This application is a continuation-in-part of U.S. patent application Ser. No. 13/028,037 filed Feb. 15, 2011, which claims priority pursuant to 35 U.S.C. §119(e) to U.S. provisional application Ser. No. 61/362,595, filed Jul. 8, 2010, which applications are specifically incorporated herein, in their entireties, by reference.
The present disclosure relates to computerized system for visualization and analysis of complex data objects including multiple related parameters.
2. Description of Related Art
Various methods for dynamic visualization of object data using a computer are known in the art. As used herein, dynamic visualization refers to visualization of input data representing an object in an N-dimensional domain space, including displaying the object data in a window of a display screen as a model for the object in a three or two-dimensional subspace of N-dimensional space according to geometry of the subspace and the object itself, changing the object and viewing the changes in the window of the display. Such visualization may be useful for discerning details about the object's features based on the display and observable changes in it.
Another method for dynamic visualization of object data representing an object in N-dimensional domain space includes displaying object data in a window of a display screen as object's model in three-dimensional or two-dimensional sub-space of N-dimensional space according geometry of the sub-space and object, with alternation of data about object's geometry and displaying this alternation on screen. In this method, the display screen has at least one additional window for displaying of object data in another sub-space of N-dimensional space in addition to the first window. Alternation of visual representation in first window causes alternation of object representation in the additional window.
Notwithstanding the advantages of prior art dynamic visualization methods, these methods may suffer from certain disadvantages. For example, prior art methods do not permit visualization of a complex object characterized by data in the object's N-dimensional space as a whole. This deficiency reduces available information and the efficiency of information gathering. For further example, prior methods solve only visualization problems of limited scope, facilitating visualization and analysis of relatively simple systems only. In addition, known methods cannot perform visualization, numerical analysis of data values, and forecasts of development extrapolating into future data points for a multiple-object, multiple-parameter system.
Hierarchical data organization and filtering of information to be displayed is an existing tactic used to display smaller subsets of data. However, only simple tree-like hierarchical structures with a single tree branch selection are proposed to date.
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The present technology enables visualization and analysis of state and forecast of development of a multiple-object, multiple-parameter system. A computer is used to facilitate analysis and forecast of complex multiple-objects and multiple-parameters systems development by a human user. The computer displays information about the system on a display screen in the form of three-dimensional axonometric space with the mutually perpendicular axes, each being a respective one of an object axis, a parameter axis, and a time axis. The object-parameter-time space is referred to herein as a “data space” or data “cube.”
The computer may also display information about the system on a display screen with the geographic coordinates and time as axes. The object-parameter-time space and coordinates-time space may be displayed while filtering selected data from appearing in the display. In addition, data values may be reordered along the axes to display what is referred to herein as “process bodies”.
The computer provides a user interface that enables control of the display and access to data by dividing the displayed data space by slices for each object, parameter, or time unit along the axes. The computer serves data slices in the form of tables, graphs, or diagrams in response to user interactions with a displayed data space, at a rate set by an analyst and not less than the maximum rate of acquisition of information for a human brain.
The computer also enables rapid navigation through related data spaces using predetermined hierarchical relationships between parameters and objects. For example, in response to user input selecting a first data point along one of the mutually perpendicular axes associated with a lower-order cubic data space, the computer may generate a display output depicting the lower-order cubic data space defined by the first data point and having three mutually perpendicular axes comprising a lower-order object axis, a lower-order parameter axis, and a time axis. Relationships between higher-order spaces and lower-order spaces are defined according to a hierarchy or related spaces. Also, in response to user input selecting a second data point along one of the mutually perpendicular axes that is not associated with a lower-order cubic data space, the computer may generate a display output depicting a two-dimensional data slice parallel to any two of the mutually perpendicular axes defined by the second data point. So the system provides two distinct kinds of navigating through a data spaces, depending on the status of the selected data axis; namely, whether or not the selected axis is related to a lower-order cubic data space.
In addition, the system enables analysis of any displayed data space by applying logical and mathematical operations to displayed values in response to user input. The visualization and analysis system also enables forecast of a data space's future development by extrapolation of features and properties visualized for past time points of the time axis into future time points.
A more complete understanding of the computerized system for visualization and analysis of complex data objects including multiple related parameters will be afforded to those skilled in the art, as well as a realization of additional advantages and objects thereof, by a consideration of the following detailed description. Reference will be made to the appended sheets of drawings which will first be described briefly.
BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS
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FIG. 1A is a perspective view of a conceptual three-dimensional axonometric data space with mutually perpendicular object, parameter, and time axes used for display of system data.
FIG. 1B is an alternative view of the data space display of FIG. 1, showing additional detail in discrete data planes.
FIG. 2 is a block diagram showing elements of a computer system suitable for implementing methods as described herein.
FIG. 3A is a conceptual diagram showing examples of a hierarchy of data spaces (lower-order spaces and higher-order spaces).
FIG. 3B is a conceptual diagram showing an example graph connecting various data spaces.
FIG. 4 is a screenshot showing an example of a user interface for selecting ones of hierarchically ordered object spaces for display.
FIG. 5 is a screenshot showing an example of a user interface for setting parameters of a numerical filter to be applied to a data display.
FIGS. 6A-B are screenshots showing examples of geometric map tools for object selection.
FIG. 7 is a screenshot showing an example of a user interface for setting up a data forecast analysis.
FIGS. 8A-B are screenshots showing examples of output from a data forecast operation and user interface for display of the output.
FIG. 9 is a screenshot showing an example of a user interface for selection and display of data slices and slice data in tabular form.
FIG. 10 is a screenshot showing an example of a user interface for selecting a color palette for display of data values.
FIG. 11 is a screenshot showing an example of a user interface for displaying and interacting with an object table with a data space showing slices in a data space.
FIG. 12 is a screenshot showing an example of a user interface for displaying and interacting with object and parameter definitions for an extrapolated future slice with a display of a 3D data space.
FIG. 13A is a screenshot showing an example of a user interface for controlling a color palette with a display of a multiple-object, multiple parameter 3D data space.
FIG. 13B-D are screenshots showing example process bodies for forecasted, actual, and forecasted difference actual data sets.
FIG. 14 is a screenshot showing an example of a user interface for displaying an interacting with 2-D slice from the 3D data space shown in FIG. 13.
FIGS. 15 and 16 are screenshots showing examples of a user interface for displaying and interacting with a 2-D data table including both numerical and graphical displays.
FIGS. 17 and 18 are screenshots showing examples of a user interface for generating and interacting with charts using system data values.
FIG. 19 is a screenshot showing an example of a user interface for defining a data group and numerical operation for system data.
FIG. 20 is a screenshot showing an example of a user interface for displaying results of a numerical analysis of system data.
FIG. 21 is a flow chart showing an example of a method for data visualization and analysis.
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In general, an interactive computer system is provided for presenting information from a data system in a figurative visualized form 100 on a computer display, as shown in FIG. 1. The display 100 uses a number of display dimensions not less than three realized in the form of 3D cube. The computer system places on respective axes (I, II, and III) of the cube data according to the following classifications: a list of the objects making system (an objective axis—I), a list of parameters for each object (a parametrical axis—II) and time (an event-time axis—III). The computer system enables selection of information for analysis—for example, extrapolated forecasts—performed by slicing the cube using data planes (slices) 101, 102 and 103 perpendicular to cube axes, each of which represents a table of numbers combined with color diagrams for data along the two axes parallel to the data plane. For example, the data plane 101 represents a slice or table for a single parameter, showing data for multiple objects and time values; the data plane 102 represents a slice or table for a single object, showing data for multiple parameters and time values; and the data plane 103 represents a slice or table for a single time value, showing data for multiple parameters and objects.
FIG. 2 shows a stack of time slices 103 for the display 100. Each time slice includes multiple parameter values P11 . . . PNM corresponding to the multiple objects O1 . . . ON and multiple parameters P1 . . . PM. For example, the data value P12 104 is the value for the parameter P2 or object O1 at the time indicated at time slice tk. It should be appreciated that the system allows corresponding slices perpendicular to the time slice 103 to be defined in a similar fashion. Viewing of the loaded numerical data may be realized using slices and 2-D windows. As used herein, a slice is a two-dimensional selection from a cube along one of three axes, and a 2-D window is a slice opened in the form of a separate window. A slice presented as numerical values in tabular form may be referred to as a slice table.
Thus, a data space with axes “Objects”, “Parameters”, “Time” is formed using the program and the loaded numerical data are transformed into a data cube. Each point of a cube has co-ordinates Object, Parameter, Time point (e.g., date or hour). In such a point the cube either contains a sign of absence of data, or has exact numerical value, which is the value of the parameter for the object for the indicated time.
