Abstract:
A report definition is processed by a report processor to generate a report. The report processor performs predetermined standard functions and includes an extension for performing predetermined extended functions. The report definition includes a plurality of items of standard data that the report processor can process with the predetermined standard functions thereof. The report definition also includes a plurality of items of custom data that the extension can process with the predetermined extended functions thereof. Each item of custom data is referenced by a corresponding item of standard data. The custom data is not recognizable to the report processor but is passed by the report processor to the extension in a format that maintains the reference thereto by the corresponding item of standard data.

Description:
CROSS-REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATION  
       [0001]    The present application is related to U.S. patent application No. ______/______,______, filed concurrently herewith under Attorney Docket No. MSFT-1531 and entitled “DEFINING A REPORT BASED ON DATA REGIONS AND INCLUDING CUSTOM DATA IN A REPORT DEFINITION”. 
     
    
     
       TECHNICAL FIELD  
         [0002]    The present invention relates to a system and method for designing and rendering a report of data based on defined data regions within the report. More particularly, the present invention relates to data regions within such a report that can be defined as extending in more than one dimension, and also to including custom data in a definition of a report.  
         BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION  
         [0003]    In any industry, enterprise, endeavor, or the like data regarding aspects thereof is accumulated over time for among other things the purpose of reporting status. For example, and with regard to a sales enterprise, sales data can be accumulated with regard to each sale of an item, including the salesman, the customer, the region of the salesman, the region of the customer, the amount of the sale, the quantity of the item sold, the date of the sale, the date of the delivery of the sold item, and/or the like. Based on such sales data, then, it may be that a report is generated that details sales by year, by month, by customer by year, by item by quarter, by salesman by delivery date, by region by week, and/or the like.  
           [0004]    Most any report based on report data is generated based on a report definition. As may be appreciated, such report definition describes how to render the report on a page or screen or the like, and in particular describes how to lay out areas on the report such as a header, a footer, a group header, a group footer, a sub-group header, a sub-group footer, a table or other details based on report data, and/or the like. An example of an application for defining a report and rendering the report based on the definition is MICROSOFT ACCESS data organizing and reporting software as developed and marketed by MICROSOFT Corporation of Redmond, Wash., USA.  
           [0005]    Significantly, in the prior art, data is organized within a defined report according to bands that extend between the sides of the page, screen, or the like (hereinafter “page”). Thus, a defined report as rendered on a page is a series of bands that extend in one dimension from the top of the page to the bottom thereof. Without anything more, then, elements of organized data within the report such as tables, charts, graphs, and the like are restricted to likewise extending in the one dimension from the top of the page to the bottom of the page. That is, and as an example, a table of data and a graph pictorially representing the table cannot be arranged side-by-side within a band.  
           [0006]    In an effort to rectify the inability to define side-by-side elements within a band of a defined report, various artifices have been devised. In one artifice in particular, side-by-side elements are created within a band of a defined report by means of defining sub-reports for each element. However, defining and using such sub-reports is overly complex and cumbersome and still does not achieve more sophisticated goals such as layering elements on top of each other.  
           [0007]    Accordingly, a need exists for a report definition and processing system and method that allows a report to be defined such that elements of organized data in the report can extend in more than one dimension, including down a page, across the page, and layered on the page. In particular, a need exists for a report definition and processing system and method that allows a report to be defined according to data regions that are to appear on the page, where the data regions are not bound to extending in any particular dimension. In addition, a need exists for a report definition and processing system and method that is extensible in that custom data can be set forth in a report definition and can be acted upon by an appropriate extension of the system.  
         SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION  
         [0008]    The aforementioned needs are satisfied at least in part by the present invention in which a report definition is to be processed by a report processor to generate a report. The report processor performs predetermined standard functions and includes an extension for performing predetermined extended functions. The report definition includes a plurality of items of standard data that the report processor can process with the predetermined standard functions thereof. The report definition also includes a plurality of items of custom data that the extension can process with the predetermined extended functions thereof. Each item of custom data is referenced by a corresponding item of standard data. The custom data is not recognizable to the report processor but is passed by the report processor to the extension in a format that maintains the reference thereto by the corresponding item of standard data.  
         BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS  
         [0009]    The foregoing summary, as well as the following detailed description of the embodiments of the present invention, will be better understood when read in conjunction with the appended drawings. For the purpose of illustrating the invention, there are shown in the drawings embodiments which are presently preferred. As should be understood, however, the invention is not limited to the precise arrangements and instrumentalities shown. In the drawings:  
           [0010]    [0010]FIG. 1 is a block diagram representing a general purpose computer system in which aspects of the present invention and/or portions thereof may be incorporated;  
           [0011]    [0011]FIG. 2 is a block diagram showing a report laid out according to data regions that extend in multiple dimensions in accordance with one embodiment of the present invention;  
           [0012]    [0012]FIG. 2A is a block diagram showing an example of the report of FIG. 2  
           [0013]    [0013]FIG. 3 is a block diagram showing a report processor and related elements for generating the report of FIGS. 2 and 2A in accordance with embodiments of the present invention;  
           [0014]    [0014]FIG. 4 is a flow chart showing key steps performed by the report processor of FIG. 3 in accordance with one embodiment of the present invention; and  
           [0015]    [0015]FIG. 5 is a flow chart showing key steps performed by the report processor of FIG. 3 in handling custom data in a report definition. 
       
    
    
     DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION  
     Overview  
       [0016]    In the present invention, a report is defined according to data regions that may be placed anywhere in three-dimensional space on a page. That is data regions may extend across a page, down a page, or be layered one on top of the other on a page. Thus, report layout is much more flexible than a prior art banded report with bands that extend down the page only. Each data region includes data from a particular data set organized into any of several types of elements including a graph, a table, a header, a footer, and/or the like. Each data region as set for the within a defined report has an X and Y position on the page and a Z (layering) order on the page, and also has a height and width.  
