A system that incorporates prompt objects in a report definition to enable a user to specify answers to questions to customize a reporting system, decision support system, business intelligence and OLAP report at execution time. A prompt object contains a single question to be answered, validation values for the answer, and attributes indicating how the prompt object is to be processed. A report is thus defined by selecting prompt objects in place of templates, filters, or any of the aspects of a template or filter. As a separate object, a single prompt may be issued once and the answer supplied to each reference to the prompt object in a report. A prompt object may also contain another prompt object nested within it, in which the answer to an inner prompt object is used by the system to validate the answer to an outer prompt object.

 
Web www.patentalert.com

> System and method for catalog administration using supplier provided flat files

~ 00394