Reusing data in user run book automation

A system for providing run book automation on a data processing system, said system comprising:

• a processor;
• a data bus coupled to said processor;
• a memory coupled to said data bus;
• and
• a computer-usable medium embodying computer program code, said computer program code comprising instructions executable by said processor and configured for providing run book automation on a data processing system by performing the steps of:
• engaging a teaching mode in a web-based graphical user interface (GUI), wherein a plurality of selectable portions of said web-based GUI is accentuated;
• recording a sequence of selections made among said plurality of selectable portions of said web-based GUI, wherein said sequence of selections represents a repeatable user-defined procedure for interacting with said web-based GUI, said recording further comprising capturing at least one data attribute, wherein said at least one data attribute comprises a marker having a value for fetching, internal caching, or a combination thereof when a subsequent task is run;
• exporting and importing data from said sequence of selections made among said plurality of selectable portions of said web-based GUI to facilitate replay of said sequence of selections without requiring repeated entry of said data by a user;
• providing a web replay feature for replaying said sequence of selections within said web-based GUI, wherein providing the web replay feature comprises providing a control panel that enables the user to control the teaching mode and replaying said sequence of selections within said web-based GUI, the control panel being provided in said web-based GUI at all times during the teaching mode and replay without requiring user input;
• and
• engaging the web replay feature for replaying said sequence of selections within said web-based GUI, wherein engaging the web replay feature comprises:
• if a current element in said replayed sequence is an action, determining if there is data to export, locating specified data, determining whether the action is manual or automatic, if manual displaying a highlight over at least one of said selectable portions, waiting for user action to select the selectable portion, and selecting the selectable portion, and if automatic directly selecting the selectable portion;
• and
• if the current element in the replayed sequence is a data specification, performing said importing of data from said sequence of selections by importing said data into a form with information captured in the teaching mode.

A computer program product for providing run book automation on a data processing system, said computer program product comprising:

• a non-transitory computer usable storage medium having computer usable program code embodied therewith, said computer usable program code comprising:
• computer usable program code configured to engage a teaching mode in a web-based graphical user interface (GUI), wherein a plurality of selectable portions of said web-based GUI is accentuated;
• computer usable program code configured to record a sequence of selections made among said plurality of selectable portions of said web-based GUI, wherein said sequence of selections represents a repeatable user-defined procedure for interacting with said web-based GUI, wherein said being configured to record further comprises being configured to capture at least one data attribute, wherein said at least one data attribute comprises a marker having a value for fetching, internal caching, or a combination thereof when a subsequent task is run;
• computer usable program code configured to export and import data from said sequence of selections made among said plurality of selectable portions of said web-based GUI to facilitate replay of said sequence of selections without requiring repeated entry of said data by a user;
• computer usable program code configured to provide a web replay feature to replay said sequence of selections within said web-based GUI, wherein providing the web replay feature comprises providing a control panel that enables the user to control the teaching mode and replaying said sequence of selections within said web-based GUI, the control panel being provided in said web-based GUI at all times during the teaching mode and replay without requiring user input, and
• computer usable program code configured to engage the web replay feature for replaying said sequence of selections within said web-based GUI, wherein engaging the web replay feature comprises:
• if a current element in said replayed sequence is an action, determining if there is data to export, locating specified data, determining whether the action is manual or automatic, if manual displaying a highlight over at least one of said selectable portions, waiting for user action to select the selectable portion, and selecting the selectable portion, and if automatic directly selecting the selectable portion;
• and
• if the current element in the replayed sequence is a data specification, performing said importing of data from said sequence of selections by importing said data into a form with information captured in the teaching mode.