JP3348943B2 - Table format conversion method for database search results - Google Patents

Description

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

[0001]

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 1. Field of the Invention The present invention relates to a technique for editing a database search result, and more particularly to a method for converting a database search result into a table format suitable for outputting the database search result in a desired table format. .

[0002]

2. Description of the Related Art A conventional technique for a user to create his / her favorite table using data in a database and to effectively utilize the data in the database is disclosed in, for example, Japanese Patent Laid-Open Publication No.
No. 9841. In this technique, a user first calls up and displays a relational table of a relational database stored in a file device by inputting a name of the relational table using an operation function on a window of the display device. Then, the relation table and the relation table on another window are connected by cut and paste of the window operation function. In this way, the user can utilize the data of the database in the relation table of the database he likes without knowing the operation language.

However, this technique associates relational tables of a database with each other, and cannot associate database data with a table format created by spreadsheet software. Therefore, search results from the database,
When rearranging to the table format created with spreadsheet software, the user compares the field name and data of the search result with the heading of the table format, confirms the position in the table format, and displays any data of the search result in the table. They decided where to paste the data in the format, and based on that decision, developed a program to paste the data.

[0004]

The problem to be solved is that, in the prior art, when rearranging data in a database searched in a database into a table format created by spreadsheet software, the data is converted to a predetermined format in a table format. The point is that you have to develop a program to attach it to the location. SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION An object of the present invention is to solve the problems of the prior art and provide a method for converting a database search result into a table format, which makes it possible to easily associate a database with a table format created by spreadsheet software. That is.

[0005]

In order to achieve the above object, a method of converting a database search result into a table format according to the present invention comprises the following steps: (1) a first table (reference numeral 7 in FIG. 3) indicating a search result of a database; A second table (reference numeral 12 in FIG. 4) created by spreadsheet software is displayed on the same screen, and each entry of the first table and the second table on the same screen are operated by an operation such as drag and drop. Based on the association with each heading item, a heading item correspondence table indicating the cell position of each heading item in the first table in the second table is created (step 108 in FIG. 1), and each search in the first table is performed. At the time of pasting the result to the second table, the cell position in the second table of each heading item of the first table corresponding to the search result to be pasted is read from the heading item correspondence table, and this read is performed. Each heading item From the cell position in the second table, the cell position of the paste destination in the second table of the search result of the paste target is calculated (step 113 in FIG. 1), and the calculated cell position is stored in the first table. By pasting each search result (step 115 in FIG. 1), the search result of the database is pasted on a table created by spreadsheet software. (2) In the table format conversion method of the database search result described in the above (1), as shown in FIG. 5, the operator specifies in the table of the basic dimensions created by the table creation software (see FIG. 1). Step 101) Of the two cell positions, the cell position with the smaller matrix number (cell B
(2) 202) is the first row and first column of the second table, and the cell position (cell D (3) 203) having the larger matrix number is the second cell.
(Step 102 in FIG. 1). Also, (3)
In the tabular conversion method of the database search result according to any one of the above (1) and (2), it is repeatedly used for the heading area of the second table based on the designation of the operator (step 103 in FIG. 1). A repetition heading table (shown in FIG. 7) indicating the head cell position of the heading item and the range to be repeated is created (step 104 in FIG. 1), and the correspondence of the heading item of the first table to the head cell position of the second table At the time of attaching (step 110 in FIG. 1), the repetition & pasting is performed by referring to the repetition heading table and displaying the heading item associated with the head cell position in association with all the cell positions in the repetition range in the second table. An attached data correspondence table is created (step 111 in FIG. 1), and each search result of the first table is referred to the second table with reference to the repeated & pasted data correspondence table. Ri with performing (step 115 in FIG. 1), characterized in. (4) In the method of converting a database search result to a table format according to any one of (1) to (3), the first entry associated with the entry in the second table and the entry area of this entry is provided. Are displayed in association with the heading items of the table (shown in FIG. 10),
First for the heading item in the second table by the operator
All the heading items of the first table are displayed at the display positions of the heading items to be changed based on the instruction to change the heading items of the first table, and the operator selects from all the displayed heading items of the first table. It is characterized in that a heading item in the first table is changed to a heading item in the second table (step 108 in FIG. 1).

