System and method for generating task-embedded documents

Abstract

A method and system are provided for processing a document comprising a plurality of content portions. The document includes code identifying tasks corresponding to at least one content portion of the document, and code defining an associated user interface element. When the user interface element is activated to invoke the task, tasks to be executed by a remote system are executed by the remote system using a remotely stored copy of the associated content portion, while tasks to be executed by a local system are executed by the local system using a locally stored copy of the content portion. Changes to at least certain portions of the document are synchronized between the local and remote servers. The tasks can include a consistency-checking task for verifying consistency of certain content within the document, and display of results with optional suggested corrections to permit manual or automatic correction of detected discrepancies.

1 . A method implemented in a user data processing system, the method comprising:
 receiving, from a remote data processing system:
 a document generated from an originating document, the generated document comprising a plurality of content portions, at least some of the content portions being associated with at least one corresponding task of a plurality of tasks; and 
 code defining at least one user interface element for presentation in association with each of the content portions and the at least one task corresponding to the content portion; 
   rendering and presenting the generated document and the at least one user interface element at the user data processing system;   detecting activation of one of the at least one user interface element to initiate a corresponding task, the corresponding task comprising a consistency checking task correlating a plurality of reference indicators comprised in the content portion with other reference indicators in the generated document;   obtaining a result of the corresponding task, the result comprising an indication of any discrepancy between the reference indicators in the content portion and the other reference indicators in the generated document; and   presenting the result of the corresponding task at the user data processing system.   
     
     
         2 . The method of  claim 1 , wherein obtaining a result of the corresponding task comprises:
 when the corresponding task is to be executed by the remote data processing system, transmitting a request to execute the corresponding task to the remote data processing system and receiving the result of the corresponding task from the remote data processing system, the remote data processing system executing the corresponding task on a copy of the corresponding content portion stored at the remote data processing system; and   when the corresponding task is to be executed by the user data processing system, executing the corresponding task on a copy of the content portion stored at the user data processing system to obtain the result of the corresponding task.   
     
     
         3 . The method of  claim 2 , wherein the corresponding task is executed by the user data processing system, and the method further comprises the user data processing system, receiving from the remote data processing system, code executable to implement the corresponding task. 
     
     
         4 . (canceled) 
     
     
         5 . The method of  claim 2 , wherein the plurality of reference indicators comprises reference indicators associated with a plurality of footnotes or endnotes. 
     
     
         6 . (canceled) 
     
     
         7 . The method of  claim 1 , wherein the code defining at least one user interface element is embedded in the generated document, and the user interface element is defined such that it is presented proximate to its corresponding content portion when the generated document is rendered and presented. 
     
     
         8 . The method of  claim 1 , wherein the at least one user interface element is not included in the originating document. 
     
     
         9 . The method of  claim 1 , wherein
 at least one of the plurality of content portions comprises data presented in a table, one or more cells of the table comprising a plurality of values, the method further comprising:   retrieving a representation of the table from the document;   loading the table data into a pseudotable stored in memory, the loading comprising, for each row of the table comprising a cell with a plurality of values:
 defining a plurality of rows in the pseudotable corresponding to a maximum number of values in a cell of the row; 
 storing, in a first row of the plurality of rows, a first value from each of the cells of the row; and 
 storing, in a next row of the plurality of rows, a next value from each of the cells of the row, and repeating the storing until all values in the row have been stored in a pseudotable row. 
   
     
     
         10 . The method of  claim 9 , further comprising executing a task on the pseudotable data. 
     
     
         11 . The method of  claim 10 , wherein the task comprises a consistency checking task to determine potential changes to the data in the pseudotable, and the method further comprises:
 altering the pseudotable by inserting the potential changes;   transferring the altered pseudotable data to the table in the document; and   presenting the table.   
     
     
         12 . The method of  claim 11 , further comprising receiving an instruction to apply the potential change, and applying the potential change to the table. 
     
     
         13 . A non-transitory data processing system-readable medium bearing code which, when executed by one or more processors of a user data processing system, causes the user data processing system to:
 receive, from a remote data processing system:
 a document generated from an originating document, the generated document comprising a plurality of content portions, at least some of the content portions being associated with at least one corresponding task of a plurality of tasks; and 
 code defining at least one user interface element for presentation in association with each of the content portions and the at least one task corresponding to the content portion; 
   render and present the generated document and the at least one user interface element at the user data processing system;   detect activation of one of the at least one user interface element to initiate a corresponding task, the corresponding task comprising a consistency checking task correlating a plurality of reference indicators comprised in the content portion with other reference indicators in the generated document;   obtain a result of the corresponding task, the result comprising an indication of any discrepancy between the reference indicators in the content portion and the other reference indicators in the generated document; and   present the result of the corresponding task at the user data processing system.   
     
     
         14 . The non-transitory data processing system-readable medium of  claim 13 , wherein obtaining a result of the corresponding task comprises:
 when the corresponding task is to be executed by the remote data processing system, transmitting a request to execute the corresponding task to the remote data processing system and receiving the result of the corresponding task from the remote data processing system, the remote data processing system executing the corresponding task on a copy of the corresponding content portion stored at the remote data processing system; and   when the corresponding task is to be executed by the user data processing system, executing the corresponding task on a copy of the content portion stored at the user data processing system to obtain the result of the corresponding task.   
     
     
         15 . The non-transitory data processing system-readable medium of  claim 14 , wherein the corresponding task is executed by the user data processing system, and further wherein the user data processing system receives from the remote data processing system code executable to implement the corresponding task. 
     
     
         16 . (canceled) 
     
     
         17 . The non-transitory data processing system-readable medium of  claim 13 , wherein the plurality of reference indicators comprises reference indicators associated with a plurality of footnotes or endnotes. 
     
     
         18 . (canceled) 
     
     
         19 . The non-transitory data processing system-readable medium of  claim 13 , wherein the code defining at least one user interface element is embedded in the generated document, and the user interface element is defined such that it is presented proximate to its corresponding content portion when the generated document is rendered and presented. 
     
     
         20 . The non-transitory data processing system-readable medium of  claim 13 , wherein the at least one user interface element is not included in the originating document. 
     
     
         21 . The non-transitory data processing system-readable medium of  claim 13 , wherein
 at least one of the plurality of content portions comprises data presented in a table, one or more cells of the table comprising a plurality of values, and wherein the code further causes the data processing system to:   retrieve a representation of the table from the document;   load the table data into a pseudotable stored in memory, the loading comprising, for each row of the table comprising a cell with a plurality of values:
 define a plurality of rows in the pseudotable corresponding to a maximum number of values in a cell of the row; 
 store, in a first row of the plurality of rows, a first value from each of the cells of the row; and 
 store, in a next row of the plurality of rows, a next value from each of the cells of the row, and repeating the storing until all values in the row have been stored in a pseudotable row. 
   
     
     
         22 . The non-transitory data processing system-readable medium of  claim 21 , wherein the data processing system executes a task on the pseudotable data. 
     
     
         23 . The non-transitory data processing system-readable medium of  claim 22 , wherein the task comprises a consistency checking task to determine potential changes to the data in the pseudotable, and the data processing system is further configured to:
 alter the pseudotable by inserting the potential changes;   transfer the altered pseudotable data to the table in the document; and   present the table.   
     
     
         24 . The non-transitory data processing system-readable medium of  claim 22 , wherein the data processing system is further configured to receive an instruction to apply the potential change and apply the potential change to the table.