System and method of report layout
A conditional layout system for rendering and formatting content in a report is provided. The conditional layout system comprises an element receiving unit for receiving a variable element referenced in a report element, a condition processing unit for calculating a condition value based upon an expression in the variable element, and an element rendering unit for conditionally rendering and formatting report elements based upon the condition value.
1 . A conditional layout system for rendering and formatting content in a report, the conditional layout system comprising:
an element receiving unit for receiving a variable element referenced in a report element, the variable element having an expression;
a condition processing unit for calculating an expression value based upon the expression; and
an element rendering unit for conditionally rendering and formatting report elements based upon the expression value.
2 . The conditional layout system as claimed in claim 1 , wherein:
the variable element is referenced in a first report element; and
the element rendering unit conditionally renders a second report element in a report, the second report element associated with the expression value.
3 . The conditional layout system as claimed in claim 1 , wherein the element rendering unit conditionally renders the report element in a format style associated with the expression value.
4 . The conditional layout system as claimed in claim 1 , further comprising a user interface module, the user interface module comprising:
a conditional style dialog unit for managing a variable element referenced in a conditional block element of a report element;
an expression editing unit for managing an expression of the variable element; and
a conditional explorer unit for associating a condition value of a variable element with a report element.
5 . The conditional layout system as claimed in claim 1 , further comprising a user interface module, the user interface module comprising:
a conditional style dialog unit for managing a variable element referenced in a conditional style element;
an expression editing unit for managing an expression of the variable element; and
a conditional explorer unit for associating condition values of variable elements with format styles.
6 . The system as claimed in claim 5 , wherein the conditional style dialog unit includes:
a style format receiving unit for receiving the condition value; and
a style editing unit for associating a format style with a condition value.
7 . The system as claimed in claim 6 , wherein the conditional style dialog unit further includes a variable dialog unit for creating and managing variable elements, the variable dialog unit having:
a variable receiving unit for receiving variable element management instructions; and
a variable editing unit for creating and managing variable elements in response to the variable management instructions.
8 . The system as claimed in claim 6 , wherein the conditional style dialog unit further includes a display unit for displaying the variable element namespace, expression and condition values.
9 . The system as claimed in claim 5 , wherein the expression editing unit includes:
an expression receiving unit for receiving a condition for which a format style should be applied to the report element; and
an expression application unit for calculating an expression value.
10 . The system as claimed in claim 9 , wherein the expression editing unit further includes a property selection unit for selecting available properties of the report element for use in the expression.
11 . The system as claimed in claim 5 , wherein the conditional explorer unit includes:
a style format receiving unit for receiving a format style associated with the condition value; and
a style format application unit for applying the format style selection to the report element when the condition value matches an expression value calculated using the expression.
12 . The system as claimed in claim 11 , wherein the conditional explorer unit further includes display units to display selectable variable elements and their condition values, selectable report elements, and selectable format styles.
13 . The system as claimed in claim 5 , further comprising a report element selection unit for receiving a report element on which to set a conditional style format.
14 . The system as claimed in claim 5 , further comprising a repository for storing report elements and variable elements.
15 . A method of laying out a report, the method comprising the steps of:
obtaining a variable element referenced in an element of a report, the variable element having an expression;
calculating an expression value based upon the expression; and
conditionally rendering and formatting report elements based upon the expression value.
16 . The method as claimed in claim 15 , wherein the step of conditionally rendering includes the step of comparing the expression value to a condition value of the variable element.
17 . The method as claimed in claim 15 , wherein:
the step of obtaining includes the step of receiving the variable element in a first report element; and
the step of conditionally rendering includes the step of conditionally rendering a second report element in a report, the second report element associated with the expression value.
18 . The method as claimed in claim 15 , wherein the step of conditionally rendering includes the step of conditionally rendering the report element in a format style associated with the expression value.
19 . The method as claimed in claim 15 , further comprising the step of receiving a request to render a report element.
20 . A computer data signal embodied in a carrier wave and representing sequences of instructions which, when executed by a processor, cause the processor to perform a method of laying out a report, the method comprising the steps of:
obtaining a variable element referenced in an element of a report, the variable element having an expression;
calculating an expression value based upon the expression; and
conditionally rendering and formatting report elements based upon the expression value.
21 . A computer-readable medium having computer readable code embodied therein for use in the execution in a computer of a method of laying out a report, the method comprising the steps of:
obtaining a variable element referenced in an element of a report, the variable element having an expression;
calculating an expression value based upon the expression; and
conditionally rendering and formatting report elements based upon the expression value.
22 . A computer program product for use in the execution in a computer of a conditional layout system for rendering and formatting content in a report, the computer program product comprising:
an element receiving unit for receiving a variable element referenced in a report element, the variable element having an expression;
a condition processing unit for calculating an expression value based upon the expression; and
an element rendering unit for conditionally rendering and formatting report elements based upon the expression value.