WO1997011434A1

WO1997011434A1 - Slip processing method

Info

Publication number: WO1997011434A1
Application number: PCT/JP1995/001882
Authority: WO
Inventors: Rie Kobayashi; Tetsuya Masuishi; Hidehiro Oomae; Fumie Nakano; Kousuke Shindo
Original assignee: Hitachi, Ltd.
Priority date: 1995-09-20
Filing date: 1995-09-20
Publication date: 1997-03-27

Abstract

Using a built-in tool of the invention, the following processes are carried out: a format defining process of creating a data base by generating format structure data from screen data information about slips prepared on a screen on which a spreadsheet program is running, delivering an SQL sentence for building a data base to a data base management system (DBMS) and building a data base; a slip storing process for entering data into the data base from slips carrying data on the screen of the spreadsheet program, and a slip retrieving process for retrieving the data base from a slip carrying a retrieval command on the screen of the program and displaying the retrieval results on the screen. Therefore, a data base can be built from slips prepared by an end user by using a spreadsheet program without designing tables. Handling the slips, as a user interface, prepared by the end user by using a spreadsheet program, without being conscious of tables, the end user can enter data into a data base and retrieve data in units of a slip.

Description

Description Invoice processing method Technical field

The present invention relates to a slip processing method for accessing a database using a slip screen created with spreadsheet software. Background technology

In order to build a database for storing the data of existing slips, it is necessary to use the database functions of a database management system or a data processing system for business processing to manually create slips. You must recognize the format structure of the table when designing the table. As a means for a computer to recognize the format structure of a slip, there is a system that automatically generates a business program by recognizing the format structure from the image data of the slip.

(Japanese Unexamined Patent Publication No. 3-179570) exists. FIG. 27 shows a flow chart of an embodiment of this form processing. In image input 271, the paper on which the format of the form is written is read by the image input device, and in form format recognition 272, the image of the form format is recognized and format information is obtained, and form creation Then, form content data and output data conforming to the form format are created, and in form printing 274, the output form data is reprinted by a printer and stored in a data file. FIG. 28 shows a flow chart of the format definition processing of this system in comparison with this conventional example. In image data input 281, screen information is read from the screen data file of the slip screen, and in format recognition 282, the slip is recognized and format information is obtained, and structure data is created 28. In 3, create the format structure data of the slip, In DB creation 284, a database of the slip format is constructed. Database access tools combined with spreadsheet software provide functions for accessing server databases either as libraries or as independent Windows applications, and macros in spreadsheet software. By using this library and applications in , you can connect to the server, perform searches, perform update processing, and so on. The user interface in this case is the window of the tool displayed on the screen of the spreadsheet software.

For example, in Tenic's "Key SQL", when Microsoft's spreadsheet software "Excel" is launched, the operation menu installed as a macro file is displayed. When this menu is clicked, pull-down menus by function such as "data extraction" and "processing registration" are displayed. If you want to search the database, select “Data Extraction” and a window will appear on the screen where you can enter the search conditions, so select the table you want to search. Then, the field names of the selected table are displayed, so set the data extraction conditions for the selected field name.

East's SkyLink, which is also middleware for Excel, visually displays tables and items that can be searched by dragging and dropping them with the mouse. Specify the items in and set the search conditions. The search results are displayed on the screen in a form format or in the same tabular format as "Exce 1".

In either case, it is essential to specify the database table when searching.

When an end user introduces a personal computer, it is common to start with word processing software and spreadsheet software. Slips created using spreadsheet software is accumulated to some extent and stored in a database, a database management system is used. Japanese Patent Application Laid-Open No. 3-179570 recognizes the structure from the image data of the slip, but it requires a screener and does not have the means to generate a database table. Database tables cannot be generated from spreadsheet software slips, and end-users who do not know how to design tables cannot build databases.

When entering data, it is possible to operate from the screen of the spreadsheet software by using a database access tool that can be handled from spreadsheet software such as "Key SQL". The user must be aware of the database table, because the next screen uses that of the database access tool and must specify the storage destination table.