[0006]

According to the present invention, the first table, which is the search result of the database, and the second table created by the spreadsheet software are simultaneously displayed on one screen, so that the screen switching is eliminated, and the drag and drop operation is performed. -It is possible to effectively perform designation by a drop operation or the like. Then, by associating the cell positions of each heading item of the first table in the second table with the table, each data of the search result of the database is automatically pasted to the corresponding cell position of the second table. Can be. The width of the heading area of the second table is set to 2
The determination can be made from one cell position, whereby the number of times of association with the heading region can be confirmed in advance, and it is possible to prevent a plurality of search results from being associated with one heading region. In addition, since the association of the contents of the headings repeated in the second table is automatically performed based on the operator's unit designation and range designation, the operator's association operation is facilitated. In addition, by displaying the association result of each heading item in the first and second tables, the operator can easily find an error in the association, and furthermore, when changing the error, Displays all the heading items of the first table, so that it is easy to change to the correct association.

[0007]

Embodiments of the present invention will be described below in detail with reference to the drawings. FIG. 1 is a flowchart showing one embodiment of a method of converting a database search result into a tabular form according to the present invention, and FIG. 2 is a block diagram showing one embodiment of a configuration according to the present invention of a database search system used in the method. The database search system in FIG. 2 includes a server 1, a client 2, and a network 6. Server 1
Is composed of a database management system (hereinafter referred to as DBMS) 3, a magnetic disk 4, and a DB file 5. The client 2 includes a data rearrangement processing unit 8, a data pasting processing unit 10, and a spreadsheet software 11. Be composed.

[0008] The client 2 issues a database search request to the server 1, and the search result 7 is transferred to the client 2. For example, as shown in FIG. 3, the search result 7 is a table in which “district”, “month”, “budget”, and “actual” are fields. It becomes 9. Conversion result 9
Is a spreadsheet software 11 by the data pasting processing unit 10.
Is pasted on the user table 12 as a second table of the present invention, which is a table format created based on the. User Table 12 is
For example, as shown in FIG. 4, the vertical axis is “district” such as “Tokyo” and “Kanagawa”, and “month” such as “April” and “May”.
Is a table format with the horizontal axis.

The processing operation according to the present invention by the database search system having such a configuration will be described with reference to the flowchart of FIG. When a table format such as the user table 12 in FIG. 4 is created by the spreadsheet software 11 in FIG.
Since the cell position of A1 is not always created using the base point, the positions and widths of the vertical heading 200 and the horizontal heading 201 are not constant. For example, the operator designates two cells “cell B2” 202 and “cell D3” 203 in the user table 12 in FIG. 4 in order to clarify the position of the vertical and horizontal headings (Step # 101). This “cell B2” 202
Specifies the base point of the vertical and horizontal headings, and displays "Cell B
X and Y of the two cells of “2” 202 and “cell D3” 203
The widths of the vertical and horizontal headings are determined by substituting the coordinates into the following equations (1) and (2) (step 102).

(Formula 1) Vertical heading width = (X coordinate of data pasting position) − (X coordinate of table format reference position) (Formula 2) Horizontal heading width = (Y coordinate of data pasting position) − (Y coordinate of the reference position of the table format) In this example, the width of the vertical heading = D (4) −B (2) (D is the fourth letter of the alphabet, B is the second letter of the alphabet) by Expression 1, and = 2 According to Equation 2, the width of the horizontal heading = 3-2 = 1. In this manner, the width of the heading region can be determined from the two cell positions, the number of times of association with the heading region can be confirmed in advance, and a plurality of search results can be associated with one heading region. Can be prevented.

