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Method, system and apparatus for creating and accessing a hierarchical database in a format optimally suited to real estate listings

  • US 20040098269A1
  • Filed: 02/05/2002
  • Published: 05/20/2004
  • Est. Priority Date: 02/05/2001
  • Status: Active Grant
First Claim
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1. A computer-implemented method of managing listing information, relating to at least one property, for a real estate database, the method comprising:

  • at said property, entering property specific information into a portable computing device;

    communicating said the property specific information from said portable computing device to a server computer system; and

    adding, on said computer system, said property specific information as new records in a table having a plurality of records, each of said plurality of records including an address field and a descriptor; and

    controlling the entry of said new records in said table so that said address fields for all of said plurality of records define a semantic hierarchy among said plurality of records in said table;

    wherein;

    said address field comprises a hierarchically ordered set of identifiers;

    said controlling of said entry of said new records includes, for each said property;

    providing a highest level record in said table, providing a plurality of records in said table semantically below said highest level record, each having said address field and said descriptor;

    for each given record of said plurality of records other than ones having said highest level, the semantic meaning of said descriptor is based on a set of records in said table semantically above said given record; and

    a particular record is a member of said set of records semantically above said given record when all of said identifiers of said particular record appear identically in the same positions in said address field of said given record but said given record has at least one identifier not appearing identically in the same position in said address field of said particular record.

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