In data retrieval, it is possible to import data directly from the database into a slip of spreadsheet software by using a database access tool such as "Key SQL". Specifying search conditions, etc. must use the input screen of the Database Access ■ Tool, and the user must be aware of the database tables. Furthermore, in order to specify conditions for obtaining search results in units of slips entered by the user, multiple commands must be combined and described. difficult for

The present invention provides a means for constructing a database from slips created by an end user using spreadsheet software without table design, and a method for creating a slip created by an end user using spreadsheet software by a user. As an interface ace, the purpose is to provide a means of entering data into a database and searching by slip without being aware of tables. Invention disclosure

In order to achieve the above purpose, the screen display information data of the slip created by the user with spreadsheet software is acquired, and from this information, the slash line, characters, etc. are extracted, the structure of the slip is recognized, and the slip format is created. Construct the structural data of the database, generate an SQL statement to create a database table corresponding to the slip created by the user based on this structural data, and execute this SQL statement in the database management system to create the database. After the format definition process to be constructed and the defined slip format are displayed on the screen of the spreadsheet software, and after the user has entered data into each item of the slip, the screen display information data of the slip is acquired, While corresponding to the format structure data created earlier, determine the table and item to store the data, generate the SQL statement to store the data in the database, and execute this SQL statement in the database management system. Stores data in the database Slip storage processing and displays the predefined slip format on the screen of the spreadsheet software, and displays the slip screen display information after the user enters a search command in the slip items. Acquire data, match it with the previously created format structure data, determine the table and item in which the search command was entered, and create a conditional statement to search the database. Create an SQL statement to search the database, execute this SQL statement in the database management system to search the database, and save the results in the form of a slip format using spreadsheet software. Provide an embedded tool for spreadsheet software that has the function of slip search processing displayed on the screen of the

According to the present invention, a database can be automatically constructed from a slip created by an end user using spreadsheet software, and data can be entered into the database using this slip screen. In addition, this By entering a search command using the slip screen, it is possible to search for slips from the database. It eliminates the need to type or enter a search command, greatly improving usability for the end user. Brief description of the drawing

Fig. 1 shows the overall configuration of this system. Fig. 2 is a machine configuration diagram for realizing this system. FIG. 3 is a flowchart of add-in processing. Fig. 4 is an example of a screen of spreadsheet software incorporating this system. FIG. 5 is a diagram showing the data structure of a screen data file. FIG. 6 is a diagram showing an example of the data structure and creation of format structure data. FIG. 7 is a diagram showing an example of how to create a table. FIG. 8 is a diagram showing an example of an SQL statement for creating a table. FIG. 9 is a diagram showing an example of a format recognition result confirmation screen. FIG. 10 is a flow chart of format definition processing. Fig. 11 is a flow chart of slip open processing. FIG. 12 is a diagram showing an example of a slip storage screen of spreadsheet software. FIG. 13 is a diagram showing an example of a slip storage SQL statement. FIG. 14 is a flow chart of slip storage processing. FIG. 15 is a flow chart of DB storage processing. FIG. 16 is a diagram showing an example of a slip search screen of spreadsheet software. FIG. 17 is a diagram showing the specifications of the search command. FIG. 18 is a diagram showing an example of a slip search SQL statement. Fig. 19 is a flow chart of slip search processing. Fig. 20 is a flow chart of slip search processing (continued). Fig. 21 is a diagram showing an example of the screen of the slip search result of the spreadsheet software. Fig. 22 is a front-to-back chart of slip flipping and reprocessing. Figure 23 shows the data structure of format structure data and FIG. 10 is a diagram showing an example of creation (No. 2); Fig. 24 is a flow chart (part 2) of slip storage processing. Fig. 25 shows the overall configuration of the system (Part 2). Fig. 26 is a flow chart (3) of slip storage processing. FIG. 27 is a flow chart of a conventional example. FIG. 28 is a flow chart comparing format definition processing with a conventional example. Best Mode for Carrying Out the Invention

An embodiment of the present invention will now be described in detail with reference to the drawings.

An embodiment of the system according to the invention is shown in FIG. The system shown in FIG. 1 consists of an embedded tool 1, spreadsheet software 2, and database management system (DBMS) 4 provided by the present invention.

Built-in tool 1 includes add-in processing for displaying menus and buttons dedicated to this system on the screen of the spreadsheet software, and 3 creating a database from slips created on the screen of the spreadsheet software. Format definition processing 7, slip storage processing for entering data from the spreadsheet software screen to the database 8, searching the database from the spreadsheet software screen and displaying the results on the spreadsheet software screen It consists of slip search processing 9.

Format definition processing 7 includes data read processing 71 that reads data from the screen data file 5 of the spreadsheet software, format recognition processing 72 that recognizes the format structure from the input data, and recognized format Construct a SQL statement to create a database table based on the data structure, call the DBMS library with it as a parameter to create a database table, and consist of the recognized format structure as its return value. It consists of a DB creation process 73 that outputs the format data 6 .

