Method for solving waveform sequence-matching problems using multidimensional attractor tokens

• US 20050165566A1
• Filed: 09/27/2002
• Published: 07/28/2005
• Est. Priority Date: 06/03/2002
• Status: Abandoned Application

• Current Assignee: Omnikon Technologies Ltd.
• Original Assignee: Omnikon Technologies Ltd.
• Inventors: Happel, Kenneth M.
• Application Number:
  US10/260,089
• Publication Number:
  US 20050165566A1
• Time in Patent Office: Days
• US Class Current: 702/66
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 18/00 Pattern recognition
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 2218/08 Feature extraction
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 2218/12 Classification; Matching
• CPC Class Codes: G06V 10/469 Contour-based spatial representations, e.g. vector-coding
• CPC Class Codes: G06V 30/1985 Syntactic analysis, e.g. using a grammatical approach syntactic image representation G06V30/18171
• CPC Class Codes: G16B 30/00 ICT specially adapted for sequence analysis involving nucleotides or amino acids
• CPC Class Codes: G16B 30/20 Sequence assembly

Abstract

An improved method is provided for solving waveform description, matching and comparison problems using attractor-based processes to extract identity tokens that indicate sequence and subsequence symbol content and order of the waveform or waveform segments. The waveform is described with a suitable alphabet to extract the ontology of the waveform, and syntactical rules are applied to direct pattern extraction using the alphabet. The patterns are extracted in a hierarchical, embedded manner according the global or local maximia and minimia so that the resulting statements are compatible with analysis in catastrophe theory. The attractor processes map the resulting waveform sequence from its original sequence representation space (OSRS) into a hierarchical multidimensional attractor space (HMAS). The HMAS can be configured to represent equivalent symbol distributions within two symbol sequences or perform exact symbol sequence matching. The mapping process results in each sequence being drawn to an attractor in the HMAS. Each attractor within the HMAS forms a unique token for a group of sequences with no overlap between the sequence groups represented by different attractors. The size of the sequence groups represented by a given attractor can be reduced from approximately half of all possible sequences to a much smaller subset of possible sequences. The mapping process is repeated for a given sequence so that tokens are created for the whole sequence and a series of subsequences created by repeatedly removing a symbol or group of symbols from the one end of sequence and then repeating the process from the other end. The resulting string of tokens represents the exact identity of the whole sequence and all its subsequences ordered from each end.

Claims

1. A method for determining a combinatorial identity of a waveform or waveform segment source set from a waveform source multiset space, said waveform source multiset having a plurality of elements comprising the steps of:

a) configuring a device in at least one of hardware, firmware and software to carry out an attractor process for mapping said waveform source multiset to an attractor space, said attractor process being an iterative process which cause said plurality of elements to converge on one of at least two different behaviors defined within said attractor space as a result of said iterative process, said configuring step including inputting a characterization of the waveform source multiset to input to said device the number of distinct elements of said waveform source multiset;

b) using said device, executing said mapping of said plurality of elements of said waveform source multiset to one or more coordinates of said attractor space;

c) mapping said attractor space coordinates into a target space representation, said target space representation including at least the attractor space coordinates;

d) storing the representation from said target space.

2. The method of claim 1 wherein said target space and said attractor space are collapsed onto a single space.

3. The method of claim 1 further comprising the step of:

(e) mapping said target space representation into an analytical space for evaluation to determine the source set'"'"'s combinatorial identity.

4. The method of claim 3 wherein two or more of said target space, said analytic space and said attractor space are collapsed onto a single space.

5. The method of claim 1 wherein said configuring step includes counting the number of distinct elements.

6. The method of claim 5 wherein said configuring step includes choosing a number of distinct symbols for a particular grouping of said plurality of elements.

7. The method of claim 6 wherein the configuring step includes assigning symbol groups to said counted number of distinct elements and counting the number of distinct symbols within each symbol group.

