claim 13, wherein the processor unit executes the computer executable program code to direct the system to extract each respective value from the plurality of groups of values associated with the same respective line item to form the respective line item group directs the system to:

add extraction queries into the report specification.

15. The system of claim 13, wherein the processor unit executes directs the system to:

inject ordering queries into the report specification;

rank the respective values in the identified points of interest using predetermined criteria associated with the ordering queries; and

inject fields into the enhanced report specification enabling selective ordering using the ranking.

16. The system of claim 13, wherein the processor unit executes the computer executable program code to direct the system to generate the enhanced report specification directs the system to:

inject a user interface control enabling selective switching between a typical report mode and a self-presenting report mode, wherein responsive to the user interface control, applying a selected pagination mode.

17. The system of claim 13, wherein the processor unit executes the computer executable program code to direct the system to:

generate the self-presenting report using further a selected output format, which directs the system to;

select an output format from one of a static multi-paged format and a single-paged on-demand generation of each page related to an active annotation format.