Process automation system and method employing multi-stage report generation
View Patent ↗The embodiments of the invention described herein employ sophisticated techniques for managing distributed processes in a process automation system. Specifically, one embodiment of the invention implements a general purpose property mechanism in which arbitrary data is attached to any object in the system (e.g., projects, procedures, jobs, job steps, resources, etc), thereby providing a convenient way to configure the system without modifying the underlying program code. In addition, in one embodiment, a three-tier hierarchy of data object is employed: “projects,” “procedures,” and “steps” (or “projects,” “jobs” and “job steps” during runtime). A property may be attached to any object on any tier of the hierarchy to configure that object and (potentially) all of the objects which reference the property. The properties and property sheets may be attached both statically (before runtime) and dynamically (during runtime). Moreover, one embodiment of the invention employs a unique property substitution syntax to allow the value for a particular property to be located and substituted dynamically at runtime. In addition, advanced report generation techniques are described below in which the report generation process is logically separated into a data gathering stage and a report generation stage. The data gathering stage extracts certain specified properties and diagnostic information from each job step. The extracted information is then stored in a highly flexible, reusable data format which is used to create different types of user-configurable reports.
1. A system for generating reports within a process automation system comprising, the system comprising a memory for storing program code and at least one processor for processing the program code to generate a multi-tier, hierarchical organization comprising:
one or more project objects containing data for one or more process automation projects;
one or more procedure objects, each of the procedure objects associated with at least one of the project objects and defining procedures to be executed upon execution of one of the project objects;
one or more step objects, each of the step objects associated with one of the procedure objects, each of the step objects specifying one or more commands to be executed by resources within the process automation system;
wherein the program code, when executed by the processor, causes the additional operations of:
generating attachment data attaching a plurality of properties to the project objects, procedure objects, and step objects, each of the properties having a value associated therewith, wherein at least some of the properties are generated and attached to the project objects, procedure objects, and step objects at runtime, during execution of the project objects, procedure objects, and step objects, respectively;
storing the attached properties with the associated values and attachment data;
receiving a request to execute one or more of the objects;
interpreting the attachment data to identify the properties attached to each of the one or more objects;
executing the one or more of the objects within the process automation system using the values associated with the one or more properties;
generating log data within a log file for each job step comprising an indication of commands which executed during the execution of the job step and results associated with the commands;
generating a post processor module to scan through the log file and responsively generate a first set of properties corresponding to the results;
generating property attachment logic to attach the first set of properties to the lob step following execution; and
providing a report generator to generate one or more reports using the first set of properties.
2. The system as in claim 1 wherein the log file is generated following the execution of each job step.
3. The system as in claim 1 wherein the report generator embeds hyperlinks in the displayed properties of one of the reports, the hyperlinks pointing to a subset of the diagnostics information related to the properties.
4. The system as in claim 1 wherein the results corresponding to the first set of properties include number of compiles, tests failed, tests passed, warnings and errors.
5. The system as in claim 1 wherein, to identify the set of properties, the post processor scans through the log file to identify specific patterns indicating specific properties.
6. The system as in claim 1 further comprising generating diagnostic information in an XML file.
7. The system as in claim 1 wherein post processor module scans through the log file and responsively generates specified diagnostics information in addition to the first set of properties.
8. A method for generating reports within a process automation system comprising:
providing one or more project objects containing data for one or more process automation projects;
providing one or more procedure objects, each of the procedure objects associated with at least one of the project objects and defining procedures to be executed upon execution of one of the project objects;
providing one or more step objects, each of the step objects associated with one of the procedure objects, each of the step objects specifying one or more commands to be executed by resources within the process automation system;
generating attachment data attaching a plurality of properties to the project objects, procedure objects, and step objects, each of the properties having a value associated therewith, wherein at least some of the properties are generated and attached to the project objects, procedure objects, and step objects at runtime, during execution of the project objects, procedure objects, and step objects, respectively;
storing the attached properties with the associated values and attachment data;
receiving a request to execute one or more of the objects;
interpreting the attachment data to identify the properties attached to each of the one or more objects; and
executing the one or more of the objects within the process automation system using the values associated with the one or more properties;
generating log data within a log file for each job step comprising an indication of commands which executed during the execution of the job step and results associated with the commands;
scanning through the log file and responsively generating a first set of properties corresponding to the results; and
generating one or more reports using the first set of properties.
9. The method as in claim 8 wherein the log file is generated following the execution of a job step.
10. The method as in claim 8 further comprising embedding hyperlinks in the displayed properties of one of the reports, the hyperlinks pointing to a subset of the diagnostics information related to the properties.
11. The method as in claim 8 wherein the results corresponding to the first set of properties include number of compiles, tests failed, tests passed, warnings and errors.
12. The method as in claim 8 further comprising:
scanning through the log file to identify specific patterns indicating specific properties to identify the set of properties.
13. The method as in claim 8 further comprising generating diagnostic information in an XML file.
14. The method as in claim 8 further comprising scanning through the log file and responsively generating specified diagnostics information in addition to the first set of properties.
15. A non-propagating machine-readable medium having program code stored thereon which, when executed by a machine, causes the machine to perform the operations of:
providing one or more project objects containing data for one or more process automation projects;
providing one or more procedure objects, each of the procedure objects associated with at least one of the project objects and defining procedures to be executed upon execution of one of the project objects;
providing one or more step objects, each of the step objects associated with one of the procedure objects, each of the step objects specifying one or more commands to be executed by resources within the process automation system;
generating attachment data attaching a plurality of properties to the project objects, procedure objects, and step objects, each of the properties having a value associated therewith, wherein at least some of the properties are generated and attached to the project objects, procedure objects, and step objects at runtime, during execution of the project objects, procedure objects, and step objects, respectively;
storing the attached properties with the associated values and attachment data;
receiving a request to execute one or more of the objects;
interpreting the attachment data to identify the properties attached to each of the one or more objects; and
executing the one or more of the objects within the process automation system using the values associated with the one or more properties;
generating log data within a log file for each job step comprising an indication of commands which executed during the execution of the job step and results associated with the commands;
scanning through the log file and responsively generating a first set of properties corresponding to the results; and
generating one or more reports using the first set of properties.
16. The machine-readable medium as in claim 15 wherein the log file is generated following the execution of a job step.
17. The machine-readable medium as in claim 15 further comprising embedding hyperlinks in the displayed properties of one of the reports, the hyperlinks pointing to a subset of the diagnostics information related to the properties.
18. The machine-readable medium as in claim 15 wherein the results corresponding to the first set of properties include number of compiles, tests failed, tests passed, warnings and errors.
19. The machine-readable medium as in claim 15 comprising additional program code to cause the machine to perform the operations of:
scanning through the log file to identify specific patterns indicating specific properties to identify the set of properties.
20. The machine-readable medium as in claim 15 further comprising generating diagnostic information in an XML file.