Report definition generation program and information processing device

Abstract

This reduces the workload involved in generating form definitions and prevents a decline in quality. [Solution] The processing unit 12 obtains first report layout sheet information 11a, which includes fixed items and variable items, and report item definition information 11b, which defines the positions in which the variable items are written. Based on the positions, the processing unit 12 identifies the variable items from the first report layout sheet information 11a. The processing unit 12 then deletes the identified variable items from the first report layout sheet information 11a to generate second report layout sheet information 15, which retains the fixed items. Furthermore, the processing unit 12 generates a report definition 16 using the second report layout sheet information 15 and the report item definition information 11b, and outputs the report definition 16.

Description

Technical Field

[0001] The present invention relates to an invoice definition body generation program and an information processing apparatus.

Background Art

[0002] In the development of a system that outputs invoices, such as an accounting system for financial institutions, it is often necessary to generate an invoice definition body that defines the output specifications of the invoice and incorporate it into the system. The output specifications of the invoice may be extracted through communication with the business department. In this case, the department that generates the invoice definition body often receives from the business department the output specifications of the invoice divided into invoice layout sheet information and invoice item definition information (sometimes called an invoice item definition document).

[0003] The invoice layout sheet information defines the character strings output at specific coordinates on the invoice. In addition to fixed items such as "Receipt Date," the invoice layout sheet information includes variable items described in accordance with the output format of data, such as "YYYY / MM / DD." The invoice item definition information defines the information of the variable items output on the invoice.

[0004] Conventionally, systems have been proposed that automatically perform invoice definition, including definitions of invoice layouts, in response to input data from users (see, for example, Patent Document 1). Also, in an invoice creation system, methods have been proposed for deleting unnecessary column names in the table of created invoice data when they remain (see, for example, Patent Document 2).

Prior Art Documents

Patent Documents

[0005]

Patent Document 1

Patent Document 2

Summary of the Invention

[0006] When generating a report definition, it is difficult to reflect all the information from the received report layout sheet and report item definition information in the report definition without any duplication or omissions. Typically, variable items are manually removed from the report layout sheet information, and then the definition generation tool extracts information from fixed items from the report layout sheet information and information from variable items from the report item definition information. This leads to problems such as increased workload and reduced quality due to errors.

[0007] One aspect of this project is to reduce the workload involved in generating report definitions while preventing a decline in quality. [Means for solving the problem]

[0008] One proposal provides a report definition generation program. The report definition generation program instructs the computer to obtain first report layout sheet information containing fixed and variable items, and report item definition information defining the positions where the variable items are written. The report definition generation program also instructs the computer to identify the variable items from the first report layout sheet information based on the above-mentioned positions. The report definition generation program then instructs the computer to generate second report layout sheet information, leaving the fixed items, by deleting the identified variable items from the first report layout sheet information. Furthermore, the report definition generation program instructs the computer to generate a report definition using the second report layout sheet information and the report item definition information, and then outputs the report definition. [Effects of the Invention]

[0009] According to one embodiment, the amount of work required to generate the form definition can be reduced, and a decline in quality can be prevented. [Brief explanation of the drawing]

[0010] [Figure 1] This figure shows an example of an information processing device according to the first embodiment. [Figure 2] This figure shows an example of the hardware of the information processing device according to the second embodiment. [Figure 3] This is a block diagram showing examples of functions of an information processing device. [Figure 4] This figure shows an example of form layout sheet information. [Figure 5] This figure shows an example of form item definition information. [Figure 6] This figure shows an example of a report layout sheet information with variable items removed. [Figure 7] This figure shows an example of a form definition. [Figure 8] This flowchart shows an example of the process for generating a report definition using an information processing device. [Modes for carrying out the invention]

[0011] The embodiments for carrying out the invention will be described below with reference to the drawings. Furthermore, each embodiment can be implemented by combining multiple embodiments within a non-contradictory scope.

[0012] [First Embodiment] First, let me describe the first embodiment. Figure 1 is a diagram showing an example of an information processing device according to the first embodiment. Figure 1 shows an information processing device 10 that generates a report definition. The information processing device 10 performs the report definition generation process by, for example, executing a report definition generation program.

[0013] The information processing device 10 includes a storage unit 11 and a processing unit 12. The storage unit 11 is, for example, a memory or storage device of the information processing device 10. The processing unit 12 is, for example, a processor or arithmetic circuit of the information processing device 10.

