Patent ID: 7904415

Claim:
A computer system to retain contextual information about data, said computer system having a processor and a graphical display and at least one entity that represents said data, comprising: at least one facts table in a relational database that is mapped to at least one Online Analytical Processing (OLAP) object, wherein the at least one OLAP object is a facts object that is presented for OLAP data analysis, and wherein said facts table includes measurement data; at least one dimension table in said relational database is mapped to a dimension object, wherein said at least one dimension table includes attribute data, and wherein said dimension object is an OLAP object that is presented for OLAP data analysis; said graphical display is generated, wherein said graphical display includes a series of three separate areas represented with rectangles and including a left rectangle that is adjacent to a middle rectangle that is adjacent to a right rectangle, wherein said separate areas represent a star schema configuration, wherein different portions of the star schema configuration are displayed in different areas, wherein each of said separate areas is a container that contains one or more OLAP objects each represented with separate rectangles and contains one or more additional tables that are associated with said one or more OLAP objects and each represented with separate rectangles within a rectangle containing an associated OLAP object, wherein any OLAP object represented by a rectangle includes at least one of an additional OLAP object or a table each represented with separate rectangles, and wherein said one or more OLAP objects are manipulated independently within each of said separate areas while retaining contextual information about the OLAP objects and displaying related tables within an area; and said facts object is displayed in a first rectangle and said at least one associated facts table are each displayed in a separate rectangle within said first rectangle that includes said measurement data displayed in said middle rectangle, said dimension object represented in a second rectangle and said at least one associated dimension table each represented in said second rectangle, wherein said first dimension object is in one of said left rectangle or said right rectangle, and relationships between said facts table and said dimension table that are displayed in said graphical display to retain said contextual information about said data, wherein said relationships are shown across said separate rectangles in said graphical display, wherein one or more lines cross said separate rectangles and connect said measurement data of said at least one associated facts table in said middle rectangle and said attribute data of said at least one associated dimension table in said left rectangle or said right rectangle.