8. A method for recognizing the identity of a family of permutations of a waveform source multiset in a space of waveform multisets containing combinations of set elements, repeat elements, and permutations of those combinations of set elements and repeat elements, all of which set elements, repeat elements and permutations characterize waveforms. said method comprising the steps of:

a) configuring a device in at least one of hardware, firmware and software to carry out an attractor process for mapping said waveform source multiset to an attractor space, said attractor process being an iterative process which causes said plurality of elements to converge on one of at least two different behaviors defined within said attractor space as a result of said iterative process, said configuring step including inputting a characterization of the waveform source multiset to input to said device the number of distinct elements of said waveform source multiset;

b) using said device, executing said mapping of said plurality of elements, N, of said multiset to one or more coordinates in said attractor space;

c) mapping said attractor space coordinates as part of an accumulation of attractor space coordinates into a target space representation, said target space representation including at least the attractor space coordinates, said target space being designed to provide representational structure to the accumulation of attractor space coordinates;

d) removing one or more elements as a group from the waveform source multiset to form a waveform source multiset with N=N−

1 element groups;

e) repeating steps b), c) and d) until N is less than a pre-determined value;

f) mapping said target space representation into an analytic space to determine the source multiset'"'"'s combinatorial identity, said analytic space including at least the attractor space coordinate and an identification of said waveform source multiset;

g) storing a representation of said analytic space.

9. The method of claim 8 further comprising the step of:

h) evaluating said stored representation of said analytic space to determine a permutation family of said waveform source multiset.

10. The method of claim 8, wherein two or more of said target space, said analytic space and said attractor space are collapsed onto a single space.

11. The method of claim 8, wherein the pre-determined value is zero.

12. The method of claim 8 further comprising the step of:

h) determining if the waveform source multiset representation is mapped to a unique set in said analytic space and if it is not, repeat steps a) through h) until said representation is unique and for each such repetition, inputting a different characterization of the waveform source multiset to input to said device the number of distinct elements by grouping said elements to form distinct groups and counting each distinct group as one element.

13. A method of creating spatial coordinates in a space for describing a waveform comprising:

mapping a plurality of patterns or embedded parts or fractional parts thereof or any combinations of the same from an original representation space (ORS) of the waveform into a hierarchical multidimensional attractor behavior space (HMBS), to draw the patterns or embedded parts or fractional parts thereof or any combinations of the same, respectively, to a plurality of resultant attractor behaviors in the HMBS, wherein each of the resultant attractor behaviors forms an identity for a group of patterns or embedded parts or fractional parts thereof or any combinations of the same;

mapping each attractor behavior identity to a specific analytical symbol that is part of an analytical symbol scheme;

mapping said analytical symbol to create the spatial coordinates in a space, a group of spaces or a hierarchy of spaces.

14. The method of claim 13 wherein the step of mapping a plurality of patterns or embedded parts or fractional parts thereof or any combinations of the same further comprises:

repeating the step of mapping to include a plurality of portions of a predetermined pattern to create a string of analytical symbols for the pattern and respective portions;

mapping said analytical symbol string to create a series of spatial coordinates in the space, the group of spaces, or the hierarchy of spaces.

15. The method of claim 13 wherein the step of mapping a plurality of patterns or embedded parts or fractional parts thereof or any combinations of the same further comprises:

repeating the step of mapping to include a plurality of portions of a predetermined pattern to create a string of analytical symbols for the pattern and respective portions, the plurality of portions being created by removing a predetermined pattern piece from a predetermined reference location within the pattern, the predetermined pattern piece and predetermined reference location being individually selected for each portion;

mapping said analytical symbol string to create the series of spatial coordinates in the space, group of spaces or the hierarchy of spaces.

16. The method of claim 13 wherein the step of mapping a plurality of patterns or embedded parts or fractional parts thereof or any combinations of the same further comprises:

repeating the step of mapping to include a plurality of portions of a predetermined pattern to create a string of analytical symbols for the pattern and respective portions, the plurality of portions being created;

by removing a predetermined pattern piece from a predetermined reference location within the pattern,

then removing a predetermined pattern piece from a predetermined reference location within the portion previously created,

then repeating the previous step as many times as required,

the predetermined pattern piece and predetermined reference location being individually selected for each portion;

mapping said analytical symbol string to create a series of spatial coordinates in the space, the group of spaces, or the hierarchy of spaces.

