DETECTION AND DISPLAY OF SEMANTIC ERRORS IN A REPORTING TOOL

• US 20120131040A1
• Filed: 11/24/2010
• Published: 05/24/2012
• Est. Priority Date: 11/24/2010
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Business Objects Incorporated (SAP SE)
• Original Assignee: Business Objects Incorporated (SAP SE)
• Inventors: Poon, Madison, Wong, Ken C., Yahui, Lu, Mosimann, David, Tiu, Jonathan
• Granted Patent: US 8,775,463 B2
• Time in Patent Office: Days
• US Class Current: 707/769
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 16/215 Improving data quality; Data cleansing, e.g. de-duplication, removing invalid entries or correcting typographical errors
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 16/248 Presentation of query results
• CPC Class Codes: G06Q 10/10 Office automation; Time management

Abstract

Various embodiments of systems and methods for providing a semantic guidance in a report are described herein. A mismatch is identified between a report object positioned at a location on the report and the area with which the location is associated. The mismatch is identified based on the metadata of the report object and the attribute of the area with which the location is associated. In one embodiment, the identified mismatch is displayed to a user in a tooltip. In one embodiment, if an attribute of an area of the report is changed, the mismatch is identified between the report object present in the area and the changed attribute.

Claims

1. A method for providing a semantic guidance in a report, the method comprising:

retrieving a metadata of a report object associated with an area of the report, the area of the report having an attribute; and

identifying a mismatch between the report object and the area of the report based on the metadata of the report object and the attribute of the area.

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

retrieving a report model of the report, wherein the report model includes the attribute related to the area of the report;

receiving contextual information associated with the report object, wherein the contextual information includes information of a location on the report where the report object is positioned, the location on the report being associated with the area of the report; and

identifying the attribute related to the area of the report from the report model.

3. The method according to claim 2, further comprising displaying the mismatch between the report object and the area of the report with which the location is associated.

4. The method according to claim 3, wherein the mismatch is displayed in a tooltip.

5. The method according to claim 2, further comprising:

receiving a request to place the report object at the location where the report object is positioned;

marking the report object placed in the area, wherein the mark is indicative of the mismatch; and

displaying the mismatch when a cursor is positioned on the report object.

6. The method according to claim 5, wherein the report object is positioned and placed at the location on the report by a drag-and-drop operation.

7. The method according to claim 1, wherein a set of heuristics are used for identifying the mismatch.

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

receiving an input to change the attribute of the area; and

identifying the mismatch between the report object present in the area and the changed attribute of the area.

9. The method according to claim 8, further comprising:

displaying the mismatch.

10. An article of manufacture including a computer readable storage medium to tangibly store instructions, which when executed by a computer, cause the computer to:

retrieve a metadata of a report object associated with an area of a report, the area of the report having an attribute; and

identify a mismatch between the report object and the area of the report based on the metadata of the report object and the attribute of the area.

11. The article of manufacture according to claim 10, further comprising instructions which when executed by the computer further causes the computer to:

retrieve a report model of the report, wherein the report model includes the attribute related to the area of the report;

receive contextual information associated with the report object, wherein the contextual information includes information of a location on the report where the report object is positioned, the location on the report being associated with the area of the report; and

identify the attribute related to the area of the report from the report model.

12. The article of manufacture according to claim 11, further comprising instructions which when executed by the computer further causes the computer to:

display the mismatch between the report object and the area with which the location is associated.

13. The article of manufacture according to claim 12, wherein the mismatch is displayed in a tooltip.

14. The article of manufacture according to claim 11, further comprising instructions which when executed by the computer further causes the computer to:

receive a request to place the report object at the location where the report object is positioned;

mark the report object placed in the area, wherein the mark is indicative of the mismatch; and

display the mismatch when a cursor is positioned on the report object.

15. The article of manufacture according to claim 14, wherein the report object is positioned and placed at the location on the report by a drag-and-drop operation.

16. The article of manufacture according to claim 10, wherein a set of heuristics are used to identify the mismatch.

17. The article of manufacture according to claim 10, further comprising instructions which when executed by the computer further causes the computer to:

receive an input to change the attribute of the area; and

identify the mismatch between the report object present in the area of the report and the changed attribute of the area of the report.

18. The article of manufacture according to claim 17 further comprising instructions which when executed by the computer further causes the computer to:

display the mismatch.

19. A computer system for providing a semantic guidance in a report, the computer system comprising:

a memory to store a program code; and

a processor communicatively coupled to the memory, the processor configured to execute the program code to;

retrieve a metadata of a report object associated with an area of a report, the area of the report having an attribute; and

identify a mismatch between the report object and the area of the report based on the metadata of the report object and the attribute of the area.

20. The system of claim 19, wherein the processor further executes the program code to:

retrieve a report model of the report, the report model includes the attribute related to the area of the report;

receive contextual information associated with the report object, wherein the contextual information includes information of a location on the report where the report object is positioned, the location on the report being associated with the area of the report; and

identify the attribute related to the area of the report from the report model.

21. The system of claim 20, wherein the processor further executes the program code to:

display the mismatch between the report object and the area of the report with which the location is associated.

22. The system of claim 21, wherein the mismatch is displayed in a tooltip.

23. The system of claim 20, wherein the processor further executes the program code to:

receive a request to place the report object at the location where the report object is positioned;

mark the report object placed in the area, wherein the mark is indicative of the mismatch; and

display the mismatch when a cursor is positioned on the report object.

24. The system of claim 23, wherein the report object is positioned and placed at the location on the report by a drag-and-drop operation.

25. The system of claim 19, wherein a set of heuristics are used to identify the mismatch.

26. The system of claim 19, wherein the processor further executes the program code to:

receive an input to change the attribute of the area; and

identify the mismatch between the report object present in the area of the report and the changed attribute of the area of the report.

27. The system of claim 26, wherein the processor further executes the program code to:

display the mismatch.