Patent ID: 7243096
Filing Date: 2007-07-10
Classification: G06F,Y10S

Abstract:
1. A method, being executable by a computer, for use in a multidimensional electronic spreadsheet comprising a plurality of cells identified by a cell address along each dimension, for processing, on a data table, a command comprising one or a plurality of order oriented criteria, said data table being defined as a structured multidimensional range of cells comprising: one or a plurality of fields, a field being defined as a range of cells along a first dimension; a plurality of records of same structure, ordered and aligned along said first dimension, a record being defined as a range of cells structured according to said one or a plurality of fields along a second dimension; said method comprising the steps of: receiving a command comprising means for identifying: processing one or plurality of cell content criteria on the specified one or plurality of fields of the data table; selecting the records in the data table complying with the processed one or plurality of cell content criteria; determining, from a given first selected record in the data table, the rank of each selected record along the first dimension and entering said rank in a temporary field defined for each selected record, the rank of a selected record being defined as the number of selected records including said selected record, that comply with the cell content criterias said selected records being counted along the first dimension from said first selected record up to said selected record; converting the one or plurality of order oriented criteria in a new cell content criterion to apply on the temporary field, said step comprising, for each order oriented criterion, the further steps of: processing said new cell content criterion on the temporary field of the selected records; identifying the records, among the selected records, complying said new cell content criterion; returning a result of said received command, computed from the cells belonging to the field specified in the command, and the records identified among the selected records.