A data space formed by geographic coordinates and time may be formed and displayed in the same way as the data space with axes “Objects”, “Parameters”, “Time” described above, and can be based on the same data set wherein geographic coordinates are also used as parameters. However, the axes will be time and geographic coordinates such as, for example: 1) x, indicating a distance along some line, for example a pipeline, a river, or any other line; 2) x and y indicating objects or object properties on a two-dimensional surface such as the earth surface; and 3) x, y, and z indicating objects or object properties in a 3D space such as oil deposits under the earth surface.
A 4-dimensional data space formed by time and 3 Dimensional geographic coordinates may be displayed as an animated 3D cube where displayed values change over time or as a set of 3 Dimensional cubes displayed for a discrete number of time values.
As shown in the examples that follow, it is contemplated that when viewing a 3D data space, the computer may display values as a color selected from a color spectrum occupying a corresponding region of space. An example of this form of display is shown in FIG. 13. FIGS. 1 and 2 are conceptual diagrams and are not intended to illustrate actual displays produced by the computer systems, although the system may be configured to generate such displays 100 if desired. Data may be represented by numerical values where it is possible (for example, in the slice table) and using color-mapping, that is using representation of numbers by the color selected from a palette of colors when displaying in graphical form.
Analysis of complex data systems as represented by FIGS. 1 and 2 is performed by executing various mathematical operations over slices tables. Slices are defined in response to user input, including for example either or both of keyboard or pointer input. The computer system may be programmed to respond to user input to model movement of a slice indicator along cube axes for data selection of one or more slices; addition, subtraction, division, multiplication or other operations for data contained in multiple selected slices; comparison of data in multiple slices; definition of relations of each slice to a slice for a defined time point; definition of relations in percentage in percentage terms; differentiation of slices with respect to time or other parameter; or other operations. A stack of slices (any two or more parallel slices) represents a data matrix, and operations may be performed on corresponding cells, or any useful matrix operation performed on the matrix defined by a slice stack.
Control of speed of feeding and perception of information at a rate comfortable for the researcher may be performed in response to user input, for example, in response to movement of a mouse or other pointing device. The system responds to user input to enable complex visualization independently of the type of the analyzed information by fast visualization of its parts in a table, graph or volumetric form. This enables the data researcher to construct an analysis on the basis of simple and intuitive approaches and procedures, providing near-immediate feedback to the researcher by data transformation with simultaneous visualization of the subject data.
FIG. 2 shows elements of a computer system 200 suitable for implementing methods as described herein. A computer 202 comprises at least a processor 204 coupled to a memory 206. The memory may hold program instructions that when executed by the processor cause the computer to perform steps of methods as described herein. The processor may comprise multiple processing components, for example multiple processing units or a central processing unit couple to a graphics processor and other processors. Any suitable single processor or combination of processors may be used. Multiple computers 202 working in cooperation may also be used.
The processor 204 may be coupled to a display device 210 via any suitable interface and connection as known in the art. The display device may receive a digital video signal from the processor 204 and use it to provide a computer graphical display using a LCD screen, CRT, projector or other display modality. The processor may further be coupled to an input device 208 or multiple input devices; for example, a keyboard, touchscreen interface, pointing device, microphone, motion sensor, or other input device. The input device 208 acts as a transducer to convert physical input by a user into digital electronic signals for processing by the processor 204.
The processor 204 may be coupled to a media interface 214; for example, a media reader such as an optical disc drive, magnetic media reader or portable electronic memory interface. The media interface 214 may enable the processor to access data and/or program instructions encoded on a computer-readable medium 220; for example an optical, magnetic, or electronic medium.
System 200 is useful for processing massive amounts of data. As such, the processor 204 is operatively coupled to a data storage resource 212; for example, a data server or server farm, a cloud computing resource, or a data storage device. Data 218 may be added to the data storage resource 212 independently of processor 204 via one or more interfaces 216. In the alternative, or in addition, data provided to processor 204 may be added to the data store 212. External data 218 may be organized through a variety of methods. Typically, but not exclusively, data is organized in a relational database. However, data may be organized in any useful data structure and access to the data for the visualization engine 202 may be provided in any suitable manner.
As used herein, data is comprised primarily of parameter values, comprising, spatial, non-spatial, material and/or non-material characteristics of objects parameters. Each parameter value is associated with an object and with a parameter for the object, and with a time value, which may represent a time of measurement or recording of the value. The system enables the user to select a number and arrangement of researched objects depending on an object in view, for example, in the scope of the subject of the federation, company, deposit, branch of industry, and so forth.
