SYSTEM AND METHOD FOR VIEWING SELECTED DESCENDANT NODES IN A TREE HIERARCHY DISPLAYED IN TABULAR FORM
A system, method, and computer program product for automatically summarizing selections in a hierarchical data tree. Embodiments display a table with at least one entry, corresponding to a level of a branch of a tree, representing a node and comprising a node descriptor, a node selection status indicator, and a summary of selected descendant nodes present. A user may toggle a node selection status via the node selection status indicator, which visually denotes a node selection status is one of selected, unselected, and mixed, according to the number of selected descendant nodes present. The summary of selected descendant nodes comprises a list of descendant node descriptors that summarize an ordered set of nodes between a current node and a lowest level selected node. Either navigation to an entry or modification of a node selection status triggers a propagation of node property updates.
1 . A computer-implemented method for summarizing selections in a hierarchical data tree, comprising:
displaying a table with at least one entry, corresponding to a level of at least one branch of a hierarchical data tree, with each entry representing a node and comprising a node descriptor, a node selection status indicator, and a summary of selected descendant nodes present; and
selectively toggling a node selection status according to user interaction with the node selection status indicator.
2 . The method of claim 1 wherein the table comprises a single column with at least one row.
3 . The method of claim 1 wherein the node descriptor comprises a text field.
4 . The method of claim 1 wherein the node selection status indicator visually denotes a node selection status is one of selected, unselected, and mixed, according to a number of selected descendant nodes present.
5 . The method of claim 4 wherein the selection status indicator visually denotes the node selection status using at least one of: shape, shading, color, and marking.
6 . The method of claim 1 wherein the summary of selected descendant nodes comprises a list of descendant node descriptors and separator characters that summarize an ordered set of nodes between a current node and a lowest level selected node.
7 . The method of claim 1 wherein the entry further comprises a navigation link that enables display of a second entry representing a descendant node upon navigation link activation.
8 . The method of claim 1 wherein at least one of navigation to an entry and modification of a node selection status triggers a propagation of node property updates, including node selection status and summary calculation, to descendant nodes.
9 . The method of claim 1 wherein a predetermined election that optimal performance is not essential triggers a propagation of node property updates, including node selection status and summary calculation, to ancestor nodes.
10 . A non-transitory computer readable medium storing instructions that, when executed by a processor, perform a method for summarizing selections in a hierarchical data tree, the method comprising:
displaying a table with at least one entry, corresponding to a level of at least one branch of a hierarchical data tree, with each entry representing a node and comprising a node descriptor, a node selection status indicator, and a summary of selected descendant nodes present; and
selectively toggling a node selection status according to user interaction with the node selection status indicator.
11 . The computer readable medium of claim 10 wherein the table comprises a single column with at least one row.
12 . The computer readable medium of claim 10 wherein the node descriptor comprises a text field.
13 . The computer readable medium of claim 10 wherein the node selection status indicator visually denotes a node selection status is one of selected, unselected, and mixed, according to a number of selected descendant nodes present.
14 . The computer readable medium of claim 13 wherein the selection status indicator visually denotes the node selection status using at least one of: shape, shading, color, and marking.
15 . The computer readable medium of claim 10 wherein the summary of selected descendant nodes comprises a list of descendant node descriptors and separator characters that summarize an ordered set of nodes between a current node and a lowest level selected node.
16 . The computer readable medium of claim 10 wherein the entry further comprises a navigation link that enables display of a second entry representing a descendant node upon navigation link activation.
17 . The computer readable medium of claim 10 wherein at least one of navigation to an entry and modification of a node selection status triggers a propagation of node property updates, including node selection status and summary calculation, to descendant nodes.
18 . The computer readable medium of claim 10 wherein a predetermined election that optimal performance is not essential triggers a propagation of node property updates, including node selection status and summary calculation, to ancestor nodes.
19 . A system for summarizing selections in a hierarchical data tree, comprising:
a processor executing instructions to:
display a table with at least one entry, corresponding to a level of at least one branch of a hierarchical data tree, with each entry representing a node and comprising a node descriptor, a node selection status indicator, and a summary of selected descendant nodes present; and
selectively toggling a node selection status according to user interaction with the node selection status indicator.
20 . A system for summarizing selections in a hierarchical data tree, comprising:
means for displaying a table with at least one entry, corresponding to a level of at least one branch of a hierarchical data tree, with each entry representing a node and comprising a node descriptor, a node selection status indicator, and a summary of selected descendant nodes present; and
means for selectively toggling a node selection status according to user interaction with the node selection status indicator.
21 . A computer-implemented method for summarizing selections in a hierarchical data tree, comprising:
building an initial hierarchical data tree in a memory by, for each selection criteria row:
creating an instance of a node in a memory;
if a parent ID property of the node is not null, looking up a parent node instance in the memory and setting a pointer to it as a property of the node;
adding a node pointer to an array of children in the parent node;
determining a node status by:
a) if the node is not a leaf node, visiting each child and setting its status to its parent's status; and
b) repeating step a) recursively until reaching the leaf node; and
displaying a table with at least one entry, corresponding to a level of at least one branch of the hierarchical data tree, with each entry representing the node and comprising a node descriptor, a node selection status indicator, and a summary of selected descendant nodes present.
22 . A computer-implemented method for summarizing selections in a hierarchical data tree, comprising:
building an initial hierarchical data tree in a memory; and
according to user interaction with a node selection status indicator:
toggling a node selection status; and
propagating node property updates to descendant nodes by, for each descendant node:
a) setting its status to its parent's status; and
b) repeating step a) recursively until reaching a leaf node; and
displaying a table with at least one entry, corresponding to a level of at least one branch of the hierarchical data tree, with each entry representing a node and comprising a node descriptor, the node selection status indicator, and a summary of selected descendant nodes present.