17. The method of claim 13 wherein the step of mapping a plurality of patterns or embedded parts or fractional parts thereof or any combinations of the same further comprises:

repeating the step of mapping to include a plurality of portions of a predetermined pattern to create a string of analytical symbols for the pattern and respective portions, the plurality of portions being created;

by removing a predetermined pattern piece from a predetermined reference location within the pattern,

then removing the same predetermined pattern piece from the same predetermined reference location within the portion previously created,

then repeating the previous step as many times as required;

mapping said analytical symbol string to create a series of spatial coordinates in the space, the group of spaces, or the hierarchy of spaces.

18. The method of claim 13, wherein the space comprises a member of a plurality of spaces.

19. The method of claim 18, wherein the plurality of spaces comprises a plurality of hierarchical embedded pattern spaces.

20. The method of claim 19, wherein the embedded pattern spaces each comprise a plurality of pattern sub-spaces.

21. The method of claim 19, wherein the embedded pattern spaces comprise Hausdorf spaces.

22. The method of claim 19, wherein the step of mapping said analytical symbol string comprises mapping said analytical symbol string symbols to spatial vectors in the embedded pattern spaces.

23. The method of claim 22, wherein the step of comparing the sequence-similarity characteristics comprises comparing the spatial vectors of said at least two of the sequences.

24. The method of claim 18, wherein the plurality of spaces comprise a plurality of hierarchical numerical spaces.

25. The method of claim 24, wherein the step of mapping said analytical symbol string comprises mapping said string of analytical symbols to coordinate values in the numerical spaces.

26. The method of claim 25, wherein the step of comparing the sequence-similarity characteristics comprises evaluating a numerical distance of the coordinate values of said at least two of the sequences.

27. The method of claim 18, wherein the space comprises a member of a plurality of hierarchical set-theoretic spaces having a plurality of layer coordinates.

28. The method of claim 27, wherein the step of mapping said string of analytical symbols comprises mapping said string of analytical symbols to coordinate values in the layer coordinates of the set-theoretic spaces.

29. The method of claim 28, wherein the step of comparing the sequence-similarity characteristics comprises evaluating an arithmetic distance between analytical symbols or analytical symbol strings of each of the layer coordinates representing at least two of the sequences.

30. The method of claim 13, further comprising assigning a label to each of the subsequences.

31. The method of claim 30, further comprising the step of assigning a plurality of labels for a plurality of subsequences within the given sequence to a label set.

32. The method of claim 31, wherein the spaces comprises hierarchical set-theoretic spaces, further comprising assigning a plurality of label sets to a plurality of hierarchical label spaces.

33. The method of claim 32, further comprising the step of sorting the label sets into groups of predetermined content and content order in a classification space.

34. The method of claim 33, wherein the label sets are organized into branch structures, wherein the branch structures of different sequences are compared to one another.

35. The method of claim 13, wherein the patterns comprise waveform features forming an analog signal.

36. The method of claim 13, wherein the patterns comprise periodically recurring subpatterns whose cardinality in a second is evaluated as frequency expressed in Hertz.

37. The method of claim 13, wherein the patterns comprise amino acid sequences forming proteins or related molecules composed of amino acid sequences.

38. A method of waveform sequence matching, comprising:

(a) mapping a plurality of waveform sequences from an original representation space (ORS) comprised of waveform sequences into a hierarchical multidimensional attractor behavior space (HMBS), to draw the waveform sequences respectively to a plurality of attractor behaviors in the HMBS, wherein each of the attractor behaviors forms a unique identity for a given group of said waveform sequences with no overlap between different groups of waveform sequences represented by different attractor behaviors, then mapping the attractor identity to one of a group of analytical symbols that is part of an analytical symbol scheme to provide a token;

(b) creating a first plurality of waveform subsequences of a given one of the waveform sequences by repeatedly removing a waveform sequence element from a first end of the given waveform sequence to create a first waveform multi-set of subsequences;

(c) mapping each of said first plurality of waveform subsequences of said first waveform multi-set into the HMBS to form a plurality of identities;

(d) mapping each of said plurality of identities formed in step (c) to one of said group of analytic symbols to create a first string of analytical symbols for the first waveform multi-set of subsequence;

(e) combining said first string of analytical symbols for said first multi-set of sequences with said token of said given sequence from step (a) to produce a first token string of analytic symbols representing an exact identity of the given sequence and all of the subsequences ordered from the first end of the given sequence;