The slip storage processing 8 is the data read processing 81 that reads data from the screen data file 5 of the spreadsheet software, and reads the format structure data 6. In the stored data acquisition process 8 2, which acquires the input data value from the screen data read earlier, the SQL statement for storing the value in the database is constructed, and the DBMS library is called with this as a parameter to store the data in the database. It consists of DB storage processing 8 3 that stores data in .

Invoice search processing 9 is data reading processing 91 that reads data from the screen data file 5 of the spreadsheet software, reads the format structure data 6, and extracts a database search command from the previously read screen data. A search condition creation process that acquires a database node and creates search conditions for each table. Based on the created search conditions, build an SQL statement for database search, and use it as a parameter to load the DBMS library. It consists of a DB search process 93 that calls up the database and constructs slip data from the resulting records, and a screen display process 94 that displays the search result slip data on the screen of the spreadsheet software.

Fig. 2 shows the hardware configuration of this system. A computer system incorporating spreadsheet software and this system 2 2 , a monitor 2 1 for manipulating screen data, and a hard disk 2 3 for storing format structure data. It is implemented as a client-server system that accesses 26 databases built on 25 hard disks.

Details of the add-in process 3 are shown in FIG. Add-in processing 3 is incorporated as a macro function of the spreadsheet software. First, the spreadsheet software is inquired whether a menu dedicated to this system exists on the screen (31), and if not, the menu is added to the screen (32), and when the menu is selected Set the macro to be executed (33) and display the menu on the screen (34). Next, the spreadsheet software is inquired whether a button dedicated to this system exists (35), and if it does not exist, a button is added to the screen ( 36), and set the macro to be executed when the button is pressed and the image to be pasted on the button (37). If the button has not already been displayed ( 3 8), the button is displayed ( 3 9>. By executing the sheet containing this macro after starting the spreadsheet software, the spreadsheet software A menu and buttons for this system appear on the screen of the boot.

Fig. 4 shows the screen of the spreadsheet software after execution of add-in processing. On the screen 41 of the spreadsheet software, the menu name "T.Rex" 42 and menu 43 dedicated to this system and the button group 44 dedicated to this system are displayed.

Fig. 5 shows the data structure of the screen data file 5 of the spreadsheet software. Each data has 4-byte header information, data ID 501 indicating the data type is stored in the upper 2 bytes, and size 502 of the following data is stored in the lower byte.

The data attribute of the slip format cell recognized by this system is a numerical value or a character string, and it is assumed that the attribute is set at the time of recognition. The structure of the data types required by this system is described below.

( 1 ) Cell Attribute Definition Information 5 0 4

Defines the combination pattern of cell attribute information. The ID name 505 attached to each pattern and the cell attribute information possessed by that pattern are shown. Cell attribute information includes top, bottom, left, and right line widths 506 to 509 (0 if there is no line), data type 510, font 511, and so on.

( 2 ) Numeric cell information 5 1 2

Information about cells that contain numeric data. Cell row position 513, column position 51, numerical data 515, attribute ID (ID name defined in cell attribute definition information) 516 are stored.

( 3 ) Character string cell information 5 1 7

Information for cells containing string data. cell row position 5 1 8 and column position 5 1 9, character string length 5 2 0, character string data 5 2 1, attribute ID (ID name defined in the cell attribute definition information) 5 2 2 are stored.

( ) Empty cell information 5 2 4

Information for cells that do not contain data. Cell row position 525, column position 526, and attribute ID (ID name defined in cell attribute definition information) 527 are stored.

FIG. 6 shows the data structure of the format structure data 6 output from the format definition processing 7 and an example of creation. The following information is stored in the format structure data.

( 1 ) Format name 6 0 4

A unique name within the system obtained by user input. Also used as a file name for format structure data.

(2) Format ID605

A unique value within the system that is set in DB creation processing 7 3.

( 3 ) Number of tables 6 0 6

Number of tables in the database. Non-repeating items are treated as one table. Repeated items shall have one table for each item with the same number of repetitions.

(4) Table name 607

Name of each table. A unique name within the database created in 72 Format Recognition Processing.

( 5 ) Number of repetitions 6 0 8

Number of repetitions for each table. Items without repeats have table values of 1 ₀

( 6 ) Number of items 6 0 9

The number of items each table has. (7) Item name 6 1 0

Field name for each table. A character string entered on the screen of spreadsheet software.

