GUI Query Builder for Hierarchical Database Structures
Find Innovative SolutionsGenerate Solutions
Solution Overview
Problem
Constructing complex database queries for data stored in cloud-based data warehouses can be difficult for users due to the need for specific presentations and configurations, which existing technologies do not effectively address.
Innovation Solution
A graphical user interface (GUI) system that displays data in a spreadsheet structure with a list structure, allowing users to select columns as keys to define a hierarchical relationship, enabling the generation of database queries through a dimensional hierarchy, using a database query generator to auto-populate SQL statements based on user selections.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Ease of operation
If users construct complex database queries manually using SQL, then query functionality is achieved, but user difficulty and complexity increase significantly
Solution Approach 1:
The patent introduces an intermediary layer between the user and the database query system. Instead of requiring users to write SQL directly, the system provides a visual query builder interface that translates user-friendly operations into SQL statements. This intermediary handles the complexity of query construction while presenting a simplified interface to users, effectively resolving the contradiction between ease of operation and query complexity.
Solution Approach 2:
The system enables self-service query generation by automatically generating SQL statements based on user selections in the visual interface. The query builder automatically handles syntax, joins, and query optimization without requiring user expertise in SQL, allowing users to construct complex queries through simple point-and-click operations while the system manages the underlying complexity.
2Adaptability or versatility
If data is stored in cloud-based data warehouses with specific presentations and configurations, then data storage capability is improved, but query construction difficulty increases
Solution Approach 1:
The patent adds a new dimension to data interaction by introducing hierarchical groupings and drill-down capabilities. Users can organize data into hierarchical structures with multiple levels of grouping, allowing them to work with data in a dimensional hierarchy rather than flat tables. This dimensional approach simplifies complex queries by providing intuitive hierarchical navigation and aggregation operations.
Solution Approach 2:
The system segments complex queries into manageable hierarchical components. By dividing data into hierarchical groups with parent-child relationships, the system allows users to construct queries step-by-step through drill-down operations. Each hierarchical level represents a segmented portion of the overall query, making complex data retrieval tasks more manageable and easier to construct.
3Ease of operation
If hierarchical relationships between data categories are defined, then query generation is simplified, but interface complexity increases
Solution Approach 1:
The hierarchical interface serves multiple functions simultaneously: it defines data relationships, organizes data groupings, enables drill-down operations, and generates SQL statements. This universal interface handles diverse query requirements through a single unified mechanism, reducing the need for separate tools or complex configurations while maintaining ease of query generation.
Solution Approach 2:
The patent implements a nested hierarchical structure where data is organized in nested levels of grouping. Each hierarchical level contains nested groups, creating a doll-like nested structure that allows users to drill down from high-level aggregations to detailed records. This nesting approach simplifies query generation by providing a natural hierarchical navigation path while the system manages the underlying interface complexity.
Data Source
AI summary
Generating a database query using a dimensional hierarchy within a graphical user interface including displaying a data set within a spreadsheet structure, wherein the data set comprises a plurality of columns; displaying a list structure comprising a first level and a second level; receiving a selection of a first column of the plurality of columns as a first key for the first level in the list structure; receiving a selection of a second column of the plurality of columns as a second key for the second level in the list structure; and in response to receiving the selection of the first column and receiving the selection of the second column and based on an order of the first key and the second key in the list structure, generating the database query defining a hierarchical relationship between the first column and the second column.