Method of Visually Representing a Data String

Method of Visually Representing a Data String

Disclosed is a method of visually representing a data string. The method allows users to visually understand components as a visual string instead of a textual string.

Sometimes, a string may exceed field delimiters and ellipses may be displayed to indicate that more data remains that is not currently visible in the field. An exemplary illustration of this problem is illustrated in figure 1. Here, the data string of line one is longer than the field length and hence the entire string is not visible.

Figure 1

The method disclosed herein replaces the textual data string by iconic metaphors in an initialization order as illustrated in figure 2.

Figure 2

Each icon of the visual data string represents a user defined set of variables in an order in which actions are to be performed or initiated as illustrated in figure 3. The small grey triangle represents a drag handle for each icon.

Figure 3

Each icon is associated with an action as enlisted in figure 4.

1

Figure 4

The actions depicted in the icons are associated with a flow which is indicated by an arrow shaped projection pointing toward the next icon in the connection or the flow. For example, the icon depicted in figure 5(a) indicates a flow from left to right. Similarly, the icon depicted in figure 5(b) indicates a flow from right to left. The left side of the first container and right side of the last container in the flow is straight in a left-to-right flow which indicates the start and the end of the visual data string.

Figure 5(a) Figure 5(b)

For a non-sequential visual data string, icons can be represented as individual containers without arrows as shown in figure 6.

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