System and method for OLAP report generation with spreadsheet report within the network user interface

• US 8,607,138 B2
• Filed: 07/15/2005
• Issued: 12/10/2013
• Est. Priority Date: 05/28/1999
• Status: Expired due to Fees

• Current Assignee: Microstrategy Incorporated
• Original Assignee: Microstrategy Incorporated
• Inventors: Harold, Lee C., Selvarajan, Inbarajan, Liebl, Herbert
• Primary Examiner(s): DYER, ANDREW R
• Application Number:
  US11/181,813
• Publication Number:
  US 20050267868A1
• Time in Patent Office: 3,070 Days
• Field of Search: 715/503, 715/212, 707/2, 709/201
• US Class Current: 715/212
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 16/248 Presentation of query results
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 16/283 Multi-dimensional databases or data warehouses, e.g. MOLAP or ROLAP
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 40/18 of spreadsheets form-filling G06F40/174

Abstract

A system and method for enabling users of a multi-user network-based OLAP system to present reports generated by the OLAP system using a spreadsheet application within a network user interface. A client-side network user interface is presented to a user over the network so that the user may submit a request for a report. The server-side system receives the request and processes the report. When the server-side system completes the report processing, the report is communicated to the client-side network user interface. The report may then be presented to the user(s) that submitted requests for that report. The client-side network user interface comprises a spreadsheet application that may be used to display the report to the user.

Claims

1. A system for presenting reports over a network, comprising:

a network server, wherein the network server includes a first physical computing device that receives a request for a report from a user system through an instance of a web browser, and that returns control of the instance of the web browser to enable a user to use the same instance of the web browser to perform one or more other requests through the instance of the web browser while the report request is being processed;

an on-line analytical processing (OLAP) system communicatively connected to the network server, wherein the OLAP system includes a second physical computing device that processes the report;

a server cache that includes a computer usable storage medium, wherein the server cache stores the report processed by the OLAP system in the computer usable storage medium;

a server system communicatively connected to the server cache, wherein the server system includes a third physical computing device that formats the report for presentation at the instance of the web browser of the user system using a spreadsheet application displayed within the instance of the web browser; and

wherein the network server is communicatively connected to the server system and transmits the formatted report within a page over the network to the instance of the web browser of the user system through which the request was received, wherein the spreadsheet application displayed within the instance of the web browser presents the report at the user system.

2. The system of claim 1, wherein the server cache stores the report in the computer usable storage medium in a relational database structure.

3. The system of claim 1, further comprising a personalization object that executes on the OLAP system, wherein the personalization object executes on the second physical computing device associated with the OLAP system to personalize the spreadsheet application that presents the report within the instance of the web browser at the user system.

4. The system Of claim 1, wherein the server system further combines a plurality of reports into a workbook for concurrent presentation in the spreadsheet application displayed within the instance of the web browser.

5. The system of claim 1, wherein the report processed by the OLAP system includes one or more formatting macros, and the server system further processes the one or more formatting macros to format the report for presentation in the spreadsheet application displayed within the instance of the web browser.

6. The system of claim 5, further comprising an application program interface that defines characteristics of the report processed by the OLAP system, wherein the OLAP system creates the one or more formatting macros from the characteristics of the report that the application program interface defines.

7. The system of claim 5, wherein the spreadsheet application applies the one or more formatting macros upon receipt at the user system to format the report for presentation in the spreadsheet application displayed within the instance of the web browser.

8. The system of claim 1, further comprising:

a broadcast module communicatively connected to the server system, wherein the broadcast module generates a subscription for the user system, and wherein the OLAP system further processes the report in response to determining that one or more criteria specified in the subscription for the user system have been satisfied.

9. The system of claim 1, wherein the spreadsheet application and the instance of the web browser have integrated functionality, whereby the user system utilizes the functionality of the instance of the web browser integrated with the spreadsheet application to refresh the report presented in the spreadsheet application displayed within the instance of the web browser.

10. The system of claim 1, wherein the first physical computing device, the second physical computing device, and the third computing device collectively comprise one or more physical computing devices.

11. The system of claim 1, wherein the spreadsheet application displayed within the instance of the web browser refreshes the report dynamically.

12. A method of presenting reports over a network, comprising:

receiving, at a network server that includes a first physical computing device, a request for a report from a user system through an instance of a web browser, wherein the network server that returns control of the instance of the web browser to enable a user to use the same instance of the web browser to perform one or more other requests through the instance of the web browser while the report request is being processed;

processing the report at an on-line analytical processing (OLAP) system that includes a second physical computing device and that is communicatively connected to the network server;

storing the report processed by the OLAP system in a server cache that includes a computer usable storage medium, wherein the server cache stores the report processed by the OLAP system in the computer usable storage medium;

formatting the report at a server system communicatively connected to the server cache and the network server, wherein the server system includes a third physical computing device that formats the report for presentation at the instance of the web browser of the user system using a spreadsheet application displayed within the instance of the web browser; and

transmitting, by the network server, the formatted report within a page over the network to the instance of the web browser of the user system through which the request was received, and wherein the spreadsheet application displayed within the instance of the web browser presents the report at the user system.