( 8 ) Item cell position 6 1 1

The display position of the item cell on the screen of the spreadsheet software. Expressed by row position (row number) and column position (column number).

( 9 ) Item data type 6 1 2

Type of data type (character type, numeric type, etc.) for each item.

( 1 0 ) Data cell position 6 1 3

The display position on the screen of the spreadsheet software for each data cell corresponding to the item. Expressed by row position (row number) and column position (column number).

There is one header information in the format, the information 614 for each table is generated for the number of tables, and the information 615 for each item is generated for the number of items per table.

If a slip 601 on the screen of a spreadsheet software is input, the format structure data, which is the output of the format definition process 7, is a collection of header information and non-repeating items. Table information for each item in the header table 6 1 4, Information for each item in the header table 6 1 5, Table information for each item in the detail table with 3 repetitions 6 1 6, Table information for each item in the detail table 6 Consists of 17.

Figure 7 shows how to create a database table. As mentioned above, one table consists of items with the same number of repetitions. From document 701 two tables "header table" 702 and "details table" 703 are generated. The same format ID is given to these two tables, and the format ID and each table name are stored in the first table storage table 704.

FIG. 8 shows the SQL statement for creating the table shown in FIG. 8 0 1 creates the header table, 802 creates the detail table, 803 stores the format ID and header table in the format ID storage table, and 804 stores the format ID and the detail table. Format] Store in the D storage table.

Fig. 9 shows a format recognition result confirmation screen. When the format recognition process 72 finishes, the recognized format and data type are displayed on the screen for confirmation from the user. In the data cell 9 0 2 of the recognition result slip, there is a row of Xs 7 04 indicating that it is a character string type, a row of 9s 9 0 5 that indicates that it is a numeric type, a numeric value with a currency symbol and a comma separated The character string 906 indicating that it is a type and the character string 907 indicating that it is a date type are displayed. Furthermore, a confirmation dialog 903 is displayed, and if the user presses the "Yes" button, a database will be created in this format. If the recognition result is different from the user's intention and the database is not to be created, press the "Cancel" button to return to the initial screen.

FIG. 10 shows details of the format definition processing 7. FIG. In the format definition process 7, as shown in Fig. 4, an empty slip is created on the screen of the spreadsheet software (45), and the menu or button dedicated to this system "Format definition" is selected. When selected (4 6), format definition processing 7 is started, a dialog similar to Save As is displayed for the currently active window on the spreadsheet software screen, and a format name is displayed. User input is requested and obtained (7 1 1). Using the obtained format name as the file name, create a screen data file of the active window under the environment of this system (712). Open this file (7 1 3) and repeat the following process until the end of the file (7 1 4).

(1) Read 4 bytes from the file (7 1 5).

(2) Check the ID in the upper 2 bytes of the above 4 bytes and perform the following processing. 1 Divide (7 1 6). The value of the lower 2 bytes of the above 4 bytes is the data size to be read in the following processing.

(a) Cell attribute definition information 504: Reads the combination pattern of cell attributes used on the slip screen and the corresponding attribute ID and stores them as internal information (717).

( ) String cell information 5 1 7 : Read the cell position (row number, column number) of the cell where the string is set, the length and substance of the string set in that cell, the attribute ID, and Add to the internal cell-by-cell information ( 7 1 8).

(c) Empty cell information 524: Read the cell position (row number, column number) and attribute ID of the cell in which data is not set, and add it to the internal cell unit information (719).

(d) Others: Skip information size (720).

After reading the file, close the file (7 2 1). Next, analyze the internal cell information added with the read information. A cell that has a character string and has ^ lines at the bottom, top, bottom, left, and right is regarded as an item cell (7 2 2). In addition, the sequence of cells with no data that have a line below or above, below, left, and right adjacent to this item cell is regarded as the data cell for this item, and the number of repetitions of the item is obtained (7 2 3). . Group items with the same number of repetitions and specify the table name (7 2 4).

Open a new window, load the previously created screen data file, display it (725), and display the data attribute at the cell position recognized as the data cell. The data attribute is a string of X's for character type and a string of 9's for numeric type, and if the display attribute is set, it is also displayed. Furthermore, a confirmation dialog is displayed (725), the user is asked to confirm, and if the user presses the "yes" button, the process proceeds to the next step (726). When the user presses the "Cancel" button (726), the above screen data file delete the file (7 2 7) and terminate the process.

Next, a format ID unique to the DBMS is set using the Time function of the DBMS (73I). SQL statements (801, 802) for creating database tables based on table names, item names, data types, etc., and SQL statements (803, 803) for registering format IDs and corresponding tables 04) is constructed (732), and the DBMS library is called using this as a parameter (733).