         [0017]    Moreover, in the present invention, data from a data set may be represented /displayed in a defined report in multiple data regions thereof. Thus, and for example, data from a data set may be employed to construct a table and also to construct a chart representative of the table. Likewise, data from a data set may be represented in a first data region according to a first vector, such as by time, and in a second data region according to a second vector, such as by a geographic region.  
         [0018]    Significantly, the use of data regions in a report definition eliminates the need to use sub-reports in most cases. Accordingly, problems inherent in sub-reports including increased complexity and cumbersomeness are avoided.  
       Computer Environment  
       [0019]    [0019]FIG. 1 and the following discussion are intended to provide a brief general description of a suitable computing environment in which the present invention and/or portions thereof may be implemented. Although not required, the invention is described in the general context of computer-executable instructions, such as program modules, being executed by a computer, such as a client workstation or a server. Generally, program modules include routines, programs, objects, components, data structures and the like that perform particular tasks or implement particular abstract data types. Moreover, it should be appreciated that the invention and/or portions thereof may be practiced with other computer system configurations, including hand-held devices, multi-processor systems, microprocessor-based or programmable consumer electronics, network PCs, minicomputers, mainframe computers and the like. The invention may also be practiced in distributed computing environments where tasks are performed by remote processing devices that are linked through a communications network. In a distributed computing environment, program modules may be located in both local and remote memory storage devices.  
         [0020]    As shown in FIG. 1, an exemplary general purpose computing system includes a conventional personal computer  120  or the like, including a processing unit  121 , a system memory  122 , and a system bus  123  that couples various system components including the system memory to the processing unit  121 . The system bus  123  may be any of several types of bus structures including a memory bus or memory controller, a peripheral bus, and a local bus using any of a variety of bus architectures. The system memory includes read-only memory (ROM)  124  and random access memory (RAM)  125 . A basic input/output system  126  (BIOS), containing the basic routines that help to transfer information between elements within the personal computer  120 , such as during start-up, is stored in ROM  124 .  
         [0021]    The personal computer  120  may further include a hard disk drive  127  for reading from and writing to a hard disk (not shown), a magnetic disk drive  128  for reading from or writing to a removable magnetic disk  129 , and an optical disk drive  130  for reading from or writing to a removable optical disk  131  such as a CD-ROM or other optical media. The hard disk drive  127 , magnetic disk drive  128 , and optical disk drive  130  are connected to the system bus  123  by a hard disk drive interface  132 , a magnetic disk drive interface  133 , and an optical drive interface  134 , respectively. The-drives and their associated computer-readable media provide non-volatile storage of computer readable instructions, data structures, program modules and other data for the personal computer  20 .  
         [0022]    Although the exemplary environment described herein employs a hard disk, a removable magnetic disk  129 , and a removable optical disk  131 , it should be appreciated that other types of computer readable media which can store data that is accessible by a computer may also be used in the exemplary operating environment. Such other types of media include a magnetic cassette, a flash memory card, a digital video disk, a Bernoulli cartridge, a random access memory (RAM), a read-only memory (ROM), and the like.  
         [0023]    A number of program modules may be stored on the hard disk, magnetic disk  129 , optical disk  131 , ROM  124  or RAM  125 , including an operating system  135 , one or more application programs  136 , other program modules  137  and program data  138 . A user may enter commands and information into the personal computer  120  through input devices such as a keyboard  140  and pointing device  142 . Other input devices (not shown) may include a microphone, joystick, game pad, satellite disk, scanner, or the like. These and other input devices are often connected to the processing unit  121  through a serial port interface  146  that is coupled to the system bus, but may be connected by other interfaces, such as a parallel port, game port, or universal serial bus (USB). A monitor  147  or other type of display device is also connected to the system bus  123  via an interface, such as a video adapter  148 . In addition to the monitor  147 , a personal computer typically includes other peripheral output devices (not shown), such as speakers and printers. The exemplary system of FIG. 1 also includes a host adapter  155 , a Small Computer System Interface (SCSI) bus  156 , and an external storage device  162  connected to the SCSI bus  156 .  
         [0024]    The personal computer  120  may operate in a networked environment using logical connections to one or more remote computers, such as a remote computer  149 . The remote computer  149  may be another personal computer, a server, a router, a network PC, a peer device or other common network node, and typically includes many or all of the elements described above relative to the personal computer  120 , although only a memory storage device  150  has been illustrated in FIG. 1. The logical connections depicted in FIG. 1 include a local area network (LAN)  151  and a wide area network (WAN)  152 . Such networking environments are commonplace in offices, enterprise-wide computer networks, intranets, and the Internet. The personal computer  120  may also act as a host to a guest such as another personal computer  120 , a more specialized device such as a portable player or portable data assistant, or the like, whereby the host downloads data to and/or uploads data from the guest, among other things.  
         [0025]    When used in a LAN networking environment, the personal computer  120  is connected to the LAN  151  through a network interface or adapter  153 . When used in a WAN networking environment, the personal computer  120  typically includes a modem  154  or other means for establishing communications over the wide area network  152 , such as the Internet. The modem  154 , which may be internal or external, is connected to the system bus  123  via the serial port interface  146 . In a networked environment, program modules depicted relative to the personal computer  120 , or portions thereof, may be stored in the remote memory storage device. It will be appreciated that the network connections shown are exemplary and other means of establishing a communications link between the computers may be used.  
       Report Definition Based on Data Regions  
       [0026]    In one embodiment of the present invention, and turning now to FIG. 2, it is seen that a report  10  is defined to have a plurality of data regions  12  arranged on a page  14 . Significantly, each data region  12  as arranged on the page  14  in the defined report  10  may extend in any particular dimension, including across the page  14 , down the page  14 , on top of another data region  12 , and the like.  