(f) creating a second plurality of waveform subsequences of said given one of the waveform sequences by repeatedly removing a waveform sequence element from a second end of the given waveform sequence to create a second waveform multi-set of subsequences;

(g) mapping each of said second plurality of waveform subsequences of said second waveform multi-set into the HMBS to form a plurality of identities;

(h) mapping each of said plurality of identities formed in step (g) to one of said group of analytic symbols to create a second string of analytical symbols for the second waveform multi-set of subsequence;

(i) combining said second string of analytical symbols for said second multi-set of sequences with said token of said given sequence from step (a) to produce a second token string of analytic symbols representing an exact identity of the given sequence and all of the subsequences ordered from the second end of the given sequence;

(j) repeating steps (b)-(i) for a plurality of other given waveform sequences from said plurality of waveform sequences to produce a plurality of first and a plurality of second token strings of analytic symbols;

(k) mapping said first and second plurality of token strings of analytical symbols to create a series of spatial coordinates in a hierarchy of spaces; and

(l) evaluating sequence-similarity characteristics of at least two token strings of analytical symbols using said spatial coordinates.

39. A method of waveform sequence matching comprising:

a) mapping a first waveform sequence having a plurality of waveform sequence elements from an original representation space (ORS) into a multidimensional attractor behavior space (HMBS), said first waveform sequence converging to one of at least two distinct behaviors in said attractor behavior space, wherein each behavior is assigned to one of unique analytical symbols from an analytical symbol scheme;

b) forming a plurality of first waveform subsequences of said first waveform sequence; and

c) mapping said plurality of first waveform subsequences of said first waveform sequence to said HMBS space to create a plurality of analytical symbols corresponding to the behavior of each waveform subsequence, said analytical symbol assigned to said first waveform sequence and said plurality of analytical symbols assigned to said first waveform subsequences defining together a first analytical symbol string uniquely characterizing said first waveform sequence including said first waveform subsequences;

wherein the step of forming said plurality of first waveform subsequences comprises;

1) removing a waveform sequence element from a first end of the first waveform sequence to produce an initial first waveform subsequence;

2) iteratively repeating step

     1) for the produced initial first waveform subsequence to form subsequent first waveform subsequences;

3) removing a symbol from a second end of the first waveform sequence to produce another initial first waveform subsequence;

4) iteratively repeating step

     3) for the produced another initial first waveform subsequence to form subsequent other first waveform subsequences,

5) said plurality of first waveform subsequences formed by said initial first waveform subsequence, said subsequent first waveform subsequences, said another initial first waveform subsequence and said subsequent other first waveform subsequences;

d) repeating steps a)-c) for a second waveform sequence and second waveform subsequences to obtain a second analytical symbol string;

f) said first and second analytical symbol strings representing an exact identity of the first and second waveform sequences respectively and all waveform subsequences ordered from the first and second ends of the first and second waveform sequences; and

g) comparing the first analytical symbol string with the second analytical symbol string whereby a match may be detected between said first waveform sequence and said second waveform sequence.

40. The method as recited in claim 39, wherein for each of said first and second waveform sequences said assigned analytical symbol is obtained by:

(a) taking said waveform sequence elements one at a time for mapping into said multidimensional attractor behavior space to obtain first tokens;

(b) taking said waveform sequence elements two at a time for mapping into said multidimensional attractor behavior space to obtain second tokens;

(c) taking said waveform sequence elements three at a time for mapping into said multidimensional attractor behavior space to obtain third tokens; and

(d) forming a composite of said first, second and third tokens forming a triplet of said analytical symbols from said analytical symbol scheme and forming part of said first and second analytical symbol strings.

41. The method as recited in claim 39, wherein for each of said first and second waveform subsequences of said first and second waveform sequences said plurality of analytical symbols is obtained by a composite of:

(a) taking said waveform subsequence elements one at a time for mapping into said multidimensional attractor behavior space to obtain first tokens strings;

(b) taking said subsequence elements two at a time for mapping into said multidimensional attractor behavior space to obtain second tokens strings;

(c) taking said subsequence elements three at a time for mapping into said multidimensional attractor behavior space to obtain third tokens strings; and

(d) combining said first, second and third tokens strings for each of said first and second waveform subsequence of said first and second waveform sequences to form said plurality of analytical symbols assigned to said first and second waveform subsequences.