13. The method of claim 12, wherein the server cache stores the report in the computer usable storage medium in a relational database structure.

14. The method of claim 12, further comprising personalizing the spreadsheet application that presents the report within the instance of the web browser at the user system, wherein a personalization object that executes on the second physical computing device associated with the OLAP system personalizes the spreadsheet application.

15. The method of claim 12, further comprising combining, at the server system, a plurality of reports into a workbook for concurrent presentation in the spreadsheet application displayed within the instance of the web browser.

16. The method of claim 12, further comprising:

wherein the network server forwards the request to the OLAP system, and wherein the report processed by the OLAP system includes one or more formatting macros, the method further comprising;

processing the one or more formatting macros at the server system, wherein the server system processes the one or more formatting macros to format the report for presentation in the application displayed within the instance of the web browser.

17. The method of claim 16, further comprising defining characteristics of the report processed by the OLAP system with an application program interface, wherein the OLAP system creates the one or more formatting macros from the characteristics of the report that the application program interface defines.

18. The method of claim 16, wherein the spreadsheet application applies the one or more formatting macros upon receipt at the user system to format the report for presentation in the spreadsheet application displayed within the instance of the web browser.

19. The method of claim 12, wherein the spreadsheet application and the instance of the web browser have integrated functionality, whereby the user system utilizes the functionality of the instance of the web browser integrated with the spreadsheet application to refresh the report presented in the spreadsheet application displayed within the instance of the web browser.

20. The method of claim 12, wherein the first physical computing device, the second physical computing device, and the third computing device collectively comprise one or more physical computing devices.

21. The method of claim 12, further comprising:

dynamically refreshing, by the spreadsheet application, the report presented at the instance of the web browser.

22. A non-transitory computer usable storage medium having computer readable program code embodied therein for presenting reports over a network, wherein the computer readable program code executes on one or more physical computing devices, and wherein executing the computer readable program code on the one or more physical computing devices causes the one or more physical computing devices to:

receive, at a network server, a request for a report from a user system through an instance of a web browser, wherein the network server that returns control of the instance of the web browser to enable a user to use the same instance of the web browser to perform one or more other requests through the instance of the web browser while the report request is being processed;

process the report at an on-line analytical processing (OLAP) system;

store the report processed by the OLAP system in a server cache;

format the report at a server system communicatively connected to the server cache and the network server, wherein the server system formats the report for presentation at the instance of the web browser of the user system using a spreadsheet application displayed within the instance of the web browser; and

transmit, by the network server, the formatted report within a page over the network to the instance of the web browser of the user system through which the request was received, wherein the spreadsheet application displayed within the instance of the web browser presents the report at the user system.

23. The computer usable storage medium of claim 22, wherein the report processed by the OLAP system includes one or more formatting macros, and wherein executing the computer readable program code on the one or more physical computing devices further causes the one or more physical computing devices to:

process the one or more formatting macros at the server system, wherein the server system processes the one or more formatting macros to format the report for presentation in the spreadsheet application displayed within the instance of the web browser.

24. The computer usable storage medium of claim 23, wherein executing the computer readable program code on the one or more physical computing devices further causes the one or more physical computing devices to:

define characteristics of the report processed by the OLAP system with an application program interface; and

create the one or more formatting macros at the OLAP system, wherein the OLAP system creates the one or more formatting macros from the characteristics of the report that the application program interface defines.

25. The computer usable storage medium of claim 23, wherein the spreadsheet application applies the one or more formatting macros upon receipt at the user system to format the report for presentation in the spreadsheet application displayed within the instance of the web browser.

26. The computer usable medium of claim 22, wherein the spreadsheet application and the instance of the web browser have integrated functionality, whereby the user system utilizes the functionality of the instance of the web browser integrated with the spreadsheet application to refresh the report presented in the spreadsheet application displayed within the instance of the web browser.

27. The computer usable medium of claim 22, wherein executing the computer readable program code on the one or more physical computing devices further causes the one or more physical computing devices to:

dynamically refresh, by the spreadsheet application, the report presented at the instance of the web browser.

28. A non-transitory computer usable storage medium having computer readable program code embodied therein for presenting reports over a network, wherein the computer readable program code executes on one or more physical computing devices, and wherein executing the computer readable program code on the one or more physical computing devices causes the one or more physical computing devices to:

receive, at a network server, a request for a report from a user system through an instance of a web browser, wherein the network server that returns control of the instance of the web browser to enable a user to use the same instance of the web browser to perform one or more other requests through the instance of the web browser while the report request is being processed;

process the report including one or more formatting macros at an on-line analytical processing (OLAP) system;

store the report processed by the OLAP system in a server cache;

format the report at a server system communicatively connected to the server cache and the network server, wherein the server system processes the one or more formatting macros to format the report for presentation at the instance of the web browser of the user system using a spreadsheet application displayed within the instance of the web browser; and

transmit, by the network server, the formatted report within a page over the network to the instance of the web browser of the user system through which the request was received, wherein the spreadsheet application displayed within the instance of the web browser presents the report at the user system.