Thus, data loaded into the system represents information on behavior of so-called objects in time. Objects may be various by nature depending on subject space. They may be, for example, goods, contracts of rent, wells, people, insurance policies, and so forth. Objects may possess classification properties not changing in time which are referred to herein as characteristics. For goods, for example, a characteristic may be an accessory to “group of the goods”; for wells, a characteristic may be a territorial arrangement, appointment; for people, a characteristic may be a nationality or gender. Stability of characteristics in time may not always be assumed, even for a nationality and a gender, and whether or not a value is considered characteristic may depend on the task at hand.
In comparison, as used herein, parameters refer to values that vary with time. For example, for an object of “goods” parameters may comprise “price”, “quantity” and so forth; for wells, parameters may comprise “oil recovery”, “load waters” and so forth; and for people, parameters may comprise “weight”, “temperature”, “salary” and so forth. Change of parameters for objects over time may be defined by additional data. For example, values of parameters of goods during different periods of time depend also on different locations where the goods are. Values of parameters of wells during various periods of time may be additionally defined, for example, by a reservoir from which the well extracts. Such additional data may be referred to herein as data attributes.
Both objects and parameters may be arranged on corresponding axes in various orders. For example, objects may be arranged in alphabetic order or on increase (decrease) of parameter values. Parameters may be arranged in an order defined in response to user input. Such ordering may be referred to as sorting.
Both for objects and for parameters it may be important to display them not in full list, but selectively, by various criteria. For example, a user may select goods relating to one group, or same-gender people. Or a user may select wells, which have extracted oil not less than a preset value, for the specified period of time. Such selections are referred to herein as filters.
Objects may have hierarchical relationships to one another. FIG. 3A is a conceptual diagram showing how the system may organize objects in hierarchies 300 that appear in various 3D data space displays 302-314 of a data system. In each of the depicted examples the object axis is drawn horizontally, the time axis vertically and the parameter axis downward to the left. In a top-level data space depicted at 302, a high level object classification may comprise, for example, countries. Therefore the data space 302 may be displayed with a list of country identifiers along the object axis, labels for country parameters along the parameter axis and time values along the time axis. Data may by displayed in volumetric cells using a color coding scheme, as described more fully elsewhere herein. The top-level volumetric data space 302 is associated with a lower-order data space via the object axis. Selection of a point along the object access by user input amounts to selection of one of the listed objects, for example, a country such as the Russian Federation (“RF”).
In response to the user selection of an object, the computer may generate a data slice perpendicular to the object access (e.g., a time-parameter table for the selected object), or provided that the object is associated with a lower-order volumetric data space, a new display of the lower-order space 304. Selection of one of these options (slice or lower-order volumetric space) may be determined in response to additional user input; for example, selection of a menu item prior to the object selection or activation of a designated control key on an input device while selecting the option. In the alternative, selection of the option may depend solely on the available data, for example, whether or not a lower-order volumetric data space is associated with and available for the selected object. In brief, the computer selectively displays one of the 2-D slice or the 3D lower-order space in response to selection of an object, depending on at least one of additional user input or data available for the object.
The lower-order volumetric space 304 is populated by multiple objects that are included in the higher-order selected object from space 302. Here, for example, the selected country object “Russian Federation” includes multiple subjects (a.k.a provinces) within itself. Each of the plural subject objects is likewise associated with plural parameters in the lower order space 304. Generally, this sort of containment relationship between higher and lower order objects provides a logical basis for an object hierarchy, which is consistent for the examples shown in FIG. 3A. However, the technology is not limited thereby; all that is required is that a plural number of lower-order objects be associated with each higher-order object in a hierarchy.
Generally, the number of possible object levels in a hierarchy is practically unlimited. Seven levels are shown in FIG. 3A. Some or all of the subject objects in volumetric data space 302, for example, may be associated with a lower-order volumetric space 306 populated by plural industry type objects (e.g., oil, agriculture, steel making, etc.) having plural industry parameters. In turn, some or all of the industry objects in data space 306, for example, may be associated with a lower-order volumetric data space 308 populated by company objects having plural company parameters. Continuing the example, some or all of the company objects may be associated with a lower-order volumetric data space 310 populated by oil deposit objects having plural deposit parameters. Likewise, some or all of the oil deposit objects may be associated with a lower-order volumetric data space 312 populated by oil formation objects having plural formation parameters. Finally, some or all of the oil formation objects may be associated with a lower-order volumetric data space 314 populated by oil well objects having plural well parameters. Thus, FIG. 3A illustrates the enormous amount of data that can be rapidly navigated and visualized using hierarchically linked volumetric data spaces (e.g., spaces 302-314) together with the innovative use of the computer to selectively display one of the 2-D slice or the 3D lower-order space in response to selection of a data point on an axis, depending on at least one of additional user input or data available for the data point.