42. The method as recited in claim 40 wherein for each of said first and second waveform subsequences of said first and second waveform sequences said plurality of analytical symbols is obtained by a composite of:

(a) taking said waveform subsequence elements one at a time for mapping into said multidimensional attractor behavior space to obtain first tokens strings;

(b) taking said subsequence elements two at a time for mapping into said multidimensional attractor behavior space to obtain second tokens strings;

(c) taking said subsequence elements three at a time for mapping into said multidimensional attractor behavior space to obtain third tokens strings; and

(d) combining said first, second and third tokens strings for each of said first and second waveform subsequence of said first and second waveform sequences to form said plurality of analytical symbols assigned to said first and second waveform subsequences.

43. A method of waveform sequence matching comprising:

(a) mapping at least a first and a second waveform sequence having a plurality of waveform sequence elements from an original representation space (ORS) into a multidimensional attractor behavior space (HMBS), each of said first and second waveform sequence converging to one of at least two distinct behaviors in said attractor behavior space, wherein each behavior is assigned to one of unique analytical symbols from an analytical symbol scheme;

(b) forming a plurality of first and second waveform subsequences of said first and second waveform sequences respectively; and

(c) mapping said plurality of first and second waveform subsequences of said first and second waveform sequence to said HMBS space to create a plurality of analytical symbols corresponding to the behavior of each of said plurality of first and second waveform subsequence, said analytical symbol assigned to said first waveform sequence and said plurality of analytical symbols assigned to said first waveform subsequences defining together a first analytical symbol string uniquely characterizing said first waveform sequence including said first waveform subsequences, and said analytical symbol assigned to said second waveform sequence and said plurality of analytical symbols assigned to said second waveform subsequences defining together a second analytical symbol string uniquely characterizing said second waveform sequence including said second waveform subsequences;

wherein the analytic symbols, for each of said first and second analytical symbol strings of said first and second waveform sequences, are obtained by;

(i) taking said waveform sequence elements one at a time for forming analytical sequence elements and, collectively, an analytical sequence, and mapping the analytical sequence to said attractor space;

(ii) taking said waveform sequence elements two at a time for forming analytical sequence elements and, collectively, an analytical sequence, and mapping the analytical sequence to said attractor space;

(iii) taking said waveform sequence elements three at a time for forming analytical sequence elements and, collectively, an analytical sequence, and mapping the analytical sequence to said attractor space;

(iv) removing j sequence elements, where j is an integer initially equal to one, from one end of said waveform subsequence and, for the resulting subsequence, repeating steps (i)-(iii);

(v) iteratively repeating step (iv) at least once for j=j+1 at each iteration, and at most for j equal to the number of sequence elements in said waveform sequence;

(vi) removing k sequence elements, where k is an integer initially equal to one, from the other end of said subsequence and, for the resulting subsequence, repeating steps (i)-(iii); and

(vii) iteratively repeating step (vi) at least once for k=k+1 at each iteration, and at most for k equal to the number of sequence elements in said waveform sequence.

44. The method as recited in claim 43 wherein the analytic symbols, for each of said first and second analytical symbol strings of said first and second waveform sequences, are obtained by:

(a) taking said sequence elements four at a time forming analytical sequence elements and, collectively, an analytical sequence, and mapping the analytical sequence to said attractor space;

(b) taking said sequence elements five at a time at a time forming analytical sequence elements and, collectively, an analytical sequence, and mapping the analytical sequence to said attractor space;

(c) taking said sequence elements six at a time forming analytical sequence elements and, collectively, an analytical sequence, and mapping the analytical sequence to said attractor space;

(d) removing j sequence elements, where j is an integer initially equal to one, from one end of said waveform subsequence and, for the resulting subsequence, repeating steps (a)-(c);

(e) iteratively repeating step (d) at least once for j j+1 at each iteration, and at most for j equal to the number of sequence elements in said waveform sequence;

(f) removing k sequence elements, where k is an integer initially equal to one, from the other end of said subsequence and, for the resulting subsequence, repeating steps (a)-(c); and

(g) iteratively repeating step (f) at least once for k=k+1 at each iteration, and at most for k equal to the number of sequence elements in said waveform sequence.