[0014] The storage unit 11 stores the first form layout sheet information 11a and the form item definition information 11b. The first form layout sheet information 11a includes fixed items and variable items. For example, in the output specification of a form used in an accounting system for financial institutions, the fixed items include literals (sometimes called literal words) such as "receipt date" and "amount" that are directly output to the form. The variable items include "YYYY / MM / DD" indicating the content of the receipt date, specific amounts, etc., which are described according to the output format of the data. A specific example of the first form layout sheet information 11a will be described later (see FIG. 4).

[0015] In the form item definition information 11b, the description positions of the variable items are defined. The description positions are represented by the coordinate information in the first form layout sheet information 11a. For example, when the variable items in the first form layout sheet information 11a are described in any of the cells arranged in rows and columns, the row number and column number of the cell are used as the coordinate information. A specific example of the form item definition information 11b will be described later (see FIG. 5).

[0016] The processing unit 12 executes the following form definition body generation process. The processing unit 12 acquires the first form layout sheet information 11a and the form item definition information 11b. The processing unit 12 stores the acquired first form layout sheet information 11a and the form item definition information 11b in the storage unit 11. The first form layout sheet information 11a and the form item definition information 11b may be input by the user of the information processing device 10 through the operation of the input device and stored in the storage unit 11, or may be input via the network and stored in the storage unit 11.

[0017] The processing unit 12 identifies the variable items from the first form layout sheet information 11a based on the above-described description positions included in the form item definition information 11b. Then, the processing unit 12 deletes the identified variable items from the first form layout sheet information 11a to generate the second form layout sheet information 15 with the fixed items remaining. A specific example of the second form layout sheet information 15 will be described later (see FIG. 6).

[0018] The processing unit 12 generates a form definition body 16 that defines the output specification of the form using the second form layout sheet information 15 and the form item definition information 11b, and outputs the generated form definition body 16. A specific example of the form definition body 16 will be described later (see FIG. 7). The form definition body 16 may be transmitted to another information processing device via, for example, a network.

[0019] According to the form definition body generation process as described above, the information processing device 10 identifies and deletes the variable items in the first form layout sheet information 11a based on the positions of the variable items defined in the form item definition information 11b. As a result, even if the fixed items and variable items are mixed in the first form layout sheet information 11a, the variable items can be appropriately identified and deleted, so that the man-hours required for generating the form definition body can be reduced, and the quality degradation due to work mistakes can be prevented.

[0020] 〔Second Embodiment〕 Next, the second embodiment will be described. FIG. 2 is a diagram showing a hardware example of the information processing device according to the second embodiment. The information processing device 20 performs a form definition body generation process by executing, for example, a form definition body generation program. The information processing device 20 may be called a computer. The information processing device 20 may be a client device or a server device.

[0021] The information processing device 20 includes a processor 21, a RAM (Random Access Memory) 22, an HDD (Hard Disk Drive) 23, a GPU (Graphics Processing Unit) 24, an input interface 25, a media reader 26, and a communication interface 27. The above units are connected to a bus. The processor 21 corresponds to the processing unit 12 in the first embodiment. The RAM 22 or the HDD 23 corresponds to the storage unit 11 in the first embodiment.

[0022] The processor 21 is a processor such as a GPU or CPU (Central Processing Unit) that includes arithmetic circuits for executing program instructions. The processor 21 loads at least a portion of the program and data stored in the HDD 23 into the RAM 22 and executes the program. The processor 21 may have multiple processor cores. The information processing device 20 may also have multiple processors. The processor that executes one of the multiple processes performed by the information processing device 20 may be different from the processor that executes a different process from the multiple processes. The processor may also be called a processor circuitry. A collection of multiple processors (multiprocessor) may also be called a "processor".

[0023] RAM22 is a volatile semiconductor memory that temporarily stores programs executed by the processor 21 and data used by the processor 21 for calculations. The information processing device 20 may also be equipped with other types of memory besides RAM22, and may be equipped with multiple types of memory.

[0024] HDD23 is a non-volatile storage device that stores software programs such as the OS (Operating System), middleware, and application software, as well as data. The programs include, for example, a report definition generation program that causes the information processing device 20 to execute the report definition generation process. The information processing device 20 may also be equipped with other types of storage devices such as flash memory or SSDs (Solid State Drives), and may be equipped with multiple non-volatile storage devices.

[0025] The GPU 24 outputs an image to the display 24a connected to the information processing unit 20, according to instructions from the processor 21. The display 24a can be a CRT (Cathode Ray Tube) display, an LCD (Liquid Crystal Display), a PDP (Plasma Display Panel), an OEL (Organic Electro-Luminescence) display, or the like.

