Generating forms from user-defined information

A computer-program product for use in conjunction with a computer system, the computer-program product comprising a non-transitory computer-readable storage medium and a computer-program mechanism embedded therein for providing a form, the computer-program mechanism including:

• instructions for receiving information associated with a user-defined field, wherein the information associated with the user-defined field includes a data type or semantic information for an entry associated with the user-defined field, wherein the information corresponds to metadata associated with the user-defined field;
• instructions for dynamically generating a writing instrument format of a form which includes the user-defined field and additional fields based on the information associated with the user-defined field and the additional fields, wherein the form includes a spatial reference pattern comprising the metadata associated with at least a user of a writing instrument, wherein when the form is printed on paper, the spatial reference pattern facilitates data input by the user using the writing instrument;
• and
• instructions for providing the form to the user;
• instructions for receiving relative-location information for the writing instrument with respect to the spatial reference pattern and field information;
• instructions for extracting writing information from the relative-location information;
• and
• instructions for determining an entry for at least one of the user-defined field and the additional fields based on the metadata associated with the user-defined field and the additional fields, thereby eliminating the need to construct and maintain at least a relationship between the writing instrument format of the form and the data input by the user using the writing instrument.

A computer system, comprising:

• a processor;
• memory;
• and
• a program module, wherein the program module is stored in the memory and configurable to be executed by the processor, the program module including:
• instructions for receiving information associated with a user-defined field, wherein the information associated with the user-defined field includes a data type or semantic information for an entry associated with the user-defined field, wherein the information corresponds to metadata associated with the user-defined field;
• instructions for dynamically generating a writing instrument format of a form which includes the user-defined field and additional fields based on the information associated with the user-defined field and the additional fields, wherein the form includes a spatial reference pattern comprising metadata associated with at least a user of a writing instrument, wherein when the form is printed on paper, the spatial reference pattern facilitates data input by the user using a writing instrument;
• instructions for providing the form to the user;
• instructions for receiving relative-location information for the writing instrument with respect to the spatial reference pattern and field information;
• instructions for extracting writing information from the relative-location information;
• and
• instructions for determining an entry for at least one of the user-defined field and the additional fields based on the metadata associated with the user-defined field and the additional fields, thereby eliminating the need to construct and maintain at least a relationship between the writing instrument format of the form and the data input by the user using the writing instrument.