45. The method as recited in claim 44 wherein said mappings comprise:

1.) creating a row sequence list,

2.) counting the number of times each sequence element occurs in the sequence,

3.) express the count for each sequence element as a number within a numerical counting base, ordered with the order of the sequence elements,

4.) create a two dimensional array (the count array) with as many columns as the number of digits in a numerical counting base (not necessarily the same as the base of the numbers in the sequence element count),

a. count the number of times each digit in the base occurs within the group of numbers

b. express each digit count as a number in the base entered into the respective digit column of the count array such that the sequence of numbers in a row of the array represents the number of times each digit occurred respectively,

c. determine if the current row'"'"'s sequence of numbers occurs in any preceding row of the count array,

d. if the current row'"'"'s sequence of numbers has not occurred in any previous row of the count array repeat steps a.)-d.),

5.) if the current row'"'"'s sequence of numbers occurs in any preceding row, copy the sequence of rows (the row sequence) and place it in the row sequence list,

6.) determine if the current row sequence has been previously placed in the row sequence list,

7.) if the current row sequence is new, assign it an unique analytical symbol from an analytical symbol scheme and place the analytical symbol in the next position of the ordered analytical symbol string for the current sequence,

8.) if the current row sequence is not new, assign the analytical symbol for the previous occurrence of the row sequence to the next position in the ordered analytical symbol sequence string and erase the current row sequence from the list.

46. The method as recited in claim 45 wherein for each of said subsequences, said plurality of analytical symbols is obtained by a composite of:

(a) taking said sequence elements one at a time forming analytical sequence elements and, collectively, an analytical sequence and mapping the analytical sequence to said attractor space;

(b) taking said sequence elements two at a time at a time forming analytical sequence elements and, collectively, an analytical sequence and mapping the analytical sequence to said attractor space;

(c) taking said sequence elements three at a time forming analytical sequence elements and, collectively, an analytical sequence and mapping the analytical sequence to said attractor space;

(d) removing j sequence elements, where j is an integer initially equal to one, from one end of said subsequence and, for the resulting subsequence, repeating steps a)-c);

(e) iteratively repeating step d) at least once for j=j+1 at each iteration;

(f) removing k sequence elements, where k is an integer initially equal to one, from the other end of said subsequence and, for the resulting subsequence, repeating steps a)-c); and

(g) iteratively repeating step f) at least once for k=k+1 at each iteration;

wherein the mapping comprises;

(i) create a row sequence list,

(ii) count the number of times each sequence element occurs in the sequence,

(iii) express the count for each sequence element in a non-numerical form, ordered with the order of the sequence elements,

(iv) create a two dimensional array (the count array) with as many columns as the base number of count symbols in said non-numerical form

(1) count the number of times each count symbol occurs within the group of numbers

(2) express each count symbol count in said non-numerical form entered into the respective count symbol column of the count array such that the sequence of count symbols in a row of the array represents the number of times each digit occurred respectively,

(3) determine if the current row'"'"'s sequence of count symbols occurs in any preceding row of the count array,

(4) if the current row'"'"'s sequence of count symbols has not occurred in any previous row of the count array repeat steps a.)-d.),

(v) if the current row'"'"'s sequence of count symbols occurs in any preceding row, copy the sequence of rows (the row sequence) and place it in the row sequence list,

(vi) determine if the current row sequence has been previously placed in the row sequence list,

(vii) if the current row sequence is new, assign it an unique analytical symbol from an analytical symbol scheme and place the analytical symbol in the next position of the ordered analytical symbol string for the current sequence,

(viii) if the current row sequence is not new, assign the analytical symbol for the previous occurrence of the row sequence to the next position in the ordered analytical symbol sequence string and erase the current row sequence from the list.