After the width of the heading area is determined, a process is performed when the contents of the heading associated with the heading area continue with the same contents repeatedly. That is, as shown in FIG. 6, when the contents of the heading continue repeatedly with the same contents, such as “budget” and “actual result” in “cells C3 and C4” 210, the operator selects the “cell C3 and C4”. "And" cell C4 "are designated as one unit (step 103). When the operator designates two cells in this way, as shown in FIG. 7, a "vertical repetition index table" indicating the cell position and the repetition direction is generated (step 104). When all the repetition of the association of the headline is completed, the process proceeds to the process of associating the headline with the data of the search result (step 105).

First, a search result of a database is associated with each heading in a table format. That is, as shown in FIG. 8, “4” 220 in the search result is replaced with “April” 22
2, and “Tokyo” 221 in the search result is associated with “Tokyo” 223 in a table format by drag and drop, respectively (step 106). By this association, the data of the search result and the contents of the tabular headings are shown in FIG.
Are displayed at the same time as shown in FIG. In FIG. 9, the contents of the heading are “Chiba” 230 and “Saitama” 231, whereas the search result data is “Saitama” 232 and “Chiba”
233 is reversed.

When the operator clicks the button 234, the pull-down menu 24 shown in FIG.
1 is displayed, the operator selects appropriate search result data (in this case, "Chiba" 240), and corrects the arrangement order (step 107). By this association processing, FIG.
As shown in (1), a "vertical heading item correspondence table" in which search results are associated with vertical headings in a table format is generated (step 108). 9 and 10 are examples of a vertical heading, but in the case of a horizontal heading, the same operation is performed as shown in FIG. 12 to associate a search result with a horizontal heading in a table format. A "correspondence table" is generated. In this way, when the association of all the headings is completed, the process proceeds to the association processing of the data of the search result to be pasted (step 109).

For example, as shown in FIG. 13, the data of the search result to be pasted is “100” 250 which is the “budget” of “April” of “Tokyo” of the search result.
To the cell position 252 in the table format, and “95” 251, which is the “result” of “April” of “Tokyo” of the search result, to the cell position 253 in the table format, respectively, by the operator.・ Correspond based on the drop (Step 1
10). Based on this association, for example, a “vertical repeat & paste data correspondence table” is generated in which the vertical repeat headings shown in FIG. 14 are associated with the fields of the search result data to be pasted (step 11).
1). When generating the "vertical repetition & pasted data correspondence table" shown as an example in FIG. 14, refer to the "repetition heading table" shown in FIG. 7 and determine which repetition heading the search result data field corresponds to. Is determined.

For example, data "100" in FIG.
In the case of 250, since the data of the budget field is associated with the cell D3 in the table format in FIGS. 5 and 6, the direction of the heading found in FIG. 7 is “vertical” and the cell position is (C, 3) −
From the information of (C, 4), the headline content on the third line corresponds. Therefore, the search result field is "Budget"
Data has a headline of "Budget" and a cell position of (C,
3) When associating the heading of the horizontal repetition with the field of the search result data to be pasted, a “horizontal repetition & pasting data correspondence table” is generated.

After all the pasting target data have been associated with each other in this manner, the process proceeds to a process for determining the position of the cell to be pasted (step 112). As shown in FIG. 6, in the case of a table format in which repeated items are arranged vertically, cells (cell positions (B, 4)) below "Tokyo" (cell positions (B, 3)) of "district" are Since it is blank, in the “vertical heading item correspondence table” shown in FIG. 11, the cell position (B, 3) −
(B, 4). That is, it is assumed that "Tokyo" has been input for the number of cells of the repeat item specified in FIG. The image is shown in FIG.