         [0027]    Note that each data region  12  as defined in the report  10  of FIG. 2 derives from a particular data set  16 , and that each data set  16  derives from a particular data source  18 . A data set  16  may be associated many data regions  12  and a data source  18  may be associated with many data sets  16 . It may be the case that some data regions  12  in a report  10  actually have no data from any data set  16  and therefore are merely regions. Nevertheless, such regions are still characterized as data regions  12  for purposes of convenience.  
         [0028]    Turning now to FIG. 2A, a definition of a particular report  10  is shown. As may be appreciated, within the report  10  are one or more data regions  12 , each representing a Product Category group. Thus, the Product Category group data region  12  is repeatable for however many products categories exist. Each Product Category group data region  12  represents a product category and has associated therewith a Product Category data region  12  with the name of the product category. As seen, the Product Category data region  12  is layered on top of the Product Category group data region  12 . Thus, one data region  12  may be located in relation to another data region  12 , and one data region  12  may derive from another data region  12  in a parent-child manner.  
         [0029]    As may also be appreciated, within the report  10 , for each Product Category group data region  12  there are one or more data regions  12 , each representing a Product group data region  12 . Thus, the Product group data region  12  is repeatable for however many products are in the product category. Each Product group data region  12  represents a product and has associated therewith a Product data region  12  with the name of the product. Each Product group data region  12  also has underneath the Product data region  12  a List data region  12  that lists sales totals for the product by year by way of one or more appropriate data regions  12 . As seen, the Product data region  12  and List data region  12  are layered on top of the Product group data region  12 , and the data regions  12  of the List data region  12  are layered on top of such List data region  12 .  
         [0030]    As may further be appreciated, within the report  10 , for each Product Category group data region  12  there are one or more data regions  12 , each representing a Region group data region  12 . Thus, the Region group data region  12  is repeatable for however many regions are in the product category. Each Region group data region  12  represents a region and has associated therewith a Region data region  12  with the name of the region. Each Region group data region  12  also has underneath the Region data region  12  a Pie Chart data region  12  that displays a pie chart representative of the region. As seen, the Region data region  12  and Pie Chart data region  12  are layered on top of the Region group data region  12 .  
         [0031]    As may still further be appreciated, within the Product Category group data region  12 , each Product group data region  12  is arranged to appear on the left side and each Region group data region  12  is arranged to appear on the right side. Thus, the report  10  as shown in FIG. 2A exhibits data regions extending down, assuming multiple repetitions of the group data definitions, extending across, as represented by the Product group and Region group data regions  12 , and extending in a layered fashion.  
         [0032]    In one embodiment of the present invention, and turning now to FIG. 3, a report  10  is generated by a report processor  20  from a report definition  22 . As seen, the report definition  22  includes query information on the queries necessary to develop the data sets  16  that are to populate the data regions  12  with data, and data source information on each data source  18  from which the data sets  16  are to be obtained. The queries set forth in the query information may be based on any particular querying tool without departing from the spirit and scope of the present invention. The data source information includes all information necessary to locate and access each necessary data source  18 . Such data source information may include a network location of the data source  18 , as well as access parameters such as identifications, passwords, access protocols, and the like.  
         [0033]    In one embodiment of the present invention, the report processor  20  does not itself access each necessary data source  18  and perform each query, but instead forwards appropriate portions of the query information and data source information to an appropriate query processor  24 . As may be appreciated, based on such information, the query processor  24  accesses the data source  18 , performs the query, and forwards the query results to the report processor  20  as the data sets  16 .  
         [0034]    As also seen in FIG. 3, the report definition  22  includes layout information on the layout of each data region  12  that is to appear in the report. Such layout information includes the size of each data region  14 , where each data region  12  is to appear on a page  14 , how each data region  12  relates to any other data region  12 , and whether and if so how each data region  12  is layered on top of another data region  12 . Significantly, the layout information in the report definition  22  also includes for each defined data region  12  an identification of the data set  16  from which the data for such data region is obtained, and information on how to populate the data region  12  with such data set  16 .  
         [0035]    A sample report definition  22  is set forth in Appendix A, attached. As seen, the report definition  22  is in an XML format, although other formats may also be employed without departing from the spirit and scope of the present invention. An appropriate report definition generating tool (not shown) may be employed to generate the report definition  22 . Such generating tool is known or should be apparent to the relevant public based on the present disclosure, and may include appropriate user interface features to assist a user in constructing a report definition  22 .  
         [0036]    In one embodiment of the present invention, the report definition  22  with the query information, the data source information, and the layout information is executed by the report processor  20  to in fact generate the report  10 . In doing so, the report processor  20  may employ one or more data extensions  26  to access the data by way of one or more query processors  24 . Alternatively, the data extensions  26  may in fact be the query processors  24 . Extensibility in the report processor  20  is achieved in that an additional data source  18  can be added at any time by providing an appropriate data extension  26 .  
         [0037]    In addition, the report processor  20  may employ one or more rendering extensions  28  to in fact render the report  10  in a particular format. For example, if a user selects that the report  10  is to be rendered in an HTML format, the report processor  20  would select an HTML rendering extension  28  to so render the report  10 . Most any rendering extension  28  may be employed without departing from the spirit and scope of the present invention. For example, the rendering extension  28  may be an XML, bitmap, printer, TIFF, PostScript, PCL, PDF, or JPEG rendering extension, among others. Extensibility in the report processor  20  is also achieved in that an additional type of rendering can be added at any time by providing an appropriate rendering extension  28 .  
         [0038]    Referring now to FIG. 4, a process employed by the report processor  20  to generate a report  10  based on a report definition  22  is shown. Preliminarily, it is to be appreciated that a user creates the report definition  22  in an appropriate manner to define the report  10 , and in doing so sets forth the query information, the data source information, and the layout information from which the report is to be generated (step  401 ). Thereafter, the same user or another user submits the created report definition  22  to the report processor  20  and such report processor  20  runs the report definition  22  (step  403 ).  
