Granted Patent B2

US 10,528,584 · App. 16/220,240 · Granted Jan 7, 2020

Inventors: Chris Stolte (Seattle, WA); Diane L. Tang (Palo Alto, CA); Patrick Hanrahan (Portola Valley, CA)

Assignee: The Board of Trustees of the Leland Stanford Jr. University

G06F16/248G06F3/0482G06F3/04842G06F3/04847G06F16/212G06F16/221G06F16/2282G06F16/252G06F16/282G06F16/283G06F17/245G06F17/246G06F16/26G06F2216/03Y10S707/954Y10S707/956Y10S707/959Y10S707/99942Y10S707/99943Y10S707/99944Y10S707/99945

Abstract

Claims (78)

1. A method, comprising:

at a computer having a display, one or more processors, and memory storing one or more programs configured for execution by the one or more processors:

displaying a graphical user interface that comprises:

a first region with a plurality of fields from a multidimensional database that includes at least one data hierarchy;

a second region with a plurality of shelves; and

a third region for displaying one or more data visualizations;

receiving user actions to: (i) associate a first field of the plurality of fields with a first shelf of the plurality of shelves; and (ii) associate a second field of the plurality of fields with a second shelf of the plurality of shelves;

generating, in accordance with the received user actions, a plurality of data marks to be displayed in a data visualization, each data mark corresponding to a respective retrieved tuple of data from the multidimensional database and each retrieved tuple including the first and second fields, wherein:

each data mark has an x-position defined according to data for the first field in the respective tuple; and

each data mark has a y-position defined according to data for the second field in the respective tuple; and

displaying the data visualization in the third region, wherein the data visualization includes the plurality of data marks.

2. The method of claim 1 , wherein displaying the graphical user interface further comprises displaying a fourth region that includes a third shelf.

3. The method of claim 2 , further comprising, before generating the plurality of data marks to be displayed in the data visualization:

receiving an additional user action to associate a third field of the plurality of fields with the third shelf, the third shelf defining colors for data marks, wherein:

each retrieved tuple further includes the third field; and

each data mark has a color assigned according to data for the third field in the respective tuple.

4. The method of claim 3 , wherein:

the data for the third field in the respective tuple includes a plurality of discrete ordinal values; and

the color assigned to each of the data marks is assigned according to a respective ordinal value from the plurality of discrete ordinal values.

5. The method of claim 3 , wherein:

the data for the third field in the respective tuple includes a continuous range of quantitative values; and

the color assigned to each of the data marks is assigned according to a respective quantitative value from the continuous range of quantitative values.

6. The method of claim 2 , further comprising, before generating the plurality of data marks to be displayed in the data visualization:

receiving an additional user action to associate a third field of the plurality of fields with the third shelf, the third shelf defining sizes for data marks, wherein:

each retrieved tuple further includes the third field; and

each data mark has a size assigned according to data for the third field in the respective tuple.

7. The method of claim 2 , further comprising, before generating the plurality of data marks to be displayed in the data visualization:

receiving an additional user action to associate a third field of the plurality of fields with the third shelf, the third shelf defining shapes for data marks, wherein:

each retrieved tuple further includes the third field; and

each data mark has a shape assigned according to data for the third field in the respective tuple.

8. The method of claim 1 , wherein the third region is at least partially adjacent to the second region.

9. The method of claim 1 , wherein receiving the user actions comprises detecting two distinct drag-and-drop operations.

10. A computer system for generating data visualizations, comprising:

a display;

one or more processors;

memory; and

one or more programs stored in the memory and configured for execution by the one or more processors, the one or more programs comprising instructions for:

displaying a graphical user interface that comprises:

a first region with a plurality of fields from a multidimensional database that includes at least one data hierarchy;

a second region with a plurality of shelves; and

a third region for displaying one or more data visualizations;

receiving user actions to: (i) associate a first field of the plurality of fields with a first shelf of the plurality of shelves; and (ii) associate a second field of the plurality of fields with a second shelf of the plurality of shelves;

generating, in accordance with the received user actions, a plurality of data marks to be displayed in a data visualization, each data mark corresponding to a respective retrieved tuple of data from the multidimensional database and each retrieved tuple including the first and second fields, wherein:

each data mark has an x-position defined according to data for the first field in the respective tuple; and

each data mark has a y-position defined according to data for the second field in the respective tuple; and

displaying the data visualization in the third region, wherein the data visualization includes the plurality of data marks.

11. The computer system of claim 10 , wherein displaying the graphical user interface further comprises displaying a fourth region that includes a third shelf.

12. The computer system of claim 11 , wherein the one or more programs further comprise instructions for, before generating the plurality of data marks to be displayed in the data visualization:

receiving an additional user action to associate a third field of the plurality of fields with the third shelf, the third shelf defining colors for data marks, wherein:

each retrieved tuple further includes the third field; and

each data mark has a color assigned according to data for the third field in the respective tuple.

13. The computer system of claim 12 , wherein:

the data for the third field in the respective tuple includes a plurality of discrete ordinal values; and

the color assigned to each of the data marks is assigned according to a respective ordinal value from the plurality of discrete ordinal values.

14. The computer system of claim 12 , wherein:

the data for the third field in the respective tuple includes a continuous range of quantitative values; and

the color assigned to each of the data marks is assigned according to a respective quantitative value from the continuous range of quantitative values.

15. The computer system of claim 11 , wherein the one or more programs further comprise instructions for, before generating the plurality of data marks to be displayed in the data visualization:

receiving an additional user action to associate a third field of the plurality of fields with the third shelf, the third shelf defining sizes for data marks, wherein:

each retrieved tuple further includes the third field; and

each data mark has a size assigned according to data for the third field in the respective tuple.

16. The computer system of claim 11 , wherein the one or more programs further comprise instructions for, before generating the plurality of data marks to be displayed in the data visualization:

receiving an additional user action to associate a third field of the plurality of fields with the third shelf, the third shelf defining shapes for data marks, wherein:

each retrieved tuple further includes the third field; and

each data mark has a shape assigned according to data for the third field in the respective tuple.

17. The computer system of claim 10 , wherein the third region is at least partially adjacent to the second region.

18. The computer system of claim 10 , wherein receiving the user actions comprises detecting two distinct drag-and-drop operations.

19. A non-transitory computer-readable storage medium storing one or more programs configured for execution by a computer system having a display, one or more processors, and memory, the one or more programs comprising instructions for:

displaying a graphical user interface that comprises:

a first region with a plurality of fields from a multidimensional database that includes at least one data hierarchy;

a second region with a plurality of shelves; and

a third region for displaying one or more data visualizations;

receiving user actions to: (i) associate a first field of the plurality of fields with a first shelf of the plurality of shelves; and (ii) associate a second field of the plurality of fields with a second shelf of the plurality of shelves;

generating, in accordance with the received user actions, a plurality of data marks to be displayed in a data visualization, each data mark corresponding to a respective retrieved tuple of data from the multidimensional database and each retrieved tuple including the first and second fields, wherein:

each data mark has an x-position defined according to data for the first field in the respective tuple; and

each data mark has a y-position defined according to data for the second field in the respective tuple; and

displaying the data visualization in the third region, wherein the data visualization includes the plurality of data marks.

20. The non-transitory computer-readable storage medium of claim 19 , wherein receiving the user actions comprises detecting two distinct drag-and-drop operations.

Assignments (1)

Continuity (12)