Furthermore, format structure data 6 is constructed from the format name, format ID, table name, item name, data type, etc., and a format name is assigned to this system environment ("Format name .fiat") outputs ( 7 3 4 ).

In both slip storage process 8 and slip search process 9, it is necessary to have the user create a slip as data on the screen of the spreadsheet software before starting each process. For this reason, a function is provided to specify the format and open an empty slip for use by the user. When the menu dedicated to this system or the button ``open sheet'' 47 shown in FIG. 4 is selected, the process shown in FIG. 11 is started. First, a list of already defined formats is displayed on the screen of the spreadsheet software (101). When the user selects the format he/she wishes to process from this list, the format name of the selected format is selected from the internal table and stored (102). A new window is opened on the screen of the spreadsheet software (103), and the screen data file stored under this system environment under the format name is read and displayed (104).

Figure I2 shows the slip storage screen. Fill in the data in the blank slip opened on the screen of the spreadsheet software by the method shown in Fig. 11 (111), and select "Store slip" from the menu or button dedicated to this system (11 2), Slip storage process 8 starts.

FIG. 13 shows the SQL statement for storing the data of slip 111 in the database. The DB storage processing 83 calls the DBMS library with this SQL statement as a parameter to store the data in the database. In the header table at 1 2 1, the slip ID uniquely set in DBMS in this system and the value of each item set on the screen (Minato-ku, Tokyo, Kondo Shoten, 45 00, 112, 95/6/ 5) store. Since 3 rows of data are set in the items with repetition corresponding to the detail table, the SQL statements 122 to 124 corresponding to each are added to the detail table, slip D and each data. — stores data.

FIG. 14 shows the details of the slip storage process 8. FIG. When the slip storage process is started, first, a screen data file of the active window on the screen of the spreadsheet software is created temporarily under this system environment (811). Open this file (8 1 2), repeat the following process until the end of the file (8 1 3).

(1) Read 4 bytes from the file (81).

(2) Check [D] in the upper 2 bytes of the above 4 bytes and distribute to the following processing (815). The value of the lower 2 bytes of the above 4 bytes is the data size read in the following process.

(a) Cell attribute definition information 504: Read the combination pattern of cell attributes used on the slip screen and the corresponding attribute ID and store them as internal information (816).

(b) Character string cell information 5 1 7 : Read the cell position (row number, column number) of the cell where the character string is set, the length and substance of the character string set in that cell, the attribute ID, and Add to the internal cell-by-cell information (8 1 7). (c) Numeric cell information 5 1 2 : Read the cell position (row number, column number) of the cell where the number is set, the number set in that cell, the attribute ID, and the internal cell unit information Add to (8 1 8) .

(d) Others: Skip information size (819).

When the file has finished reading, close the file and delete it from temporary (820).

Next, from the format name 102 memorized when the slip was opened, the format structure data corresponding to this format is read (821). The cell position of the first data cell of the first item in the first table is obtained from the read format structure (822), and so on until the end of the data (823), each table Get the data set in the data cell from all cell positions of all data cells in the order of items for (824). FIG. 15 shows the details of the DB storage processing 83. First, a slip ID unique to the target DBMS is set using the Time function of the DBMS (831), and the following processing is repeated until the end of the table to be stored (832). (1) Get the table name (833).

(2) Repeat the following processing until the end of the data to be stored in the relevant table (834).

(a) Get the value of the data cell of the one-line sentence (8 3 5).

( b ) Store data from table name, item name and data cell value

Construct SQL statements (121-124) (836).

(c) Call the SQL Server library with the above SQL statement as a parameter (837).

Fig. 16 shows the slip search screen. Enter the search command (151) in the empty slip opened on the screen of the spreadsheet software by the method shown in Fig. 11, and select the menu dedicated to this system or the button "Search slip" ( 1 5 2 ) , slip search processing 9 starts.

Fig. 17 shows search commands used in slip searches of this system. In this system, when conditional expressions are written for multiple items, they are all regarded as 〇R conditions. If a conditional expression is written on different lines of the same item in an item with multiple lines, the search results will be displayed for documents that have lines that satisfy the two search conditions at the same time in the same document. Set the conditions in the 1st and 2nd lines of the item ``Product name and specification'' in the table part 153 of slip 151 in Fig. 16. In this case, the search result shown in Fig. 21 is obtained. The expected slip 202 has both a record of "pencil" and a record of "eraser" in the item "product name and specification" of table part 205.

