Patent ID: 7747657

Claim:
A computer-implemented method of representing hierarchical data from a database query result in a tabular display, comprising: obtaining the database query result of an executed database query, wherein the query result includes one or more result fields, and wherein at least one of the result fields contains a hierarchal data object; encapsulating the query result in a tree hierarchy; retrieving mapping information defining mappings from one or more nodes of the tree hierarchy to specified cells contained within a plurality of rows of the tabular display, wherein at least one of the one or more nodes is flagged as a repeating node; parsing the tree hierarchy to identify the one or more nodes mapped to the specified cells of the tabular display; copying data values from the identified one or more nodes of the tree hierarchy to the specified cells of the tabular display; upon determining, based on the mapping information, that a current node being copied from the tree hierarchy to a cell of the tabular display is flagged as the repeating node, determining whether multiple instances of the repeating node are present in a given record of the query result; and for each of the multiple instances of the repeating node present in the given record of the query result, incrementing a row position of the tabular display to which the current node is copied, while maintaining a column position of the tabular display to create a jagged row in the tabular display for the result fields that contain the hierarchal data object.