Data processing: database and file management or data structures – Database design – Data structure types
Reexamination Certificate
1998-08-31
2001-08-28
Black, Thomas (Department: 2171)
Data processing: database and file management or data structures
Database design
Data structure types
C707S793000, C707S793000, C707S793000, C707S793000
Reexamination Certificate
active
06282539
ABSTRACT:
BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION
This disclosure includes a microfiche appendix having 1185 frames and 25 microfiche.
1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates in general to methods for database publishing, and in particular to a method for creating a direct link from one or more data server, such as an Open Database Connectivity (ODBC) and Structured Query Language (SQL) compliant data source, into a desktop publishing application.
2. Description of the Background Art
Traditionally, databases have been used to manage vast amounts of data where quick access and flexible selection and sorting are crucial. Since a database's primary mission is to store rapidly changing data, report generation tools have often stressed speed of report development over the presentation of information. As a result, it is often difficult or impossible to prepare a polished report when the underlying data will be changed when the report is finished.
Publishing systems, on the other hand, typically focus on more stable information such as user documentation, manuals and instructions. As a result, most publishing systems offer tools to more effectively communicate fixed information rather than tools that dynamically accommodate changing data.
Technology has moved to the point where compromising between a database's need for speed, and a publishing system's emphasis on quality of output, is no longer acceptable. Thus, the technique known as database publishing is created through the marriage of database and publishing system. Database publishing bridges the gap between speed of report generation and documentation quality.
Database publishing, therefore, is defined here as a data-driven method of generating formatted documents for printed media and electronic formatted documents (i.e., PDF and HTML file formats). The usual method of creating such documents is manually through a desktop publishing application. However, if the contents of the document are presented in repeating structural patterns, then creating and using a method to create the document that is automatic and controlled by the data being published would be far more efficient than creating that same document manually. Examples of documents that fall in this category are catalogs (i.e., product and course), directories (i.e., informational, phone, and membership), manuals (i.e., instructional, procedural, test and maintenance), reference books, and reports (i.e., financial and statistical).
Traditionally, two processes have been implemented with software to perform database publishing. They are report generators and tagged intermediate output applications.
Report generators are the paradigm most often used for creating formatted output from a database. Their use can be seen as a template or pattern that gets repeated over and over again, depending on how many rows are in the result set of a given query. Each data item has a specific place in the pattern. The space allocated to each data item may expand or contract as the size of the data values changes from row to row, but the positions of the data fields never changes. Report generators typically create final printed pages and have limited formatting capability. There is also no intermediate output that can be modified before the pages are printed.
Tagged intermediate output has been commonly used to extract data from a database into a formatted document. A tagged intermediate output file is typically an American National Standard Code for Information Interchange (ASCII) file that uses a markup language that is proprietary to the target formatting engine. This type of process typically uses an application to extract information from a database and create a flat file or series of flat files that contain the database information and an application specific tag set. Another application may be used to allow a standard desktop application (i.e., Quark's Xpress, Adobe's PageMaker or FrameMaker, etc.) to import the flat file or files.
There are a number of variations on this tagged intermediate output method. These are: Database-specific applications, which generally are limited in that only one database type can be used as a data source; desktop-application-specific tagging, in which a tagging method specific to a desktop publishing application is used in a database output file; and desktop application independent tagging, which uses an output file tagging method that is generic in that another application is used to convert information for use with each specific desktop publishing application.
SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION
In view of the above, it is an object of the present invention to provide an improved method for database publishing.
The invention according to a preferred embodiment provides a method for creating a data-driven document using a novel software architecture, including the steps of decomposing the data that is to be published into hierarchical structural elements and relating these elements to document objects such as text flows, tables, table rows and paragraphs; using instances from two classes of cooperating objects that relate the hierarchical structure of the data as it will be presented with the hierarchical structure of the final document; using this configuration of objects to create the output document from the data itself; and translating the document into an electronic format suitable for publishing either to print media or in electronic form.
Specifically, one aspect of the invention is a method for database publishing which has an architecture that allows a direct link from one or more data server, such as an ODBC and SQL-compliant data source, to a formatting engine, wherein the architecture includes a class of fundamental objects and a class of publishing tokens in the architecture. The fundamental objects include: string templates, targets, patterns, connections, queries, variables, conditions; and, the publishing tokens include document tokens, page tokens, flow tokens, and table tokens.
More specifically, the invention provides a method for direct connection between one or more databases compliant with Open Database Connectivity and Structured Query Language and a formatting engine using a hierarchical structure of target objects, token manager objects, and pattern objects to query data records from the database and to create an output document to the formatting engine, wherein the target objects contain the contents of the document, the token manager objects manage the insertion of data and their logical location in the document, the pattern objects performs queries on the data source, the token manager objects reflecting the structure of the actual output document and the target objects reflecting the logical structure of the desired output based on the structure of the database, whereby the target objects manipulate the document through the token manager objects, and the two structures are decoupled.
Upon further study of the specification and appended claims, further objects and advantages of this invention will become apparent to those skilled in the art.
REFERENCES:
patent: 6070175 (2000-05-01), Mezei
“Datazone adds charts to Miramo” (Product Announcement) Seybold Report on Publishing Systems, v28, n2, (p12), Sep. 1998.*
“Ideas for Onsite Entrepreneurs” (Editorial), Food Management, 34, 4, 8, (pp. 1-2), Apr. 1999.*
IEEE Publication, “DataWeb: Customizable Database Publishing for the Web” by Miller et al., Ohio State University, Columbus, Ohio, pp. 14-21, Oct. 1997.*
Publish Right, “Automated Publishing Using FM Publisher” brochure, pp. 1-10, Jan. 1996.*
Seagate Crystal Reports, “The Market-Leading Desktop Query and Report Writer” brochure, pp. 1-4, Jan. 1997.*
Datazone Ltd. brochure regarding Miramo product, ©1993-1996.
PublishRight Incorporated brochure regarding FM Publisher product ©1996 and 1997.
Seagate Software, Inc. brochure regarding Crystal Reports product ©1997.
Adobe Systems, Inc. catalog entitled FrameMaker Database Publishing Directory, dated Feb. 1997.
Adobe Systems, Inc. catalog entitled FrameMaker Consultant
Black Thomas
Millen White Zelano & Branigan P.C.
Mizrahi Diane D.
LandOfFree
Method and system for database publishing does not yet have a rating. At this time, there are no reviews or comments for this patent.
If you have personal experience with Method and system for database publishing, we encourage you to share that experience with our LandOfFree.com community. Your opinion is very important and Method and system for database publishing will most certainly appreciate the feedback.
Profile ID: LFUS-PAI-O-2517962