FIG. 18 shows the database search SQL statement corresponding to the slip 151 in FIG. The slip search method first searches for slip IDs that match the search conditions, acquires all the data of the slip IDs obtained as a result, and constructs a transmission. The SQL statement for searching slip ID is as follows for each table.

select distinct slip I D from tag *nore name where condition statement slip 1 5 The conditional statement for the header table of 1 is to connect the search command for the item name "address" and the search command for the item name "total amount" with "OR". (171). In the conditional statement for the detail table, two search commands are set in the item name "product name and standard", but these are connected with "AND",

select distinct document I D from detail table——funore where

(Product name and standard = "Pencil") AND (Product name and standard = "Eraser") will result in a semantic error. In this case, an alias is assigned to the detail table, and an SQL statement is constructed to search for items with the same slip ID that satisfy the above conditions (172). DBMS with these SQL statements as parameters Issue the SQL statement 173 to get all the data in the header table and the SQL statement 174 to get all the data in the detail table for all the slip IDs found by calling the library Get invoice data. 19 and 20 show the details of the slip retrieval process. When the slip search process is started, first, a screen data file of the active window on the screen of the spreadsheet software is created temporarily under this system environment (911). Open this file (9 1 2), repeat the following process until the end of the file (9 1 3).

(1) Read 4 bytes from the file (914).

(2) Check the ID of the upper 2 bytes of the above 4 bytes and distribute to the following processing (915). The value of the lower 2 bytes of the above 4 bytes is the data size read in the following processing.

(a) Cell attribute definition information 504: Read the combination pattern of cell attributes used on the slip screen and the corresponding attribute ID and store them as internal information (916).

(b) Character string cell information 5 1 7 : Read the cell position (row number, column number) of the cell where the character string is set, the length and substance of the character string set in that cell, the attribute ID, and Add to the internal cell-by-cell information (9 1 7).

(c) Numerical cell information 5 1 2: Reads the cell position (row number, column number) of the cell where the numerical value is set, the numerical value set in that cell, the attribute ID, and the internal cell unit information Add to (9 1 8).

(d) Others: Skip information size (9 1 9).

When the file has finished reading, close the file and delete it from temporary (920).

Next, read the format structure data corresponding to this format from the format name 102 that was stored when the slip was opened (92 1

1). Get the cell position of the first data cell of the first item in the first table from the read format structure (9 2 2), and so on until the end of the data (9 2 3), and for each table The search command set in the data cell is obtained from all cell positions of all data cells in order (924). After obtaining the search command for each cell, follow the steps below to create a search condition statement for each table (926).

(1) Search commands for each item in a non-repeating table are enclosed in parentheses ( ) and connected with the " OR " command.

(2) For a table with repetition, each search command for the same item is enclosed in parentheses ( ) and connected with the A ND command, which is regarded as a search command for each item. Then each itemized search command is enclosed in parentheses

Surround them with ( ) and connect them with the " OR " command.

Next, based on the table name and the conditional statement for each table, construct an SQL statement for document ID search that matches the search condition (931), and use this SQL statement as a parameter to create a DBMS library (932). When the search result is returned, repeat the following process until the end of the slip ID of the search result (933).

(1) Based on the slip ID, construct an SQL statement that acquires each data of the slip (934).

(2) Call the DBMS library with this SQL statement as a parameter (935).

(3) Store the search results in pairs of data cell positions and data values for each slip ID (936).

The SQL statement for retrieving slip ID is as follows for each table. select distinct document ID from tape name where conditional statement The above "conditional statement" is based on the conditional statement for each table created earlier. If an AND statement is written for the same item in the same table, define the aliases of the table for the number of conditions that are connected by AND, and under the condition that all slip IDs are the same, separate each item. Describe conditions by table name. The SQL statement for acquiring slip data is as follows for all acquired slip IDs.

select * from table name where slip I D = acquisition slip I D Next, open a new window on the screen of the spreadsheet software (94

1) Read the format screen data file stored in this system environment under the format name (942). From the data in the search results, get the first data of the first slip and the display position on the screen (9 4 3). The following processing is repeated until the data of the first slip is completed (944).

(1) Call the screen display command of the spreadsheet software with the cell position and data as parameters and display them on the screen (945).

(2) Get the next data value and display position (946).