         [0039]    In particular, the report processor  20  determines from the data source information in the report definition  22  each data source  18  from which a data set  16  must be obtained to generate the report  10  (step  405 ). In addition, the report processor  20  determines from the query information in the report definition  22  each query that is to be submitted to obtain a data set  16  and the data source  18  to which the query is submitted to (step  407 ).  
         [0040]    For each data set  16  to be obtained based on a query, then, the report processor  20  selects a data extension  26  based on the data source  18  for the query (step  409 ) and employs the selected data extension  26  and all information necessary to access the data source  18  to submit the query to the data source  18  (step  411 ), perhaps by way of an appropriate query processor  24 . The data source  18  in due course generates and returns the data set  16 , and such data set  16  is received by the report processor  20  by way of the selected data extension  26  (step  413 ).  
         [0041]    Once all data sets  16  needed for the report  10  have been received by the report processor  20 , such report processor  20  then lays out the report  10  based on the layout information in the report definition  22  (step  415 ). In particular, based on each data region  12  defined in the report definition  22 , the report processor lays out the data region  12  within the report  10  and populates the data region  12  with data from the data set  16  associated with such data region  12 .  
         [0042]    In one embodiment of the present invention, the laying out of the report  10  is performed independently of any rendering extension, and in fact the report  10  is laid out into an intermediate format  30 . Thus, and as set forth in more detail below, rendering takes place afterward based on a selected rendering extension  28  and the intermediate format  30  of the laid out report  10 . Of course, rendering may be performed immediately by a selected rendering extension without the use of an intermediate format  30  without departing from the spirit and scope of the present invention.  
         [0043]    Once the report is laid out into the intermediate format  30 , then, the report processor  20  in fact renders the report  10  based on a selected rendering extension  28 . In particular, at some point, the report processor  20  receives a selection from the user regarding the type of rendering format /rendering extension  28  (step  417 ). Such selection may of course occur when the report  10  is run (step  403 ), after the report is laid out into the intermediate format  30  (step  415 ) or at any other appropriate or necessary time. In addition, the report definition  22  for the report  10  may specify the rendering extension  28  to be selected. With the selected rendering format, then, the report processor  20  employs the corresponding rendering extension  28  and the intermediate format  30  of the report  10  to render the report  10  in the selected format (step  419 ). The rendered report  10  is then available to be reviewed by the user if in a viewable format, printed by the user if in a printing format, or the like.  
       Custom Data in the Report Definition  22   
       [0044]    As was set forth above, the report processor  20  is extensible in that additional data and rendering functionality may be provided by adding data and rendering extensions  26 ,  28 , respectively. In one embodiment of the present invention, the report processor  20  is also extensible in that the report definition  22  submitted thereto may have custom data  32  that is not recognizable to the report processor  20  but is recognizable to, for example, a rendering extension  28  selected to render the report  10  based on the report definition  22 . Accordingly, a report  10  may be imparted with custom rendering effects by defining custom data  32  for such effects in the report definition  22  for such report  10  (FIG. 3), and also by defining a rendering extension  28  that can interpret and act upon such custom data  32 .  
         [0045]    Custom data  32  can be any type of meta-data that adds to or modifies standard data  34  already recognized by the report processor  20  without departing from the spirit and scope of the present invention. Moreover, custom data  32  is not limited to data to be recognized by a rendering extension  28 , but instead may be any data to be recognized by any extension. For example, if the standard data  34  is a text box data region  12 , the custom data  32  could be to render the text box with embossed text or inverted colors. Similarly, if the standard data  34  is a digital picture in a picture data region  12 , the custom data  32  could be to re-purpose the digital picture within a table data region  12 . Likewise, if the standard data  34  related to security, the custom data  32  could be for a security extension (not shown) to calculate a security value in determining whether rendering should take place. As may be appreciated, types of custom data  32  abound, and accordingly any type of custom data may be employed without departing from the spirit and scope of the present invention.  
         [0046]    Note, though, that inasmuch as the report processor  20  heretofore did not recognize the custom data  32  in the report definition  22 , such report processor  20  deleted or ignored the custom data  32  in laying out the report in the intermediate format  30 . In doing so, of course, the custom data  32  was not made available to the rendering extension  28  that is to render the report  10  based on the intermediate format  30  or to any other extensions.  
         [0047]    Accordingly, and in one embodiment of the present invention, the custom data  32  within the report definition  22  is tagged as such, and the report processor  20  is programmed to recognize the tagged custom data  32  and pass same through to the intermediate format  30 . Thus, in doing so, the passed-through custom data  32  is in fact made available to the rendering extension  28  that is to render the report  10  based on the intermediate format  30 , or to any other extension, and the rendering extension  28  or other extension, which does recognize the passed-through custom data  32 , can in fact interpret and act upon such custom data  32 .  
         [0048]    As was set forth above, a report definition  22  defines how to obtain data for data regions  12  of a report  10  and how to lay out the report  10  in an intermediate format  30  that is independent of the type of rendering to be applied to the report  10 . In one embodiment of the present invention, and as seen in Appendix A, the report definition  22  is in a hierarchical format such as XML, and each piece of custom data  32  relates to standard data  34  by being represented within the report definition  22  as a sub-tree depending from a node representing the standard data  34 . In addition, the sub-tree is tagged to the effect that such sub-tree represents custom data  32 . Thus, the custom data  32  is associated with the standard data  34 , and such association can be maintained when the custom data  32  is passed through to the intermediate format  30 . In particular, in one embodiment of the present invention, the report processor  20  annotates appropriate parts of the intermediate format  30  with data derived from associated custom data  32 .  