In the process of determining the cell position to be pasted, for example, as shown in FIG.
"100" which is data of "budget" with "month" being "4"
Is pasted, the cell position (B, 3)-(B, 4) of "Tokyo" in the "vertical heading item correspondence table" shown in FIG.
And "Budget" cell positions (C, 3), (C, and C) in the "vertical repeat & paste data correspondence table" shown in FIG.
.. (5), (C, 7),... (Logical table operation), the vertical position in the table format is “3”, and “April” in the “horizontal heading item correspondence table” shown in FIG. From the cell position (D, 2), it is calculated that the horizontal position in the table format is “D”. Therefore, the paste destination of the data “100” shown in FIG. 16 is changed to the table format as shown in FIG. "Cell D3"
260, and similarly, the data “105” of “Results” of “Tokyo” and “April” shown in FIG.
It is determined to be “cell D4” 261 in the table format shown in FIG. 7 (step 113). After the association process is repeated and the association is completed (step 114), the search result is pasted in a table format based on the association (step 11).
5).

As described above with reference to FIGS. 1 to 17, in the method of converting a database search result into a tabular form according to the present embodiment, a user creates the database search result data and spreadsheet software. By simply associating cell positions in an arbitrary table format with operations such as drag and drop using a graphical user interface (GUI), it is possible to easily paste database search result data into a table format. This eliminates the need to create a program for rearranging and pasting data in a table format. The present invention is not limited to the embodiment described with reference to FIGS. 1 to 17, and can be variously modified without departing from the gist thereof. For example, in the embodiment, the processing apparatus is assumed to be a client server system in which a database server and a client are separated, but they may be integrated into the same processing apparatus. In the embodiment, the search target is the database, but the SAM file,
It is also possible to use search results from various files such as an ISAM file.

[0019]

According to the present invention, it is possible to easily rearrange the data of a database retrieved from a database into a table format created by spreadsheet software using a graphical user interface without developing a new program. It can be performed by operation, and it is possible to improve work efficiency in work using a database and spreadsheet software.

[Brief description of the drawings]

FIG. 1 is a flowchart showing an embodiment of a method for converting a database search result into a table format according to the present invention.

FIG. 2 is a block diagram showing an embodiment of a configuration according to the present invention of a database search system used for performing a method of converting a database search result into a table format in FIG. 1;

FIG. 3 is an explanatory diagram showing an example of a search result of the database search system in FIG. 2;

FIG. 4 is an explanatory diagram showing an example of a table format created by spreadsheet software in which search results of a database in FIG. 3 are pasted;

FIG. 5 is an explanatory diagram showing an example of a screen for a designation operation of a tabular heading in FIG. 4;

FIG. 6 is an explanatory diagram showing an example of a screen for designating a repetitive heading portion in a table format in FIG. 4;

FIG. 7 is an explanatory diagram showing an example of the configuration of a repetition index table according to the present invention.

FIG. 8 is an explanatory diagram showing an example of a screen for designating an association between a search result of a database and each heading portion in a table format.

FIG. 9 is an explanatory diagram showing an example of a screen on which the correspondence between database search result data and the contents of each heading in a table format is displayed.

FIG. 10 is an explanatory diagram showing an example of a screen for a designation operation of associating database search result data suitable for tabular content in a table format.

FIG. 11 is an explanatory diagram showing a configuration example of a vertical heading item correspondence table according to the present invention.

FIG. 12 is an explanatory diagram showing an example of the configuration of a side heading item correspondence table according to the present invention.

FIG. 13 is an explanatory diagram showing an example of a screen for designating an association between data to be pasted and search results in a database and a table format;

FIG. 14 is an explanatory diagram showing an example of the configuration of a repeated & pasted data correspondence table according to the present invention.

