Methods and apparatus for indexing data in a database and for retrieving data from a database in accordance with queries using example sets
First Claim
1. A computer-based method of retrieving one or more items from at least one database in response to a query specified by a user via at least one example set, the method comprising the steps of:
- constructing a scoring function from the at least one example set, wherein the scoring function is operable for use with a multidimensional indexing structure associated with the at least one database; and
retrieving, via the multidimensional indexing structure, the one or more database items that have the highest score as computed using the scoring function.
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Abstract
A computer-based technique is provided for retrieving one or more items from a database in response to a query specified by a user via one or more example sets. Preferably the example sets include multiple positive and negative example sets. The method comprises the following steps. First, a scoring function is constructed from the one or more example sets. The scoring function gives higher scores to database items that are more closely related to the query than to database items that are not as closely related to the query. The scoring function is operable for use with a multidimensional indexing structure associated with the database. Then, the one or more database items that have the highest score as computed using the scoring function are retrieved via the multidimensional indexing structure.
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Citations
49 Claims
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1. A computer-based method of retrieving one or more items from at least one database in response to a query specified by a user via at least one example set, the method comprising the steps of:
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constructing a scoring function from the at least one example set, wherein the scoring function is operable for use with a multidimensional indexing structure associated with the at least one database; and
retrieving, via the multidimensional indexing structure, the one or more database items that have the highest score as computed using the scoring function. - View Dependent Claims (2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10, 11, 12, 13, 14, 15, 16, 17, 18, 19, 20, 21, 22, 23, 24)
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25. Apparatus for retrieving one or more items from at least one database in response to a query specified by a user via at least one example set, the apparatus comprising:
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at least one processor operative to;
(i) construct a scoring function from the at least one example set, wherein the scoring function is operable for use with a multidimensional indexing structure associated with the at least one database; and
(ii) retrieve, via the multidimensional indexing structure, the one or more database items that have the highest score as computed using the scoring function; and
memory, coupled to the at least one processor, for storing at least a portion of results of one or more of the constructing and retrieving operations. - View Dependent Claims (26, 27, 28, 29, 30, 31, 32, 33, 34, 35, 36, 37, 38, 39, 40, 41, 42, 43, 44, 45, 46, 47, 48)
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49. An article of manufacture for retrieving one or more items from at least one database in response to a query specified by a user via at least one example set, the article comprising a machine readable medium containing one or more programs which when executed implement the steps of:
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constructing a scoring function from the at least one example set, wherein the scoring function is operable for use with a multidimensional indexing structure associated with the at least one database; and
retrieving, via the multidimensional indexing structure, the one or more database items that have the highest score as computed using the scoring function.
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Specification