Recursive sections in electronic forms

• US 7,904,801 B2
• Filed: 12/15/2004
• Issued: 03/08/2011
• Est. Priority Date: 12/15/2004
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Microsoft Technology Licensing LLC (Microsoft Corporation)
• Original Assignee: Microsoft Corporation
• Inventors: Palmer, Michael B., Ramagopalrao, Anand, Catorcini, Alessandro, Smuga, Michael A
• Primary Examiner(s): Stork; Kyle R
• Application Number:
  US11/012,472
• Publication Number:
  US 20060129583A1
• Time in Patent Office: 2,274 Days
• Field of Search: 715/221, 715/222, 715/223, 715/224, 715/225, 715/226
• US Class Current: 715/223
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 40/174 Form filling; Merging

Abstract

Systems and/or methods enabling creation and/or use of a recursive section for an electronic form are described. In one embodiment, a system and/or method enables alteration, responsive to graphical selection of a recursive section component, of an electronic form'"'"'s schema to permit a recursive section. In another embodiment, a system and/or method enables a user to modify a recursive section in an electronic form through a rendering of the electronic form.

Claims

1. One or more computer-readable media having computer-readable instructions therein that, when executed by a computer, cause the computer to perform acts comprising:

transforming an electronic form from a first format comprising a data structure including eXtensible Markup Language (XML) into a second format comprising an editable form view rendered in hyper text machine language (HTML) representing the data structure, wherein the first format is transformed into the second format with an eXtensible Style-sheet Language Transformation (XSLT), wherein the electronic form comprises a recursive section and the editable form view renders the recursive section, wherein the electronic form is governed by an electronic-form template comprising a schema and a recursive section logic;

enabling a user to graphically modify the recursive section of the electronic form using the editable form view of the second format of the electronic form rendered in HTML without writing script or code; and

in response to graphically modifying the recursive section of the electronic form using the editable form view of the second format of the electronic form, transforming the XML data structure of the first format of the electronic form with a transformation associated with the modification of the recursive section of the second format of the electronic form.

2. The media of claim 1, wherein the rendering of the electronic form into the editable form view enables a user to enter data into the electronic form.

3. The media of claim 1, wherein the editable form view of the electronic form comprises hyper text machine language.

4. The media of claim 1, wherein the act of enabling comprises enabling the user to add an arbitrary number of instances of the recursive section to the electronic form.

5. The media of claim 1, wherein the act of enabling comprises enabling the user to add an arbitrary level of instances of the recursive section to the electronic form.

6. The media of claim 1, wherein the act of enabling comprises enabling the user to add an instance of the recursive section to the XML data structure of the electronic form.

7. The media of claim 6, further comprising:

receiving a selection to add the instance; and

transforming the XML data structure effective to render the electronic form and display the added instance.

8. The media of claim 1, wherein the act of enabling is performed while maintaining the electronic form'"'"'s validity to the schema governing the electronic form.