[0026] The input interface 25 acquires input signals from input devices 25a connected to the information processing device 20 and outputs them to the processor 21. Input devices 25a can include pointing devices such as mice, touch panels, touchpads, and trackballs, as well as keyboards, remote controllers, and button switches. Furthermore, multiple types of input devices may be connected to the information processing device 20.

[0027] The media reader 26 is a reading device that reads programs and data recorded on the recording medium 26a. Examples of recording media 26a include magnetic disks, optical disks, magneto-optical disks (MO), and semiconductor memory. Magnetic disks include flexible disks (FD) and HDDs. Optical disks include CDs (Compact Discs) and DVDs (Digital Versatile Discs).

[0028] The media reader 26 copies programs and data read from the recording medium 26a to other recording media such as RAM 22 or HDD 23. The read programs are executed by the processor 21, for example. The recording medium 26a may be a portable recording medium and may be used for distributing programs and data. The recording medium 26a and HDD 23 may also be referred to as computer-readable recording media.

[0029] The communication interface 27 is connected to the network 27a and communicates with other information processing devices via the network 27a. In the example in Figure 2, the communication interface 27 communicates with the accounting system server 40 via the network 27a. The communication interface 27 may be a wired communication interface connected by a cable to a communication device such as a switch, or it may be a wireless communication interface connected by a wireless link to a base station.

[0030] Next, the functions of the information processing device 20 will be explained. Figure 3 is a block diagram showing an example of the functions of an information processing device. The information processing device 20 includes an input unit 31, a report layout sheet information storage unit 32, a report item definition information storage unit 33, a report layout sheet information generation unit 34, a report layout sheet information storage unit 35, a report definition generation unit 36, and an output unit 37. These units enable the same functions as the storage unit 11 and processing unit 12 shown in Figure 1.

[0031] The input unit 31, the report layout sheet information generation unit 34, the report definition unit generation unit 36, and the output unit 37 can be implemented, for example, using a program module executed by the processor 21. The report layout sheet information storage unit 32, the report item definition information storage unit 33, and the report layout sheet information storage unit 35 are implemented using a storage area allocated in RAM 22 or HDD 23.

[0032] The input unit 31 acquires report layout sheet information and report item definition information. The report layout sheet information and report item definition information acquired by the input unit 31 may be entered by a user of the information processing device 20 through the operation of the input device 25a, or they may be entered via the network 27a.

[0033] The input unit 31 may acquire multiple types of report layout sheet information and report item definition information. The input unit 31 stores the acquired report layout sheet information in the report layout sheet information storage unit 32 and the acquired report item definition information in the report item definition information storage unit 33.

[0034] Figure 4 shows an example of form layout sheet information. The form layout sheet information 32a shown in Figure 4 relates to a form with the form name "○○ Request Form".

[0035] For example, the cell at row number 3 and column number 2 contains "Reception Date" as a literal text, which is an example of a fixed item, while the cell at row number 3 and column number 5 contains "YYYY / MM / DD", which indicates the content of the reception date, a variable item.

[0036] The cell at row number 3, column number 11 contains the literal text "Time" as an example of a fixed item, while the cell at row number 3, column number 13 contains "HH:MM:SS", which indicates the content of the variable item "Time".

[0037] The cell at row number 4 and column number 2 contains the literal text "Amount" as an example of a fixed item, while the cell at row number 4 and column number 4 contains "999,999,999,999", which represents the variable item "Amount".

[0038] The report layout sheet information 32a described above is an example of the first report layout sheet information 11a described in the first embodiment, and includes fixed items and variable items as shown in Figure 4.

[0039] Figure 5 shows an example of form item definition information. In the form item definition information 33a shown in Figure 5, each variable item included in the form layout sheet information 32a shown in Figure 4 is defined.

[0040] In the example of the form item definition information 33a in Figure 5, each variable item is assigned an ID (Identification). Furthermore, the item name, number of characters, row number, and column number are defined as information for each variable item. The row number and column number are coordinate information in the form layout sheet information 32a, indicating the position where the variable item is written.

[0041] For example, the variable item name for ID="0001" is "Reception Date", with 10 characters, 3 rows, and 5 columns. The variable item name for ID="0002" is "Time", with 8 characters, 3 rows, and 13 columns. The variable item name for ID="0003" is "Amount", with 15 characters, 4 rows, and 4 columns.