Likewise, objects can form hierarchies that follow any directed graph allowing one or multiple ways to go up from each 3D data space display and go down from each object used on any 3D data space display. Going down can be based on the object hierarchy or based on the object\'s properties hierarchy. Such a directed graph can form cycles one example of which is illustrated in FIG. 3B. Data space depicted at 322 lists countries as objects. Following Russia to “Kinds of Industry” at data space 324 selecting “Oil”, selecting “Lukoil” from “Oil Companies” of Russia data space 326, selecting “West Qurna” from Lukoil “Deposits” data space 328, we reach data space 330 with individual wells as objects. We can reach the same data space 330 by selecting Iraq from the countries data space 322 where we started off at the previous path along the hierarchical graph. From “Kinds of Industry” in Iraq 332 we select “Oil” and get to the data space 334 that lists all oil deposits in Iraq. From there we select “West Qurna” and arrive at the same data space 330 that we reached before via Russian oil company Lukoil\'s deposits. In general, there may be many ways to reach each data space in a similar way through different selection paths, as described in the foregoing example. This generality is depicted as an arrow coming from multiple other data spaces depicted as dots 342. Each object may have multiple lower hierarchies depicted as dots symbolizing other data spaces such as 340. To further illustrate this situation “Oil” object at data space 332 can be followed to “Oil companies” in Iraq 336 or to oil “Deposits” in Iraq or to other data spaces as well depicted with dots 344.
This graph connecting each object with none, one, or multiple data spaces and each data space with none, one, or multiple objects can be constructed manually or automatically. One example of such automation may be based on general hierarchical rules for certain object property types (such as for geographic coordinates). If a set of objects has geographic coordinates x and y on the earth\'s surface and there exists a mapping of coordinates to named geographic areas that are also objects such as countries or continents it is possible to automatically classify objects of any type based on their coordinates. The mapping can be, in turn, defined in advance such as geometric shapes on earth that match an object in question with each country defined by the shape if object\'s in question coordinates fall inside of the matching shape.
In the example depicted in FIG. 3B each oil well, each deposit, and each oil company can be assigned to a country data space 322 based on their coordinates (for example, coordinates of the main office in case of oil companies). Such graph construction can be performed in advance or on-demand. For example, by selecting Russia from the data space 322 the existence of the option to follow the graph to data spaces with deposits can be calculated after Russia is selected.
Implementation in a Graphical User Interface
FIGS. 4-20 depict a variety of screenshots in a windowed graphical user interface (GUI) environment. However, the technology is not limited thereby, and the depicted screenshots are intended as examples to illustrate operation of the visualization and analysis methods, and do not limit the scope of the illustrated methods. The basic window generated by a computer 202 may appear as a standard window in a standard graphical user interface. For example, arranged at the top of a window there may appear a main menu comprising of “Operations”, “Windows” and “Help”. Under the menu there may appear a panel of tools, buttons of which duplicate points of the main menu. In response to targeting of a user input pointer on the button there may appear information (tool tip) regarding action, which corresponds to this button. In the center of the window there may appear a program “desktop”, on which the windows opened during the work process may be arranged. In the bottom of the program window there may be provided a status bar and a bar displaying a course of performance of some operation.
Data Attributes Control
If data attributes described above are incorporated in the loaded data they have the fixed values at any moment of work with the program. These values may be changed. As used herein, additional non-numerical data on which values of object parameters during any period of time depend are understood as data attributes. For example, if a person\'s salary is a parameter for the person “object”, and it is assumed that the person can work simultaneously in several offices, the organization paying the salary to the person may be understood as a data attribute. Another example of a data attributes is an indicator that may be applicable in many subject fields, indicating whether the given value of a parameter is actual or look-ahead.
The computer system may enable users to set values for data attributes in response to a menu command, keyboard command, or other user input. In the GUI environment, the system may cause a window (not shown) to be displayed on the client for setting data attributes. Such a window may display several lists, the number of which corresponds to the number of loaded data attributes. Each list contains two or more values for the corresponding attribute; for example, different employers for the same person as attributes for a salary parameter. Selection of the desired or current value of the attribute may be enabled by selection input from a pointing device or other user input indicating the desired value. In response to an attribute selection, the computer system may cause the selected attribute value to apply in all current and future data space displays.
