A system and method for assembling and displaying information include a run time module (12) coupled to documents (14-16). The run time module (12) is also coupled to a user interface (18). The run time module processes codes embedded in the documents (14-16) by making use of assembly questions databases (20), assembly answer database (22), merge phase questions databases (24), merge answer database (26), logic database (28), merge phase code list (30), and other memory (32). The codes in the documents provide an index to the questions databases and to the logic databases, so that questions and logic pertaining to how the assembly is to occur may be generated by separate programming as a dynamic process as the assembly occurs. Assembly occurs in a two part process, where a first phase determines what text is to be included in a document and a second phase determines how that text is to be modified for a particular document.

A method and apparatus is provided for facilitating end user support communications in a computing environment, wherein a product request may be initiated, and forwarded to a product administrator for review and resolution. The product request may be either initiated by the end user, or may automatically be initiated by the end user's computer in response to a serious error. In the latter case, diagnostic information is automatically captured and included in the product request, so that the product administrator may know the state of the end user's machine when determining the cause of the problem. In one embodiment, if the product administrator is unable to resolve the problem, he may access a database maintained by the vendor of the software and/or forward the product request to the vendor for resolution.

A method and apparatus for detecting an endless loop in a rules-based expert system. This is preferably accomplished by maintaining a count for each of the rules during rule processing. The count indicates the number of times a corresponding rule is executed by the rules based expert system. If the count corresponding to any of the rules exceeds a predetermined value, it is concluded that the rules-based expert system is stuck in an endless loop, and the rules-based expert system is interrupted.

An exemplary embodiment of the invention is a method of processing customer issues using a server coupled to a user system by a network. The method includes providing the user system with a customer issue form including a plurality of fields to be completed. The completed customer issue form is provided to the server. Customer issue information from the completed customer issue form is added to a customer issue database. A notification is generated and provided to a vendor authority in response to one of the fields. Another exemplary embodiment of the invention is a method for facilitating return of a product from a customer to a vendor using a server coupled to a user system by a network. The method includes providing the user system with a customer issue form including a plurality of fields to be completed. The completed customer issue form is provided to the server and the server provides the user system with a machine-readable identifier corresponding to a customer issue defined in the customer issue form. The machine-readable identifier is included along with the product returned to the vendor from the customer.

Generation of output or reports on information contained in a data source which may be any of two or more types of source data, in a standardized or uniform manner is provided. A plurality of drivers are provided specific to different types of source data which include programming for identifying structural or other characteristics of the various data sources, e.g. for use in defining a new database. Preferably the new database is configured to permit highly flexible and/or rapid output or reporting or is otherwise optimized for reporting purposes. In one embodiment, the present invention includes conversion of one or more data sources into one or more uniform databases, preferably generating one or more key categories for organizing the data, optionally generating category groupings or rollups and additional data or optional references. In one embodiment, one or more databases are created which have a degree of uniformity of structure, even though they may be based on two or more different data sources which may have very different structures. The different data sources are automatically analyzed and this analysis can be used to identify and/or create categories of data for use in organizing the data.