Abstract: A method and system that enables users to generate and manage forecasts through an integrated software tool. Forecast administrators are enabled to create forecast series data that define a forecast's structure and provide search criteria that is used in generating forecasts. These data also define who may participate in creating forecasts, and their relative position in an organization's hierarchy. Users are also enabled to enter a variety of forecast data that are stored by the system. Various forecast data are then retrieved corresponding to the user, applicable subordinates, and parameters defined by the forecast series. Users may then fine-tune their forecasts and submit their forecasts to their managers. The managers are enabled to adjust and roll up their subordinate's forecasts to produce their own forecasts. This process may be recursively applied while moving up through various layers of management defined by the organization's hierarchy.

Abstract: A facility for guiding users through a series of steps or tasks, often associated with a process, is described. The facility assigns tasks or steps to users having roles identified with the task or step. The role associated with the task or step may change depending on the state of the task or step. When the role associated with a task or step changes, the facility may assign the task or step to another user. The facility guides a user through a task or step by providing instructions and other information, such as data tables and user input fields, that may be used to complete the task or step. The facility provides for the definition of processes by allowing users to specify tasks, steps and instructions relating to processes.

Abstract: A method and apparatus for inter-module communication is disclosed. The method includes defining a command definition, wherein the command definition comprises commands for interfacing with a multi-channel, multi-media, communication queuing system. The command definition can include, for example, driver object commands to request media type lists and command event lists, create drivers, request service, and release drivers. The command definition can also include, for example, service object commands to release service objects, notify when handling of an event is complete, invoke commands, release work items, suspend work items, resume work items, handle queued events, and cancel queued events. The command definition can also include, for example, client object commands to start a work item, release work items, save work item contexts, restore work item contexts, serialize work items, free work item storage, begin batch processing, and end batch processing.

Abstract: Techniques to provide dynamic multi-lingual support for software applications such as analytics, which typically rely on two different types of data, underlying data and metadata, to generate reports. The metadata defines the underlying data and a presentation layer displays the reports, which may be generated using presentation and metadata layer objects. Each such object may be defined by a language independent representation, which may in turn be associated with multiple display or language dependent representations (i.e., translations or translated strings) for multiple supported languages. One of the languages may be selected for use in a given session, and the display representations for the selected language are then bound to the language independent representations. The binding may be dynamically performed and is session-specific.

Abstract: Instantiation of tiered software applications running on an Internet or Intranet computer system, including a method of instantiation and a program product for instantiation. The method, and program product are particularly useful in instantiation of multi-tiered applications having a user interface tier on the client, browser, or remote computer, from a meta data repository containing attributes and values of the attributes.

Abstract: Embodiments of the invention provide an RBE that uses a logical abstraction for a set of application rules that allows the rules to be implemented, presented and modified efficiently. For one embodiment, rules logic for implementing a set of application rules is stored. The rules logic is specified by a processing sequence using one or more application factors, each of which has one or more application factor values. A plurality of entries corresponding to each application factor is separately stored. Each entry contains a data point set having one or more data points and a result corresponding to the data point set. Each of the one or more data points of a data point set corresponds to a distinct factor value.

Abstract: An activity class is defined which includes multiple data elements that are common to various activity types. The activity class identifies relationships of an activity with various entities related to the activity.

Abstract: A facility for screening service requests for requesting assistance is described. The facility receives from a user a service request that requests assistance with solving a problem associated with a system accessible to the user and includes information related to the system. The facility searches a collection of system status information for at least one entry that corresponds with the received information related to the system. Where a corresponding entry is found, the facility provides to the user an indication of the correspondence and an opportunity to cancel the service request.

Abstract: A forecast class is defined that represents forecasts of different types and identifies relationships of a forecast with various entities related to the forecast.

Abstract: In one implementation, a system caches view custom options in a framework to support web-based applications. A set of server-side objects is managed by an object manager (OM) running on a server. A set of browser-side objects runs on a browser running on a client. A remote procedure call (RPC) mechanism enables re-targeting of methods from browser-side objects to server-side objects. A notification mechanism facilitates transmission of notifications from server-side objects to browser-side objects. A cache on the client stores custom options of views.

Abstract: Systems and methods for generating a custom application are disclosed. In one embodiment, a request to generate an application for modifying a database may be received. In response to the request, the application may be generated based on a previously defined view of another database, e.g. a repository containing metadata describing the database. Services (e.g. network services) may be validated and files (e.g. sample server pages, library files and instructional files) may be generated for customization.