Fig. 21 shows the screen 201 of the spreadsheet software for the search results. Initially, the first retrieved slip is displayed as Sheet 1 (202). To see other slips, the user clicks tag 203 attached to the bottom of the sheet. For example, if you want to display Sheet 3 (the third retrieved slip), click tag 204 labeled Sheet 3. At this time, the slip flipping process starts in this system.

Fig. 22 shows the slip flipping process. When the user clicks the tag of a sheet that is not displayed, move the screen contents of the currently displayed sheet to the specified sheet position and clear the contents of the data cell (211) . Next, the first data of the designated slip and the display position on the screen are acquired from the data of the search results (212). The following processing is repeated until the data of the designated slip is completed (213). (1) Call the screen display command of the spreadsheet software with the cell position and data as parameters and display it on the screen (21).

(2) Get the next data value and display position (215).

Next, as another example, a case will be described in which format recognition is also performed in the slip storage process 8, and slips with the same structure are stored in the same database even if the apparent formats are different.

Slip 2301 in Fig. 23 has a different visual format from slip 601 in Fig. 6, but the structure of the format structure data is different in the number of repetitions of data cells in the detail table. are identical except for The database created from this slip 2301 is similar to that shown in FIG. Therefore, the data of these two slips can be stored in the same database. In order to store the data of the slip shown in Fig. 23 in the database created in the format shown in Fig. 7, the sheet is not opened before the storage process.

FIG. 24 shows the details of the processing corresponding to the slip storage processing 8 in this embodiment. The stored data acquisition process 82 is replaced with 84 in the figure. After completing the data reading process 81 for acquiring information from the screen data file, the item cell is recognized from this information (841). The recognition method is as follows: Format definition processing 7 Format recognition processing 7 2 Judgment method based on lines and character strings 7 2 2 is not sufficient, so ask the user to shade the items. to decide. After recognizing an item cell, consider the cell surrounded by lines or with a lower line adjacent to it as a data cell, and obtain the cell position and repetition number (8 4 2). Create a subset of the format structure data with the following information (843).

( 1 ) Number of tables 2 3 0 6

( 2 ) The following information for each table

(a) Number of repetitions 2 3 0 8 (b) Number of items 2 3 0 9

(c) Item name 2 3 1 0

(d) data type 2 3 1 2

Next, one of the predefined formats is displayed (844) so that the user can specify in which format the data should be stored. Reads (845) the format structure data of the format selected by the user. Only the above items are compared between the structure data created in 843 and the read structure data (846), and if they match, proceed to the next process, and if they do not match, the slip storage process ends.

Get the data cell value corresponding to the item name from the screen data file (8 4 7). In order to confirm with the user the storage of slips that look different, a new window is opened, the screen data file in the format specified by the user is read and displayed, and the data cell is retrieved with 8 4 7. display the data value (848). If the number of repetitions is different, make it blank or cut it in the middle according to the screen display. At the same time, a confirmation dialog is displayed (848), and if the user presses the "Yes" button (849), DB storage processing 83 is executed, and if a button other than "Yes" is pressed, slip storage processing exit.

Furthermore, as another embodiment, FIG. 25 shows a system in which the format definition process 7 and the slip storage process 8 are the same process. In this system, the format is not defined, but the format is recognized in the stored data acquisition process 85 of the data storage process 8, and compared with the defined format. Store the data in the format database, and if there are all mismatches, create a new format database and store the data in that database.

FIG. 25 shows the details of the stored data acquisition processing 85 of this embodiment. screen display After completing the data reading process 81 for acquiring information from one data file, the item cell is recognized from this information (851). As for the recognition method, since the method 722 of judging by the ^ line and the character string of the format definition processing 72 of the format recognition processing 722 is not sufficient, the user is allowed to shade the item cell for judgment. After recognizing an item cell, consider the cell surrounded by lines or with an underline adjacent to it as a data cell, and obtain the cell position and repetition number (852). Create a subset of the format structure data (853) with the following information:

( 1 ) Number of tables 2 3 0 6

( 2 ) The following information for each table

(a) Number of repetitions 2 3 0 8

(b) Number of items 2 3 0 9

(c) Item name 2 3 1 0

(d) data type 2 3 1 2

Next, the first format structure data of the defined format is read (854), and if it is not the end of the defined format, the structure data created in 855, 853 and the structure data read are compared (856), and if they match, proceed to the next process; if they do not match, read the next format structure data (857), and return to 855. If there is no matching format structure data, a dialog similar to Save As is displayed to request the user to enter the format name, acquire it (858), and save the acquired format name to the file. Create a screen data file for the active window under the environment of this system as a name (859), execute DB creation processing 73 to create a database and format structure data, and create read the formatted structure data (860).