[0042] In the example above, character count information is not necessary to indicate the location of a variable item. However, if coordinate information such as row number or column number represents a part of the location of a variable item (for example, the beginning of a phrase), the entire location of that variable item can be determined based on its size (such as character count or digit count) and coordinate information.

[0043] The report item definition information 33a described above is an example of the report item definition information 11b described in the first embodiment. Such report layout sheet information 32a and report item definition information 33a may be input to the input unit 31, for example, as a data format file for commercially available spreadsheet software.

[0044] The form layout sheet information storage unit 32 stores the form layout sheet information. The form item definition information storage unit 33 stores the form item definition information. The report layout sheet information generation unit 34 identifies variable items from the report layout sheet information based on the above-mentioned location included in the report item definition information. Then, the report layout sheet information generation unit 34 generates report layout sheet information with the variable items removed by deleting the identified variable items from the report layout sheet information.

[0045] Figure 6 shows an example of a report layout sheet information with variable items removed. The report layout sheet information 35a shown in Figure 6, with variable items removed, is obtained by removing the variable items from the report layout sheet information 32a shown in Figure 4.

[0046] For example, the cell at row number 3 and column number 2 contains the literal text "Reception Date," which is an example of a fixed item. However, the variable item text "YYYY / MM / DD" in the cell at row number 3 and column number 5, which was present in the form layout sheet information 32a, has been deleted.

[0047] The cell at row number 3 and column number 11 contains the literal text "Time," which is an example of a fixed item. However, the variable item text "HH:MM:SS" in the cell at row number 3 and column number 13, which was present in the report layout sheet information 32a, has been deleted.

[0048] The cell at row number 4 and column number 2 contains the literal text "Amount," which is an example of a fixed item. However, the specific amount "999,999,999,999," which was a variable item in the cell at row number 4 and column number 4 in the report layout sheet information 32a, has been deleted.

[0049] The report layout sheet information 35a described above, in which variable items have been deleted and fixed items remain, is an example of the second report layout sheet information 15 described in the first embodiment. Such report layout sheet information 35a with variable items deleted can also be considered an intermediate product in the process of generating a report definition.

[0050] The form layout sheet information storage unit 35 stores form layout sheet information 35a with variable items deleted. The report definition generation unit 36 ​​generates a report definition using the report layout sheet information with variable items deleted, which is stored in the report layout sheet information storage unit 35, and the report item definition information, which is stored in the report item definition information storage unit 33.

[0051] Figure 7 shows an example of a report definition. The report definition 36a shown in Figure 7 has literal text information "itemInfo" defined based on the report layout sheet information 35a shown in Figure 6.

[0052] The literal text information "itemInfo" includes strings such as "Date Received," "Time," and "Amount," as well as coordinate information such as row and column numbers that indicate the position (printing position) of the literal text on the form, as shown in Figure 7.

[0053] Although not shown in the diagram, the form definition 36a further defines coordinate information, such as row and column numbers, that represent the position of the variable items in the form, and an ID assigned to the variable items to be described, based on the form item definition information.

[0054] The above-described form definition 36a is an example of the form definition 16 described in the first embodiment. The output unit 37 outputs the generated report definition. The output unit 37 transmits the report definition to the accounting system server 40, for example, via the network 27a.

[0055] Figure 8 is a flowchart showing an example of the process for generating a report definition by an information processing device. Step S10: The input unit 31 obtains the report layout sheet information and the report item definition information. The input unit 31 may obtain multiple pairs of report layout sheet information and report item definition information.

[0056] Step S11: The report layout sheet information generation unit 34 determines whether or not it has detected unselected coordinate information in the report item definition information. If it is determined that unselected coordinate information has been detected, the process in step S12 is performed. If it is determined that no unselected coordinate information has been detected, the process in step S14 is performed.

[0057] Step S12: The report layout sheet information generation unit 34 selects the unselected coordinate information in the report item definition information. Step S13: The form layout sheet information generation unit 34 deletes the variable items (text) in the form layout information corresponding to the location specified by the selected coordinate information from the form layout sheet information. Then, the process from step S11 is repeated.

[0058] Step S14: The report layout sheet information generation unit 34 generates a report layout sheet information that contains only literal text (variable items removed) after removing all variable items from the original report layout sheet information.

[0059] Step S15: The report definition generation unit 36 ​​generates a report definition using the report layout sheet information in the literal text-only version and the report item definition information, and the output unit 37 outputs the generated report definition.

