REPORTING ROW STRUCTURE FOR GENERATING REPORTS USING FOCUS AREAS

A method and an apparatus for generating reports and other outputs from a computer program. A user first defines a focus area, composed of chosen data types and then creates a row definition for the focus area. In defining the row definition the user defines groups and subgroups from the data represented by the focus. This definition process allows the user to generate reports from data organized in similar rows. The user has the ability to define the data to be included in the report through the use of an expression. The expression can also be used to exclude data from the report. Additional embodiments allow the user to verify the use of data and if the data has been used multiple times, and to capture on the output the missings and duplicates.