After loading the format structure data, select the item from the screen data file. Get the value of the data cell corresponding to the name (8 6 1). In order to confirm the slip storage format with the user, a new window is opened, the screen data file of the read format is read and displayed, and the data values obtained in 861 are entered in the data cells. is displayed, and at the same time a confirmation dialog is displayed (862), and if the user presses the "Yes" button (863), DB storage processing 83 is executed, and if a button other than "Yes" is pressed End the slip storage process. Industrial applicability

As described above, according to the present invention, a database can be constructed from slips created with spreadsheet software without table design, thereby facilitating construction of a user's business processing system. In addition, by using this slip as a user interface, data can be stored in the database, and a search command can be specified to search for a batch of slips. It is effective in improving the efficiency of clerical work because it becomes possible.

Claims

Claims in Amendment [Accepted by the International Bureau on February 2, 1996 (02.02.96): Claims 2 and 3 as originally filed have been withdrawn; Claims 1 and 3 as originally filed 4-6 have been amended. (3 pages) ]

1. (After correction) In the method of processing slips handled in administrative work by computer,

(1) Data read processing for reading the screen display data of a slip created with a spreadsheet software, which has an item cell that is a character string area with a dotted line and a data cell that is an empty area with a dotted line adjacent to it. ,

(2) format structure recognition processing for recognizing item cell names, item cell positions, data cell positions, and data cell data types from the read screen display data, and allowing the user to confirm the recognition results;

(3) Based on the above information, items with the same number of repetitions are grouped together to create a single database table, and the table name, item cell name, item cell position, data cell position, data cell data type, etc. a DB creation process that creates format structure data having

(4) a data reading process for reading the screen display data of the slip with the data entered on the spreadsheet software into the data cell of the slip recognized by the process of (2);

(5) Stored data acquisition processing for reading the item names and data cell positions from the format structure data output by the processing of (3), and acquiring the data cell values from the previously read screen display data;

(6) DB storage processing for storing data in the database created by the processing of (3);

(7) a data reading process of reading the screen display data of the search slip for which the search command was manually entered on the spreadsheet software into the data cell of the slip recognized by the process of (2);

(8) From the format structure data output by the processing in (3)

Amended paper (Article 19) a search condition creation process that reads the item name and data cell position, acquires the data cell search command from the previously read screen display data, and constructs the database search condition;

(9) DB search processing for searching the database created by the processing of (3) with the search conditions and displaying all slip data that match the search conditions;

A slip processing method characterized by comprising:

2. (Deleted)

3. (Deleted)

4. (After amendment) In the slip processing method described in claim 1,

In the process (3), an item called slip ID, which is uniquely set in the data space for each slip, is created in the data space table. set a unique slip ID and store it in the table, and in the process of (9), first search for slip IDs that match the search conditions, then acquire all records with the corresponding slip IDs and reconstructing the slip format.

5. (After amendment) In the slip processing method described in claim 1,

The processing in (5) extracts items from the screen display data of the slip that has an item cell with an IP line and a data cell with a ¾ line with a different attribute from the adjacent item cell read by the process in (4). Recognize the cell name, item cell position, data cell position, and data type of the data cell, read the item cell name and data type from the format structure data output by the process of (3), and extract the data from the screen display data. A slip processing method characterized by having a stored data acquisition process for comparing with acquired information, and if the information is the same, it is regarded as having the same format, and a data cell value is acquired from previously read screen display data.

Amended paper (Article 19) law.

6. (After amendment) In the slip processing method described in claim 1,

(10) A form screen created with spreadsheet software that has item cells, which are character string areas with thunderlines, and data cells, which are data areas that have IP lines with display attributes different from those of adjacent item cells. a data reading process for reading display data;

(11) Recognize the item cell name, item cell position, data cell position, and data cell data type from the loaded screen display data, and extract all the fields output by the process in (3) or the process described later. Reads the item cell names and data types for the single-mat structure data, compares them with the information obtained from the screen display data, and if they are the same, regards them as having the same format, and extracts the data cells from the previously read screen display data. If the same format does not exist, create format structure data, based on it, create a single data space table with the same number of repetitions, and read it first. Stored data acquisition processing for acquiring data cell values from screen display data;

(12) DB storage processing for storing data in the data space created by the processing of (12) (3) or the above processing;

A slip processing method characterized by comprising:

Amended paper (Article 19)