Method and apparatus for organizing, visualizing and using measured or modeled system statistics
View Patent ↗An apparatus and methodology to acquire and organize measured or modeled statistical data into optimal reports with a performance engineering mode of use and a design mode of use. In a performance engineering mode of use, the engineer may select from a set of performance questions, and guided by the apparatus and largely automated, create well-defined answers to the performance questions of interest. A series of template manipulations whereby report objects that are embedded within templates may be defined, reused, modified and improved upon to optimize reports and to aid in a report building process in a design mode of use. Methods are taught for the automatic selection and population of data tables. Column selection and column header information is optimized for relevance to the report design or system question at hand. The automatic joining of data from a variety of data sources is taught that allows for the rapid construction of specific reports from within multiple data tables of different types, structures and formats.
1. A method of employing a computer system to organize computer system performance data into visible reports to answer a computer system inquiry comprising the steps of:
providing a computer system having a processor, a memory, and a display monitor, all in operational connection;
providing a report wizard module running on the computer system for controlling the functions of the computer system;
providing a report view module running on the computer system for requesting and displaying a report;
providing a report definition module running on the computer system for building a report object;
providing the computer system inquiry having an inquiry related to a set of measured results of the computer performance data and a set of modeled result sets of the computer system performance data;
providing a virtual database, comprising the set of measured results of the computer system performance data and the set of modeled results of the computer system performance data, running on the computer system for organizing a data table and performing a query on the data table;
wherein the report wizard module is used to develop a report design corresponding to the computer system inquiry, and send the report design and a build report instruction to the report definition module;
wherein the report definition module receives the build report instruction and in response thereto assembles a set of report definition information into a report object stored in memory;
wherein the report wizard module sends a create visible report signal to the report view module;
wherein the report view module receives the create visible report signal and in response sends a get data signal to the report definition module;
wherein the report definition module receives the report object and in response organizes the data table and returns an optimized data table to the report view module;
wherein the report view module receives the optimized data table and creates a visible report and displays it on the display monitor;
providing a primary data table stored in the memory, holding a first-set of computer system performance data;
providing a secondary data table stored in the memory, holding a second set of computer system performance data;
providing a join specification, stored in the memory, to contain and execute an instruction to join the primary data table and the secondary data table;
wherein the virtual database upon receiving the report object executes a query against the primary data table;
wherein the primary data table assembles the first set of computer system performance data according to the query and returns the assembled first set of computer performance data to the virtual database;
wherein the virtual database upon receiving the report object executes the query against the secondary data table;
wherein the secondary data table sends the second set of computer system performance data to the virtual database according to the query;
wherein the virtual database upon receiving the second set of computer system performance data appends the second set of computer system performance data to the assembled first set of computer system performance data by execution of the join specification to form a joined data table; and
wherein the virtual database sends the joined data table to the report view module for display on the display monitor.
2. The method of claim 1 including the further steps of:
providing a set of measured computer system performance data in the first set of computer system performance data; and
providing a set of modeled computer system performance data in the second set of computer system performance data.
3. The method of claim 1 wherein the join specification includes instructions to optimize the first set of computer system performance data and the second set of computer system performance data.
4. The method of claim 1 including the further steps of providing a query attribute, a transfer attribute, a filter attribute, a table layout attribute and a chart layout attribute in the report object.