Dynamic presentation of a results set by a form-based software application

Patent metadata

Field	Value
Publication number	US-9934292-B2
Application number	US-201213561504-A
Country	US
Kind code	B2
Filing date	Jul 30, 2012
Priority date	Jun 15, 2012
Publication date	Apr 3, 2018
Grant date	Apr 3, 2018

Abstract

A results set can be received from a form-based presentation optimizer. The results set can comprise data records having at least one data field. Form definitions applicable to the received results set can be identified. A form definition can define user interface elements and their configuration within a user interface of the form-based software application. An optimal form definition can be dynamically synthesized from the identified form definitions and predefined presentation optimization rules. The optimal form definition can define the configuration of user interface elements that optimally present the results set. The contents of the optimal form definition can vary based upon internal and external parameters that affect operation of the form-based software application and/or form-based presentation optimizer. The optimal form definition can then be conveyed to the form-based software application for rendering.

First claim

What is claimed is:

1. A computer program product comprising:
at least one memory for storing computer program instructions;
the computer program instructions, responsive to being executed by at least one processor, to receive a results set by a form-based presentation optimizer, wherein the results set comprises at least one data record having at least one data field;
the computer program instructions, responsive to being executed by at least one processor, to identify at least one form definition that is applicable to the received results set, wherein the at least one form definition is associated with a form-based software application, wherein the results set is to be presented within a user interface of the form-based software application, wherein a form definition defines at least one user interface element for presenting data and a configuration of the at least one user interface element within the user interface;
the computer program instructions, responsive to being executed by at least one processor, to dynamically synthesize an optimal form definition from the at least one identified form definition and at least one predefined presentation optimization rule, wherein the optimal form definition defines the configuration of user interface elements that optimally present the results set, wherein contents of the optimal form definition vary based upon a plurality of parameters that are internal and external to operation of the form-based software application and form-based presentation optimizer; and
the computer program instructions, responsive to being executed by at least one processor, to convey at least the optimal form definition to the form-based software application for rendering.

2. The computer program product of claim 1 , wherein a the computer program instructions to synthesize the optimal form definition further comprises:
the computer program instructions, responsive to being executed by at least one processor, to analyze the at least one identified form definition with respect to usage of user interface elements that present data contained in the results set, wherein user interface elements contained in the at least one identified form definition that are unrelated to the results set are disregarded in said analysis;
the computer program instructions, responsive to being executed by at least one processor, to identify at least one predefined presentation optimization rule that is applicable to at least one of the identified form definitions and the user interface elements;
the computer program instructions, responsive to being executed by at least one processor, to based upon said analysis and the identified at least one predefined presentation optimization rule, determine the user interface elements that optimally present the results set; and
the computer program instructions, responsive to being executed by at least one processor, to package the determined user interface elements as the optimal form definition.

3. The computer program product of claim 2 , wherein the computer program instructions to determine the user interface elements further comprises:
the computer program instructions, responsive to being executed by at least one processor, to, for each user interface element used to present a specific portion of the results set, dynamically calculate an optimality score for a user interface element, wherein the optimality score is a quantification representing a degree to which the user interface element optimally presents the identical portion of the results set; and
the computer program instructions, responsive to being executed by at least one processor, to select the user interface element having a best optimality score as the user interface element that optimally presents the specific portion of the results set, wherein the best optimality score is identified with respect to a predetermined optimality scale.

4. The computer program product of claim 3 , wherein, when the form-based presentation optimizer utilizes user presentation preferences, the computer program instructions to calculate the optimality score further comprises:
the computer program instructions, responsive to being executed by at least one processor, to identify a user presentation preference associated with a user of the form-based software application that affects the user interface element, wherein said user performed actions within the form-based software application that resulted in the generation of the results set, and, wherein the at least one user presentation preference represents a preferentiality for the user interface element; and
the computer program instructions, responsive to being executed by at least one processor, to adjust the calculated optimality score of the user interface element in accordance with the user presentation preference.

5. The computer program product of claim 1 , wherein the form-based presentation optimizer is an add-on component of the form-based software application.

6. The computer program product of claim 1 , wherein the form-based presentation optimizer receives the results set from one of the form-based software application and a database server.

7. The computer program product of claim 1 , wherein the user interface elements comprise at least one of a table element, a graph, a chart, a slider bar, a text box, a plurality of selectable elements, a rating scale, an image viewer, a video player, an audio player, a hyperlink, and an animation.

8. The computer program product of claim 1 , wherein the results set is conveyed to the form-based software application with the optimal form definition.

9. A computer program product comprising:
at least one memory for storing computer program instructions;
the computer program instructions, responsive to being executed by at least one processor, to receive a data request by a form-based software application;
the computer program instructions, responsive to being executed by at least one processor, to obtain a results set that fulfills the data request from a database server;
the computer program instructions, responsive to being executed by at least one processor, to invoke a form-based presentation optimizer to dynamically generate an optimal form definition for the obtained results set, wherein the optimal form definition defines a configuration of user interface elements that optimally present the results set; and
the computer program instructions, responsive to being executed by at least one processor, to present the results set within a user interface using the user interface elements and configuration defined in the optimal form definition.

10. The computer program product of claim 9 , wherein the computer program instructions to obtain the results set further comprises:
the computer program instructions, responsive to being executed by at least one processor, to construct a query in a standardized query definition language supported by the database server that corresponds to the data request;
the computer program instructions, responsive to being executed by at least one processor, to convey the constructed query to the database server for execution; and
the computer program instructions, responsive to being executed by at least one processor, to receive the results set from the database server.

11. The computer program product of claim 9 , wherein the form-based presentation optimizer generates the optimal form definition using existing form definitions of the form-based software application and a plurality of presentation optimization rules.

12. The computer program product of claim 9 , wherein the user interface elements comprise at least one of a table element, a graph,

Assignees

• Marum Matthew G
• Padgett Samuel G
• Speicher Steven K
• Tabb Michael J
• IBM

Inventors

• Marum Matthew G
• Padgett Samuel G
• Speicher Steven K
• Tabb Michael J

Classifications

• G06F16/248 Primary

  Presentation of query results · CPC title

• G06F40/103

  Formatting, i.e. changing of presentation of documents (automatic justification G06F40/189; automatic line break hyphenation G06F40/191) · CPC title

• G06F40/106

  Display of layout of documents; Previewing · CPC title

• G06F40/174

  Form filling; Merging · CPC title

• G06F17/211

  Physics · mapped topic