         [0049]    Custom data  32  can be static or dynamic. As may be appreciated, static custom data  32  is data that the report processor  20  passes directly through to the intermediate format  30  without any manipulation. For example, such static custom data  32  may be a look-up table used by an extension to look up particular values in connection with the associated piece of standard data  34 . In contrast, dynamic custom data  32  is data that the report processor  20  manipulates to produce a result, where the result is passes through to the intermediate format  30  if needed therein. For example, such dynamic custom data  32  may be values employed by the report processor  20  to calculate a contrast level, where the contrast level is passed through to the intermediate format  30 . Note that the manipulations performed by the report processor  20  with regard to dynamic custom data  32  may or may not require data from a data set  16 . Note also that the result of manipulations with regard to dynamic data  32  may be used by an extension other than the rendering extension  28 , in which case the rendering extension  28  need not be aware of the result and such result need not be placed in the intermediate format  30 .  
         [0050]    As may now be appreciated, each piece of custom data  32  within a report definition  22  is specific to one or more particular extensions and is related to a piece of standard data  34  in the report definition  22 . Turning now to FIG. 5, when the report processor  20  processes a piece of standard data  34  (step  501 ), then, such processor  20  also: processes any dynamic custom data  32  associated therewith and if rendering-related associates the results with the standard data in the intermediate format  30  (step  503 ); and preserves any static custom data  32  associated therewith and associates such static custom data  32  therewith in the intermediate format  30  (step  505 ). The resulting intermediate format  30  with both data derived from standard data  34  and static custom data  32  / data derived from dynamic custom data  32  is then forwarded to the selected rendering extension  28  for rendering and other related additional processing (step  507 ).  
         [0051]    The rendering extension  28  processes the data derived from the standard data  34  to provide core system functionality and the data derived from the custom data  32  to provide extension-specific functionality. If data derived from more than one type of custom data  32  is present in the intermediate format  30 , only that which is recognized by the rendering extension  28  is employed; the remainder is ignored (step  509 ). For example, a custom HTML rendering extension  28  could recognize a custom “frame” annotation on a standard intermediate format object such as a textbox and as a result render the contents of the textbox as HTML in a frame. A different rendering extension  28  that does not recognize the frame annotation would, however, simply render the textbox as a textbox.  
         [0052]    Note that data derived from custom data  32  may be applicable to more than one rendering extension  28  without departing from the spirit and scope of the present invention. Thus, multiple extension-specific sets of custom data  32  can be present in the report definition  22 , each controlling custom functionality in a respective extension component.  
       Conclusion  
       [0053]    The programming necessary to effectuate the processes performed and data structures created in connection with the present invention is relatively straight-forward and should be apparent to the relevant programming public. Accordingly, such programming is not attached hereto. Any particular programming, then, may be employed to effectuate the present invention without departing from the spirit and scope thereof.  
         [0054]    In the foregoing description, it can be seen that the present invention comprises a new and useful report definition and processing system and method that allows a report  10  to be defined such that elements of organized data in the report  10  can extend in more than one dimension, including down a page  14 , across the page  14 , and layered on the page  14 . In addition, the system and method allow a report  10  to be defined according to data regions  12  that are to appear on the page  14 , where the data regions  12  are not bound to extending in any particular dimension. Also, the system and method are extensible in that custom data  32  can be set forth in a report definition  22  and can be acted upon by an appropriate extension of the report processor  20 .  
         [0055]    It should be appreciated that changes could be made to the embodiments described above without departing from the inventive concepts thereof. It should be understood, therefore, that this invention is not limited to the particular embodiments disclosed, but it is intended to cover modifications within the spirit and scope of the present invention as defined by the appended claims.  