Abstract: A method and apparatus for providing a translation locking mechanism comprising a locking system to permit locking of translatable properties of an object within a project. The apparatus further comprises a lock tester to determine whether the locking system prevents edits to a particular property; and an editing tool to prohibit alteration of the properties that are affected by translation.

Abstract: A method, system, and computer-readable medium is described for creating a prototype GUI for conversion into an actual GUI whose appearance when displayed matches the appearance of the prototype GUI. In some situations, multiple personnel may participate in the process, such as a non-technical GUI designer that specifies the prototype GUI appearance information and a technical GUI developer that specifies various non-appearance information for a corresponding actual GUI. A prototype GUI is first created based on layout and other appearance information specified for various GUI elements, and corresponding proxy GUI objects are generated that store appearance information but not various non-appearance information used as part of an actual GUI. Proxy GUI objects for a prototype GUI can then be converted into actual GUI objects for use with an actual GUI, and various non-appearance information can be specified for the actual GUI objects in various ways.

Abstract: A flowchart-based tool can be used to build a logical structure. In the context of a customer relationship management (CRM) system, the logical structure can comprise an ordered set of questions and branching logic that are presented to a customer of the business when the customer contacts the business with an inquiry, such as for a sale or service inquiry or other interaction. A session can be conducted with the customer based on the logical structure. Information associated with the session, such as run-time state information, can be saved in the event of an involuntary or voluntary disconnection, or a time-out of the session. The saved run-time state information can be restored or attached into the session to subsequently resume the session.

Abstract: Methods and apparatuses to cancel database queries from a web application user interface in a networked database application. In one embodiment, the method includes receiving a user request to cancel a query previously sent to a database and calling an application programming interface (API) provided by the database to terminate one or more statements running on the database, the one or more statements being related to the query.

Abstract: A method of customizing a product comprising. According to one embodiment, a set of one or more customizable product classes are available from which a create a customizable product. Upon receiving a request to create a customizable product instance, component products are provided to be associated with the customizable product if proper.

Abstract: A method and apparatus for inter-module communication is disclosed. The method includes defining a command definition, wherein the command definition comprises commands for interfacing with a multi-channel, multi-media, communication queuing system. The command definition can include, for example, driver object commands to request media type lists and command event lists, create drivers, request service, and release drivers. The command definition can also include, for example, service object commands to release service objects, notify when handling of an event is complete, invoke commands, release work items, suspend work items, resume work items, handle queued events, and cancel queued events. The command definition can also include, for example, client object commands to start a work item, release work items, save work item contexts, restore work item contexts, serialize work items, free work item storage, begin batch processing, and end batch processing.

Abstract: Embodiments of the invention provide an RBE that uses a logical abstraction for a set of application rules that allows the rules to be implemented, presented and modified efficiently. For one embodiment, rules logic for implementing a set of application rules is stored. The rules logic is specified by a processing sequence using one or more application factors, each of which has one or more application factor values. A plurality of entries corresponding to each application factor is separately stored. Each entry contains a data point set having one or more data points and a result corresponding to the data point set. Each of the one or more data points of a data point set corresponds to a distinct factor value.

Abstract: An audit trail system allows a user to configure and view an audit trail of changes that have been made to various types of information that can be accessed by one or more users in a network of computer systems. The various types of information are grouped in business components. A user can select particular business components, and fields within a business component, to be audited. The audit trail shows who has accessed the business component, the operation performed, when the operation was performed, and how the value of at least a portion of the business component was changed. Users can track when operations such as update, create, delete, and copy are performed on the selected business components, as well as track which employee modified a certain field and the data that has been changed. Users can also reconstruct records that existed at a certain point of time. Options to restrict access to audit trails by selected areas of responsibility, positions, and/or employee identifiers, can also be included.

Abstract: A Structured Query Language (SQL) adapter business service that converts data from a data set to a common representation format used for all data sets with which the SQL adapter business service interacts. Hence the SQL adapter business service can communicate with various internal and external systems independently of the native format in which those systems maintain and store data. The SQL adapter business service optimizes operations to update data in the data sets by combining operations when possible and by using result sets from executing previous SQL statements to construct subsequent SQL statements. SQL adapter business service takes advantage of parent/child relationships between tables to construct SQL statements in an order such that the SQL statements process only a minimum amount of data, thereby making retrieval of data as efficient as possible.