FIG. 15 is an explanatory diagram showing a concept of a table format in the client device in FIG. 2;

FIG. 16 is an explanatory diagram showing search keys of a database search result in the client device in FIG. 2;

17 is an explanatory diagram showing positions of pasted cells in a table format of search keys in FIG. 16;

[Explanation of symbols]

 Reference Signs List 1 server 2 client 3 database management system 4 magnetic disk 5 DB file 6 network 7 search result 8 data rearrangement processing unit 9 conversion result 10 data pasting processing unit 11 spreadsheet software 12 user table 200 vertical heading 201 horizontal heading 202 "cell" "B2" 203 "Cell D3" 210 "Cell C3, C4" 220 "4" 221 "Tokyo" 222 "April" 223 "Tokyo" 230 "Chiba" 231 "Saitama" 232 "Saitama" 233 "Chiba" 234 Button 240 "Chiba" 241 Pull-down menu 250 "100" 251 "95" 252, 253 Tabular cell position 260 "Cell D3" 261 "Cell D4"

──────────────────────────────────────────────────続 き Continuing from the front page (72) Inventor Naomichi Nonaka 1099 Ozenji Temple, Aso-ku, Kawasaki City, Kanagawa Prefecture Inside Hitachi, Ltd.System Development Laboratory Co., Ltd. Hitachi Systems Development Laboratory (72) Inventor Keiichi Nakane 1099 Ozenji Temple, Aso-ku, Kawasaki-shi, Kanagawa Prefecture Hitachi Systems Development Laboratory Co., Ltd. (56) References Tatsuro Kitago, Basic Software Microsoft Windows 3.1 Improves usability And strengthen application cooperation, Nikkei Byte, Japan, Nikkei BP, February 1, 1992, No. 96, pp. 152-156 Shinji Okaya, “File Maker Pro” Utilization Course for Creative Business (Last episode) It works smarter To in order to operate, the Nikkei MAC, Japan, Nikkei BP, December 15, 1993, No. 9, pp. 224-233 Takeyama Masatoshi, Windows3 production! The future of Windows The world of Windows applications, ASCII, Japan, ASCII Corporation, October 1, 1991, Vol. 15, No. 10, pp. 271-282 (58) Fields investigated (Int. Cl. ⁷ , DB name) G06F 17/30 G06F 19/00 G06F 12/00 JICST file (JOIS)

Claims (4)

(57) [Claims] 1. A method according to claim 1, wherein each search result of the first table showing the search result of the database is created by a spreadsheet software.
The first table and the second table are displayed on the same screen, and each heading item of the first table on the same screen and the second table are displayed by an operation such as drag and drop. A heading item correspondence table indicating cell positions of the heading items of the first table in the second table is created based on the correspondence between the heading items of the first table and the first heading table.
At the time of pasting each search result of the table in the second table, the cell position in the second table of each heading item of the first table corresponding to the search result to be pasted is set to the heading item From the correspondence table, the cell position of the paste target in the second table of the search result of the paste target is calculated from the cell position of the read heading item in the second table, and the calculated position is calculated. A table format conversion method for database search results, wherein each search result of the first table is pasted at each cell position. 2. The method according to claim 1, wherein the matrix number is smaller among two cell positions designated by the operator in the table of basic dimensions created by the table creation software. The cell position of the second table is defined as the first row and the first column of the second table, and the cell position of the larger matrix number is defined as the start row start column of the area to which the search result is pasted in the second table. Table format conversion method of the database search result which is the feature. 3. The method according to claim 1, wherein the heading item is used repeatedly in the heading area of the second table based on an operator's specification. A repetition heading table showing the head cell position and the repetition range of the first table is created, and when the heading item of the first table is associated with the head cell position of the second table, by referring to the repetition heading table, A repetition & pasting data correspondence table is created in which the heading items associated with the head cell position are associated with all the cell positions in the repetition range of the second table, and the repetition & pasting data correspondence table is created. A table format conversion method for database search results, wherein each of the search results of the first table is attached to the second table with reference to the table. 4. The method of converting a database search result into a table format according to claim 1, wherein the heading item in the second table and the heading area associated with the heading area of the heading item are set. The heading items of the first table are displayed in association with the heading items of the first table, and all the heading items of the first table are displayed based on an operator's instruction to change the heading items of the first table with respect to the heading items in the second table. Is displayed at the display position of the heading item to be changed, and the heading item selected by the operator from all the displayed heading items of the first table is added to the heading item in the second table.
A table format conversion method for database search results, characterized by changing a heading item of a table.