[0060] Step S16: The report layout sheet information generation unit 34 determines whether it has finished the process of generating the report definitions described above for all pairs of report layout sheet information and report item definition information. If there are multiple pairs of acquired report layout sheet information and report item definition information, this determination process is performed in order to generate a report definition for each pair.

[0061] If it is determined that the process of generating report definitions for all report layout sheet information and report item definition information pairs has not been completed, the process from step S11 is repeated for the unprocessed pairs. If it is determined that the process of generating report definitions for all report layout sheet information and report item definition information pairs has been completed, the report definition generation process by the information processing device 20 is completed.

[0062] The outputted report definition is transmitted, for example, via network 27a to the accounting system server 40 and incorporated into the accounting system. Then, when a user terminal device of the accounting system inputs variable items (such as text or numerical values) to be included in the report, the report data is obtained in which those variable items are placed according to the definition in the report definition. Note that the processing order shown in Figure 8 is just one example, and the processing order may be changed as appropriate.

[0063] As described above, the information processing device 20 of the second embodiment identifies and deletes variable items in the report layout sheet information based on coordinate information consisting of row and column numbers indicating the location of the variable items defined in the report item definition information. If the wording of variable items remains in the report definition, problems may occur, such as newly entered wording being printed over the existing wording when the report definition is applied to an accounting system. According to the above processing by the information processing device 20, even if fixed items and variable items are mixed in the report layout sheet information, the variable items can be appropriately identified and deleted. Therefore, it is possible to prevent quality degradation that would cause the above problems. Furthermore, even if there are many pairs of report layout sheet information and report item definition information from which a report definition should be generated, the amount of work required to generate the report definition can be reduced.

[0064] The processing content of the information processing device 20 according to the second embodiment has been described above. As mentioned above, the above processing content can be realized by having the information processing device 20 execute a report definition generation program.

[0065] The report definition generation program can be recorded on a computer-readable recording medium (e.g., recording medium 26a). Examples of recording media that can be used include magnetic disks, optical disks, magneto-optical disks, and semiconductor memory. Magnetic disks include floppy disks (FD) and hard disks (HDD). Optical disks include CDs, CD-R (Recordable) / RW (Rewritable), DVDs, and DVD-R / RWs. The report definition generation program may be recorded on a portable recording medium and distributed. In that case, the report definition generation program may be copied from the portable recording medium to another recording medium (e.g., HDD 23) and executed.

[0066] Although embodiments have been illustrated above, the configurations of each part shown in the embodiments can be replaced with others having similar functions. Furthermore, other arbitrary components or processes may be added. Moreover, any two or more configurations (features) from the embodiments described above may be combined. [Explanation of Symbols]

[0067] 10 Information Processing Devices 11 Storage section 11a Information on the first form layout sheet 11b Form Item Definition Information 12 Processing Units 15. Information on the second form layout sheet 16. Form Definition

Claims

1. The system obtains a first form layout sheet information that includes fixed items and variable items, and form item definition information that defines the position where the variable items are described. Based on the location described above, the variable item is identified from the first form layout sheet information, By deleting the identified variable items from the first form layout sheet information, a second form layout sheet information is generated that retains the fixed items. A report definition is generated using the second report layout sheet information and the report item definition information. Output the aforementioned form definition, A report definition generation program that causes a computer to perform processing.

2. If coordinate information representing the location of the entry is detected in the first form layout sheet information from the form item definition information, the variable item identified by the detected coordinate information is deleted from the first form layout sheet information. A report definition generation program according to claim 1, which causes the computer to perform the processing.

3. The aforementioned form item definition information includes coordinate information in the first form layout sheet information that represents a part of the location where the information is written, and the size of the variable item. Based on the size and coordinate information, the overall position of the variable item is determined. A report definition generation program according to claim 1, which causes the computer to perform the processing.

4. Multiple pairs of the first form layout sheet information and the form item definition information are obtained, For each of the aforementioned sets, the report definition is generated. A report definition generation program according to claim 1, which causes the computer to perform the processing.

5. The system obtains a first form layout sheet information that includes fixed items and variable items, and form item definition information that defines the position where the variable items are described. Based on the location described above, the variable item is identified from the first form layout sheet information, By deleting the identified variable items from the first form layout sheet information, a second form layout sheet information is generated that retains the fixed items. A report definition is generated using the second report layout sheet information and the report item definition information. Output the aforementioned form definition, Processing unit, An information processing device having

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