Genius
Client provides all the tools necessary for end-users to produce query reports,
data enquiries, business graphics and automatic labels. An integrated
development environment delivering advanced selection techniques and a WYSIWYG
layout editor is the main user interface for the Genius
Client.
This menu and function-key driven module is layered on a 4GL natural language environment that incorporates many extra features, and extended flexibility, for advanced users.
High level useability is achieved by a fully interactive menu based design environment, whilst low level flexibility is achieved by "logical hook points" for site tailoring or system extensions.
Genius Client also features a unique Executive Information System (EIS) offering the Boardroom a complete toolset to cover their total business requirements but without the need for specialised terminals.
It includes a group of tools designed to allow the user to define corporate hierarchies that are stored independently from the data. Such features as a multidimensional drilldown viewer, hierarchical tree definition, multi-level roll-up totalling, logical group selection and page orientated output are included and described below.
This significantly reduces the effort in producing reports that reflect the organisational structure of a company. The advanced systems building techniques available within the Genius solution are used to build the corporate structure, so making the maintenance systems readily available to the user.
Allocation effort is reduced by providing an easy method to allocate "costs" to "cost centres" and construct budgets and plans.
A tutorial facility allows the creation of associated help or training systems and a menu builder module means that users may easily link all their programs together.
The ultimate end user tool designed for use by managers, user departments and computer professionals is provided by the Genius menu driven user environment.
It provides a totally independent programming environment via a menu and function key based mechanism for creating and modifying programs. Users are led, via a series of menu screens, through all the stages of building a program and then executing it.
Users are freed from the need to know any language syntax, or the names of data views and items, by offering context sensitive menu selection.
Users can generate summary reports, with subtotals and sorting, exception reports, business graphics programs, individual screen based interrogation and update programs.
Natural language text may be added at logical points. This text is analyzed to recognise statements which define new items so that these may be added to the lists offered in menus. Programs may be easily refined without losing the simplicity offered by menu selections. Once created, programs may be changed in the same way by altering choices in lists, cancelling some and selecting others.
Complete control is provided of report layouts. Default headings, subheadings, detail and subtotal lines and page footnotes may be modified. Alternatively the default layouts may be accepted.
Ideal for the novice and the occasional user, it can also be used as a learning aid for the Natural Language modules. The highly sophisticated user selection logic offers ease of use, wild card matching, item expansion and multiple option screens.
Powerful but easy-to-use reporting, interrogation, business graphics and optionally simple update facilities are also provided for the end user using a free format English-like language, which is extremely easy to learn and leads to highly legible programs.
For occasional and novice users, a Conversational facility allows a program to be constructed via a forms based dialogue which offers a menu of available files, fields etc., as an alternative to typing in the English- language source directly.
The end user subsystem is self contained, allowing programs to be edited (with any standard text editor, a simple line editor or the Genius proprietary screen editor) and recompiled from a simple function menu.
An "Owncode" mechanism allows access to expertGenius routines to perform special functions such as complex logic or calls to procedures written in other languages.
Comprehensive facilities are included for manipulation and formatting of dates. A "tailoring" mechanism allows many options to be included automatically in all programs.
This is a reporting facility which operates on a single "file" or a relational join between several "files"; in this context "file" may be a simple host indexed file or a database table, record type, etc.
Simple logic may be used to select records, perform calculations, create temporary values, etc. before generating the output. Work variables, including values used for selection, may be input at runtime, using an automatically generated input screen or a predesigned Genius form. A multi-reporting feature allows up to 15 reports to be generated from a single pass through the data, reducing overheads and ensuring data synchronization.
A built-in tabulation facility provides 6 levels of totalling, with automatic roll, and grand totals. Work arrays facilitate cross-tabulation. Layout of headings and fields at each totalling level is automatic and in many cases will be adequate without further intervention; all heading and data pictures may be overridden if required.
In addition, the generated layout may be stored in the Genius forms directory and modified using a screen editor before revalidating the program to include the modified layout. Report output may be directed to the screen (continuously or in pages), to a printer or to a disk file; it may also be intercepted by a user supplied routine for special processing, such as conversion into a format suitable for input to another package. Report programs may be submitted for batch processing.
A simple syntax extension to the Genius Query causes the output to take the form of a simple business graph instead of a printed report. The output may be presented as a pie chart, bar chart (stacked, overlapped, adjacent), histogram, line graph or scatter plot without rescanning the data.
Use of Microsoft Windows®, Motif, ReGIS or Tektronix compatible terminals is recommended, but an approximate representation of the graph can be displayed on any terminal. Up to four graphs may be displayed on a single plot. These graphics may be enhanced using the Graphics Presentation Module.
The Interrogation facility allows simple screen based inspection of a single file or a relational join between files. Selection criteria and logic can be defined as in the Query facility, but each record is displayed on one or more screens instead of being presented as a report.
Predesigned Genius forms may be used instead of the automatically generated default layout. In addition to any selection criteria explicitly coded within the program, records may be selected by means of a single key value or a range of values.
The Update facility is similar to interrogation, but also allows selected fields to be input and updated in the file. A background (non-interactive) update mode is available, in which all eligible records are updated without user intervention. As with all modules, access to the update facility can be restricted to selected users.
The Menu Builder provides a simple method for creating a menu program which displays a list of options on the screen, accepts a choice and then performs the corresponding action (chaining to a Genius program or spawning a system command). On completion, control is returned to the menu.
The choice screen may be automatically generated, saved as a form or replaced by a predefined form; interpreted forms may be used for prototyping and subsequently replaced in the production version by a compiled form.
The menu creation process is initially interactive, allowing selection first of the Genius Client programs, then of other the Genius programs and finally of system commands.
By including other menu programs in the list, a hierarchical system of menus and other programs may be constructed to create a complete application.
To simplify rebuilding of menus, for instance to add another option, all necessary information is saved with the form (and may be modified with the Forms Designer) so that the program may be regenerated with a simple command.
The Tutorial facility allows a number of screens of textual information to be created and linked together in a predefined sequence, or an hierarchy controlled by multiple choice questions.
The screens themselves are created with the Genius Forms Designer and allows full use of video attributes, boxes, double width and double height text.
Tutorials may be integrated into a complete application by means of the Genius Menu Designer, to provide detailed online documentation, operating instructions etc.
The Executive Data Viewer provides the means to drill down through business data according to hierarchical paths, including analysis below the defined tree base levels.
Hot Key graphics display of on-screen data allows the pictorial representation of the displayed values. Complete path traversal is possible using either cursor or function keys.
This allows the definition of the corporate reporting structure, or structures, to give the required logical breaks for automatic value replacement.
Automatic value totalling at the organisational levels may be defined. Any, or all, of these may be selectable via the Genius user facilities.
Report selection by membership of logical group definitions is possible. Thus Logical Group Selection allows the user to select and accumulate only that set of data which is deemed relevant, from within a defined hierarchical corporate structure.
Allows the production of summary reports using predefined page layouts.
As an alternative to the serial, line by line, output format of the Genius user, which offers subtotalling at logical breaks in the data content, the Genius executive allows the definition of positional layouts for all data output.
The layouts are held in text files and are accessible via any text file editor. The ability to calculate values based upon combinations of rows, columns or constants is provided as well as positional layout.
The layouts may be HTML skeletons which enables the production of web browsable summary reports.
The beauty of this approach is that the raw data is only accessed once by a standard query program. Layouts and conditional crosstab totalling may then be modified and applied at will on the resultant extract summary file. This minimises resource usage and maximises end user flexibility.