                     APPENDIX A                       Sample Report Definition 22                                &lt;?xml version=“1.0” encoding=“utf-8”?&gt;       &lt;Report       xmlns=“http://schemas.microsoft.com/SQLServer/reporting/reportdefinition-2”       xmlns:rd=“http://schemas.microsoft.com/SQLServer/reporting/reportdesigner”&gt;        &lt;DataSets&gt;         &lt;DataSet Name=“sales”&gt;          &lt;Fields&gt;           &lt;Field Name=“Category”&gt;            &lt;Alias&gt;Category&lt;/Alias&gt;           &lt;/Field&gt;           &lt;Field Name=“Product”&gt;            &lt;Alias&gt;Product&lt;/Alias&gt;           &lt;/Field&gt;           &lt;Field Name=“Year”&gt;            &lt;Alias&gt;Year&lt;/Alias&gt;           &lt;/Field&gt;           &lt;Field Name=“Sales”&gt;            &lt;Alias&gt;Sales&lt;/Alias&gt;           &lt;/Field&gt;           &lt;Field Name=“Region”&gt;            &lt;Alias&gt;Region&lt;/Alias&gt;           &lt;/Field&gt;          &lt;/Fields&gt;          &lt;Query&gt;           &lt;DataSourceName&gt;northwind&lt;/DataSourceName&gt;           &lt;CommandType&gt;Text&lt;/CommandType&gt;           &lt;CommandText&gt;SELECT c.CategoryName AS Category, p.ProductName       AS Product, DATEPART(yyyy, o.OrderDate) AS Year, SUM(od.UnitPrice *       od.Quantity) AS Sales,             r.RegionDescription AS Region       FROM   Territories AS t INNER JOIN             Region AS r ON t.RegionID = r.RegionID INNER JOIN             EmployeeTerritories AS et ON t.TerritoryID = et.TerritoryID INNER       JOIN             Employees AS e ON et.EmployeeID = e.EmployeeID INNER JOIN             Categories AS c INNER JOIN             Products AS p ON c.CategoryID = p.CategoryID INNER JOIN             [Order Details] AS od ON p.ProductID = od.ProductID INNER JOIN             Orders AS o ON od.OrderID = o.OrderID ON e.EmployeeID =       o.EmployeeID       WHERE (DATEPART(yyyy, o.OrderDate) &amp;gt;= 1997)       GROUP BY c.CategoryName, p.ProductName, DATEPART(yyyy, o.OrderDate),       r.Region Description&lt;/CommandText&gt;           &lt;Timeout&gt;30&lt;/Timeout&gt;          &lt;/Query&gt;         &lt;/DataSet&gt;         &lt;DataSet Name=“booksales”&gt;          &lt;Fields&gt;           &lt;Field Name=“Year”&gt;            &lt;Alias&gt;Year&lt;/Alias&gt;           &lt;/Field&gt;           &lt;Field Name=“Sales”&gt;            &lt;Alias&gt;Sales&lt;/Alias&gt;           &lt;/Field&gt;           &lt;Field Name=“Publisher”&gt;            &lt;Alias&gt;Publisher&lt;/Alias&gt;           &lt;/Field&gt;          &lt;/Fields&gt;          &lt;Query&gt;           &lt;DataSourceName&gt;pubs&lt;/DataSourceName&gt;           &lt;CommandType&gt;Text&lt;/CommandType&gt;           &lt;CommandText&gt;SELECT DATEPART(yyyy, sales.ord_date) + 4 AS Year,       SUM(sales.qty * titles.price) AS Sales, publishers.pub_name AS Publisher       FROM  titles INNER JOIN             sales ON titles.title_id = sales.title_id INNER JOIN             publishers ON titles.pub_id = publishers.pub_id       WHERE (DATEPART(yyyy, sales.ord_date) + 4 &amp;gt;= 1997)       GROUP BY DATEPART(yyyy, sales.ord_date) + 4,       publishers.pub_name&lt;/CommandText&gt;           &lt;Timeout&gt;30&lt;/Timeout&gt;          &lt;/Query&gt;         &lt;/DataSet&gt;        &lt;/DataSets&gt;        &lt;Width&gt;6.875in&lt;/Width&gt;        &lt;DataSources&gt;         &lt;DataSource Name=“northwind”&gt;          &lt;ConnectionProperties&gt;           &lt;Extension&gt;SQL&lt;/Extension&gt;           &lt;ConnectString&gt;data source=rosedata;initial catalog=Northwind;integrated       security=SSPI;persist security info=False&lt;/ConnectString&gt;           &lt;IntegratedSecurity&gt;true&lt;/IntegratedSecurity&gt;          &lt;/ConnectionProperties&gt;         &lt;/DataSource&gt;         &lt;DataSource Name=“pubs”&gt;          &lt;ConnectionProperties&gt;           &lt;Extension&gt;SQL&lt;/Extension&gt;           &lt;ConnectString&gt;data source=rosedata;initial catalog=pubs;integrated       security=SSPI;persist security info=False&lt;/ConnectString&gt;           &lt;IntegratedSecurity&gt;true&lt;/IntegratedSecurity&gt;          &lt;/ConnectionProperties&gt;         &lt;/DataSource&gt;        &lt;/DataSources&gt;        &lt;Body&gt;         &lt;ReportItems&gt;          &lt;Textbox Name=“textbox13”&gt;           &lt;Height&gt;0.25in&lt;/Height&gt;           &lt;Width&gt;1.875in&lt;/Width&gt;           &lt;Top&gt;0.125in&lt;/Top&gt;           &lt;Value&gt;Books&lt;/Value&gt;           &lt;Left&gt;0.375in&lt;/Left&gt;          &lt;/Textbox&gt;          &lt;Table Name=“table1”&gt;           &lt;ZIndex&gt;1&lt;/ZIndex&gt;           &lt;Height&gt;0.5in&lt;/Height&gt;           &lt;Width&gt;6.5in&lt;/Width&gt;           &lt;DataSetName&gt;booksales&lt;/DataSetName&gt;           &lt;TableColumns&gt;            &lt;TableColumn&gt;             &lt;Width&gt;3.75in&lt;/Width&gt;            &lt;/TableColumn&gt;            &lt;TableColumn&gt;             &lt;Width&gt;1.25in&lt;/Width&gt;            &lt;/TableColumn&gt;            &lt;TableColumn&gt;             &lt;Width&gt;1.5in&lt;/Width&gt;            &lt;/TableColumn&gt;           &lt;/TableColumns&gt;           &lt;Top&gt;0.5in&lt;/Top&gt;           &lt;Left&gt;0.375in&lt;/Left&gt;           &lt;Header&gt;            &lt;HeaderRows&gt;             &lt;HeaderRow&gt;              &lt;Height&gt;0.25in&lt;/Height&gt;              &lt;TableCells&gt;               &lt;TableCell&gt;                &lt;ReportItems&gt;                 &lt;Textbox Name=“textbox7”&gt;                  &lt;Height&gt;0.25in&lt;/Height&gt;                  &lt;Width&gt;3.75in&lt;/Width&gt;                  &lt;Top&gt;0in&lt;/Top&gt;                  &lt;Value&gt;Publisher&lt;/Value&gt;                  &lt;Left&gt;0in&lt;/Left&gt;                 &lt;/Textbox&gt;                &lt;/ReportItems&gt;               &lt;/TableCell&gt;               &lt;TableCell&gt;                &lt;ReportItems&gt;                 &lt;Textbox Name=“textbox8”&gt;                  &lt;Height&gt;0.25in&lt;/Height&gt;                  &lt;Width&gt;1.25in&lt;/Width&gt;                  &lt;Top&gt;0in&lt;/Top&gt;                  &lt;Value&gt;Year&lt;/Value&gt;                  &lt;Left&gt;0in&lt;/Left&gt;                 &lt;/Textbox&gt;                &lt;/ReportItems&gt;               &lt;/TableCell&gt;               &lt;TableCell&gt;                &lt;ReportItems&gt;                 &lt;Textbox Name=“textbox9”&gt;                  &lt;Height&gt;0.25in&lt;/Height&gt;                  &lt;Width&gt;1.5in&lt;/Width&gt;                  &lt;Top&gt;0in&lt;/Top&gt;                  &lt;Value&gt;Sales&lt;/Value&gt;                  &lt;Left&gt;0in&lt;/Left&gt;                 &lt;/Textbox&gt;                &lt;/ReportItems&gt;               &lt;/TableCell&gt;              &lt;/TableCells&gt;             &lt;/HeaderRow&gt;            &lt;/HeaderRows&gt;           &lt;/Header&gt;           &lt;Details&gt;            &lt;DetailsRows&gt;             &lt;DetailsRow&gt;              &lt;Height&gt;0.25in&lt;/Height&gt;              &lt;TableCells&gt;               &lt;TableCell&gt;                &lt;ReportItems&gt;                 &lt;Textbox Name=“textbox10”&gt;                  &lt;Height&gt;0.25in&lt;/Height&gt;                  &lt;Width&gt;3.75in&lt;/Width&gt;                  &lt;Top&gt;0in&lt;/Top&gt;                  &lt;Value&gt;=Fields!Publisher.Value&lt;/Value&gt;                  &lt;Left&gt;0in&lt;/Left&gt;                 &lt;/Textbox&gt;                &lt;/ReportItems&gt;               &lt;/TableCell&gt;               &lt;TableCell&gt;                &lt;ReportItems&gt;                 &lt;Textbox Name=“textbox11”&gt;                  &lt;Height&gt;0.25in&lt;/Height&gt;                  &lt;Width&gt;1.25in&lt;/Width&gt;                  &lt;Top&gt;0in&lt;/Top&gt;                  &lt;Value&gt;=Fields!Year.Value&lt;/Value&gt;                  &lt;Left&gt;0in&lt;/Left&gt;                 &lt;/Textbox&gt;                &lt;/ReportItems&gt;               &lt;/TableCell&gt;               &lt;TableCell&gt;                &lt;ReportItems&gt;                 &lt;Textbox Name=“textbox12”&gt;                  &lt;Height&gt;0.25in&lt;/Height&gt;                  &lt;Width&gt;1.5in&lt;/Width&gt;                  &lt;Top&gt;0in&lt;/Top&gt;                  &lt;Value&gt;=Fields!Sales.Value&lt;/Value&gt;                  &lt;Left&gt;0in&lt;/Left&gt;                 &lt;/Textbox&gt;                &lt;/ReportItems&gt;               &lt;/TableCell&gt;              &lt;/TableCells&gt;             &lt;/DetailsRow&gt;            &lt;/DetailsRows&gt;           &lt;/Details&gt;          &lt;/Table&gt;          &lt;List Name=“Category_List”&gt;           &lt;ReportItems&gt;            &lt;List Name=“Product_List”&gt;             &lt;ZIndex&gt;4&lt;/ZIndex&gt;             &lt;ReportItems&gt;              &lt;Textbox Name=“textbox2”&gt;               &lt;Height&gt;0.25in&lt;/Height&gt;               &lt;Width&gt;1.875in&lt;/Width&gt;               &lt;Top&gt;0in&lt;/Top&gt;               &lt;Value&gt;=Fields!Product.Value&lt;/Value&gt;               &lt;Left&gt;0in&lt;/Left&gt;              &lt;/Textbox&gt;              &lt;Textbox Name=“textbox4”&gt;               &lt;Height&gt;0.25in&lt;/Height&gt;               &lt;Width&gt;0.875in&lt;/Width&gt;               &lt;Top&gt;0in&lt;/Top&gt;               &lt;Value&gt;=Sum(Fields!Sales.Value)&lt;/Value&gt;               &lt;Left&gt;1.875in&lt;/Left&gt;              &lt;/Textbox&gt;             &lt;/ReportItems&gt;             &lt;Height&gt;0.25in&lt;/Height&gt;             &lt;Width&gt;2.75in&lt;/Width&gt;             &lt;DataSetName&gt;sales&lt;/DataSetName&gt;             &lt;Top&gt;0.75in&lt;/Top&gt;             &lt;Left&gt;3.75in&lt;/Left&gt;             &lt;Grouping Name=“Product_List_Grouping”&gt;              &lt;GroupExpressions&gt;               &lt;GroupExpression&gt;=Fields!Product.Value&lt;/GroupExpression&gt;              &lt;/GroupExpressions&gt;             &lt;/Grouping&gt;            &lt;/List&gt;            &lt;Textbox Name=“textbox1”&gt;             &lt;Height&gt;0.25in&lt;/Height&gt;             &lt;Width&gt;1.875in&lt;/Width&gt;             &lt;Top&gt;0.125in&lt;/Top&gt;             &lt;Value&gt;=Fields!Category.Value&lt;/Value&gt;             &lt;Left&gt;0in&lt;/Left&gt;            &lt;/Textbox&gt;            &lt;List Name=“year_list”&gt;             &lt;ReportItems&gt;              &lt;Table Name=“table2”&gt;               &lt;Height&gt;0.5in&lt;/Height&gt;               &lt;Width&gt;3.375in&lt;/Width&gt;               &lt;DataSetName&gt;sales&lt;/DataSetName&gt;               &lt;TableColumns&gt;                &lt;TableColumn&gt;                 &lt;Width&gt;2.25in&lt;/Width&gt;                &lt;/TableColumn&gt;                &lt;TableColumn&gt;                 &lt;Width&gt;1.125in&lt;/Width&gt;                &lt;/TableColumn&gt;               &lt;/TableColumns&gt;               &lt;TableGroups&gt;                &lt;TableGroup&gt;                 &lt;Header&gt;                  &lt;HeaderRows&gt;                   &lt;HeaderRow&gt;                    &lt;Height&gt;0.25in&lt;/Height&gt;                    &lt;TableCells&gt;                     &lt;TableCell&gt;                      &lt;ReportItems&gt;                       &lt;Textbox Name=“Region”&gt;                        &lt;Height&gt;0.25in&lt;/Height&gt;                        &lt;Width&gt;2.25in&lt;/Width&gt;                        &lt;Top&gt;0in&lt;/Top&gt;                        &lt;Value&gt;=Fields!Region.Value&lt;/Value&gt;                        &lt;Left&gt;0in&lt;/Left&gt;                       &lt;/Textbox&gt;                      &lt;/ReportItems&gt;                     &lt;/TableCell&gt;                     &lt;TableCell&gt;                      &lt;ReportItems&gt;                       &lt;Textbox Name=“Sales_1”&gt;                        &lt;Height&gt;0.25in&lt;/Height&gt;                        &lt;Width&gt;1.125in&lt;/Width&gt;                        &lt;Top&gt;0in&lt;/Top&gt;                        &lt;Value&gt;=Sum(Fields!Sales.Value)&lt;/Value&gt;                        &lt;Left&gt;0in&lt;/Left&gt;                       &lt;/Textbox&gt;                      &lt;/ReportItems&gt;                     &lt;/TableCell&gt;                    &lt;/TableCells&gt;                   &lt;/HeaderRow&gt;                  &lt;/HeaderRows&gt;                 &lt;/Header&gt;                 &lt;Grouping Name=“Region”&gt;                  &lt;GroupExpressions&gt;                   &lt;GroupExpression&gt;=Fields!Region.Value&lt;/GroupExpression&gt;                  &lt;/GroupExpressions&gt;                 &lt;/Grouping&gt;                &lt;/TableGroup&gt;               &lt;/TableGroups&gt;               &lt;Top&gt;0.375in&lt;/Top&gt;               &lt;Left&gt;0in&lt;/Left&gt;               &lt;Header&gt;                &lt;HeaderRows&gt;                 &lt;HeaderRow&gt;                  &lt;Height&gt;0.25in&lt;/Height&gt;                  &lt;TableCells&gt;                   &lt;TableCell&gt;                    &lt;ReportItems&gt;                     &lt;Textbox Name=“textbox14”&gt;                      &lt;Height&gt;0.25in&lt;/Height&gt;                      &lt;Width&gt;2.25in&lt;/Width&gt;                      &lt;Top&gt;0in&lt;/Top&gt;                      &lt;Value&gt;Region&lt;/Value&gt;                      &lt;Left&gt;0in&lt;/Left&gt;                     &lt;/Textbox&gt;                    &lt;/ReportItems&gt;                   &lt;/TableCell&gt;                   &lt;TableCell&gt;                    &lt;ReportItems&gt;                     &lt;Textbox Name=“textbox15”&gt;                      &lt;Height&gt;0.25in&lt;/Height&gt;                      &lt;Width&gt;1.125in&lt;/Width&gt;                      &lt;Top&gt;0in&lt;/Top&gt;                      &lt;Value&gt;Sales&lt;/Value&gt;                      &lt;Left&gt;0in&lt;/Left&gt;                     &lt;/Textbox&gt;                    &lt;/ReportItems&gt;                   &lt;/TableCell&gt;                  &lt;/TableCells&gt;                 &lt;/HeaderRow&gt;                &lt;/HeaderRows&gt;               &lt;/Header&gt;              &lt;/Table&gt;              &lt;Textbox Name=“textbox3”&gt;               &lt;Height&gt;0.25in&lt;/Height&gt;               &lt;Width&gt;3.375in&lt;/Width&gt;               &lt;Top&gt;0in&lt;/Top&gt;               &lt;Value&gt;=CStr(Fields!Year.Value) + “ Sales by Region”&lt;/Value&gt;               &lt;Left&gt;0in&lt;/Left&gt;              &lt;/Textbox&gt;             &lt;ReportItems&gt;             &lt;Height&gt;1in&lt;/Height&gt;             &lt;Width&gt;3.375in&lt;/Width&gt;             &lt;DataSetName&gt;sales&lt;/DataSetName&gt;             &lt;Top&gt;0.5in&lt;/Top&gt;             &lt;Left&gt;0in&lt;/Left&gt;              &lt;Grouping Name=“year_list_Grouping”&gt;               &lt;GroupExpressions&gt;                &lt;GroupExpression&gt;=Fields!Year.Value&lt;/GroupExpression&gt;               &lt;/GroupExpressions&gt;              &lt;/Grouping&gt;             &lt;/List&gt;             &lt;Textbox Name=“textbox5”&gt;              &lt;Height&gt;0.25in&lt;/Height&gt;              &lt;Width&gt;1.875in&lt;/Width&gt;              &lt;Top&gt;0.5in&lt;/Top&gt;              &lt;Value&gt;Product&lt;/Value&gt;              &lt;Left&gt;3.75in&lt;/Left&gt;             &lt;/Textbox&gt;             &lt;Textbox Name=“textbox6”&gt;              &lt;Height&gt;0.25in&lt;/Height&gt;              &lt;Width&gt;0.875in&lt;/Width&gt;              &lt;Top&gt;0.5in&lt;/Top&gt;              &lt;Value&gt;Sales&lt;/Value&gt;              &lt;Left&gt;5.625in&lt;/Left&gt;             &lt;/Textbox&gt;            &lt;/ReportItems&gt;            &lt;Height&gt;1.5in&lt;/Height&gt;            &lt;Width&gt;6.5in&lt;/Width&gt;            &lt;DataSetName&gt;sales&lt;/DataSetName&gt;            &lt;Top&gt;1in&lt;/Top&gt;            &lt;Left&gt;0.375in&lt;/Left&gt;             &lt;Grouping Name=“Category_List_Grouping”&gt;              &lt;GroupExpressions&gt;               &lt;GroupExpression&gt;=Fields!Category.Value&lt;/GroupExpression&gt;              &lt;/GroupExpressions&gt;             &lt;/Grouping&gt;            &lt;/List&gt;           &lt;/ReportItems&gt;           &lt;Height&gt;2.5in&lt;/Height&gt;         &lt;/Body&gt;       &lt;/Report&gt;