Object and Parameter Tables
Lists of the loaded objects and their parameters may be viewed in windows containing corresponding tables. These tables may be generated by the computer system by applying selected filters to system data. That is, application of one or more filters by the system causes only such data as satisfies filter condition to appear in the generated tables. If filters are not applied all the data for a selected object-parameter pair and selected time may appear.
In an embodiment, the system may generate a window (not shown) to display tabular data with an interactive tools bar for providing user input. The window may include a heading a number of lines for the table, below which the table is displayed in row-column form. In response to selection of buttons from the tool bar or other user input the computer system may perform, for example, the following actions: printing of information content of the window, sorting of lines of the table, filtering of data according to user-defined filtering criteria and search in the table.
As noted above, filters permit selection of a data subset for viewing or other processing according to some defined filtering criteria. A special case is filtering according to hierarchy, made possible because of hierarchical relationships between data spaces as described above. A hierarchical filter uses objects characteristics located in a certain order. Such order, as a rule, sets some classification of objects with various levels of hierarchy. For example, supposing the characteristic of deposits is in order of: 1. Federal district, 2. The oil company, 3. The subject of the Russian Federation, the system permits setting classification levels so as to first divide deposits on subjects of the Russian Federation, then on federal districts, and, at last, on oil companies.
It should be appreciated that values of object characteristics, distributed in a similar way, form a tree structure. Each branch of the tree represents a set of values of the object characteristics, and the branches are at different levels. The first level represents values of the first characteristic, the second level represent values of the first and second characteristic, and so forth. Selection of the unit can be used to set a filter condition. For example, selecting the second level from the example above for deposits sets the filter with a condition: Federal district=“Privolzhsky” and the Oil company=“Lukoil”. This condition allocates a subset among all deposits with the selected criteria.
To enable use of the hierarchical filter, the computer system may provide a hierarchical filter selection window 400, as shown in FIG. 4. The selection window 400 may comprise the filter tree 402 as described above. The window 400 may further comprise a button for changing an operating mode of the filter, a button for adjusting the filter and description of the current highlighted branch of a tree. The system may enable users to work with the filter one of two modes: simple and expanded. For switching between the two modes, the window 400 may comprise a button as shown at the upper left of the window.
In the simple mode of the hierarchical filter, the computer system enables user selection of only one unit of a tree. Such selection may be enabled, for example, by selection of a unit description using an input device, which the button “apply” in the lower left inactivated. Therefore, to set the filter, for example, <Federal district=“Privolzhsky”, the Oil company=“Lukoil”, the Subject of the Russian Federation=“the Saratov region”>, the user first navigates to the lowest-level unit “Saratov region” by opening the corresponding levels of the tree one after another, and then selecting the unit.
In the expanded mode, the computer system enables user selection of several units of a tree. The tree window 400 in this case contains a selection box near each unit for selection, as shown in the depicted tree 402. Thus, several units even of various levels may be selected at the same time. Having selected necessary units by a mouse click in a window near them, and, having pressed the button “To apply”, the computer system responds by setting the filter to the selected units.
The structure and order of the object characteristics defining the structure of a hierarchy (tree) may be automatically configured at an initial step of data loading. The initial configuration may be changed using an interactive window (not shown) for adjustment of the filter which the systems may open in response to user input. An adjustment window may comprise, for example, a list of characteristics of objects according to the initial or current configuration. The arrangement and ranking of items in the hierarchy may be changed in response to user input, for example, by simple dragging of a mouse or other pointing device. In addition, the system may enable addition or removal from a displayed list in response to selection input. For example, to add the characteristic to a list a user may select it in a left part of a window and to then press a button “>>” to move it to the right; conversely, to remove the characteristic from the list it a user may select it in a list located to the right part of the window and then press button “<<” to move it to the right.
Parametrical filtering allows making data selections of objects in response to parameter values. For example, the system enables users to select objects for which a selected parameter does not exceed a defined value. The user may also specify the scope of data to which the parameter filter should be applied, for example, to data for one or more periods of time. The parametrical filter may be controlled using a parametrical filter window 500 as shown in FIG. 5, which may be opened in response to user command input.
In an upper part 502 of this window a command button “Use filter” may be provided as a toggle input to indicate whether the parametrical filter should be switched on or off. The window 500 contains a section of conditions of the filter, the list of designations of the parameters used in a condition, a time period and a filter scope in the selection period.
The condition may be set by expression input, for example:
the designations of parameters listed;