108. The method as recited in claim 43 wherein each of said analytic sequence mappings recited in at least step (c)(i) comprises:

(a) creating a row sequence list,

(b) counting the number of times each sequence element occurs in the sequence,

(c) express the count for each sequence element as a number within a numerical counting base,

(d) create a two dimensional count array with as many columns as the number of digits in a numerical counting base,

(i) count the number of times each digit in the base occurs within the group of numbers

(ii) express each digit count as a number in the base entered into the respective digit column of the count array such that the sequence of numbers in a row of the array represents the number of times each digit occurred respectively,

(iii) determine if the current row'"'"'s sequence of numbers occurs in any preceding row of the count array,

(iv) if the current row'"'"'s sequence of numbers has not occurred in any previous row of the count array repeat steps a.)-d.),

(e) if the current row'"'"'s sequence of numbers occurs in any preceding row, copy the sequence of rows (the row sequence) and place it in the row sequence list,

(f) determine if the current row sequence has been previously placed in the row sequence list,

(g) if the current row sequence is new, assign it an unique analytical symbol from an analytical symbol scheme and place the analytical symbol in the next position of the ordered analytical symbol string for the current sequence,

(h) if the current row sequence is not new, assign the analytical symbol for the previous occurrence of the row sequence to the next position in the ordered analytical symbol sequence string and deleting the current row sequence from the list.

47. A method of classifying and identifying waveforms comprising the steps of:

(a) representing the waveform as a series of discrete points, each point having an amplitude value;

(b) selecting the global maximum and global minimum points according to their amplitude values within the waveform, said waveform defined between right and left terminator points that bound the waveform, said terminator points having amplitude values;

(c) assigning a symbol from an alphabet of symbols to represent the selected global maximum, global minimum and terminator points, said symbol assigned to characterize said points based on amplitude values of adjacent ones of said global maximum, global minimum and terminator points, while ignoring all other points;

(d) dividing the waveform into regions according to the selected global maximum and global minimum points and the terminator points;

(e) within each region, selecting a local maximum and minimum points according to their amplitude values;

(f) within each region, assigning a symbol from said alphabet of symbols to represent the selected local maximum and local minimum points, said symbol assigned to characterize said points based on amplitude values of adjacent ones of said local maximum, said local minimum, said global maximum, said global minimum, and said terminator points, if any, while ignoring all other points;

(g) forming a first sequence of symbols by combining the assigned symbols formed in steps (c) and (f);

(h) forming a multiset of sequences of symbols by taking subsets of said first sequence;

(i) mapping said first sequence and said multiset of sequences with an attractor process, said attractive process being an iterative process which causes each of said first sequence and each sequence of said multiset of sequences to converge on one of at least two different behaviors;

(j) representing each of said at least two behaviors with a token value;

(k) concatenating said token values corresponding to said first sequence and said multiset of sequences to produce a token value sequence corresponding to said waveform;

(l) repeating steps (a) through (k) for at least one other waveform; and

(m) classifying or identifying said waveform and said at least one other waveform by ordering and comparing their token value sequences.

48. The method as recited in claim 47 wherein said multiset of sequences has j sequences of symbols and the step of forming said multiset of sequences of symbols comprises:

(a) setting j=1

(b) removing j symbols of said first sequence of symbols from one end of said first sequence of symbols to form said jth sequence of said multiset of sequences; and

(c) repeating step (b) with j=j+1 until j reaches some predetermined number less than the total number of symbols of said first sequence of symbols.

49. The method as recited in claim 47 wherein said multiset of sequences comprises a first and second multiset of sequences and wherein

(a) said first multiset of sequences has j sequences of symbols and the step of forming said first multiset of sequences of symbols comprises:

(i) setting j=1

(ii) removing j symbols of said first sequence of symbols from one end of said first sequence of symbols to form said jth sequence of said first multiset of sequences; and

(iii) repeating step (a)(ii) with j j+1 until j reaches some first number less than the total number of symbols of said first sequence of symbols;

(b) said second multiset of sequences has k sequences of symbols and the step of forming said second multiset of sequences of symbols comprises;

(i) setting k=1

(ii) removing k symbols of said first sequence of symbols from another end of said first sequence of symbols to form said kth sequence of said second multiset of sequences; and

(iii) repeating step (b)(ii) with k=k+1 until k reaches some second number less than the total number of symbols of said first sequence of symbols;

(c) performing steps (i)-(l) with said first multisets of sequences as said multiset of sequences and again with said second multiset of sequences as said multiset of sequences.

50. The method as recited in claim 49 wherein said first number is equal to said second number.

51. The method as recited in claim 47 wherein said multiset of sequences is formed by removing all points from one region and using subsets of the remaining points as said multiset of sequences.

52. The method as recited in claim 51 wherein said multiset of sequences is formed by removing all points from one region at a right or left end of said waveform and using subsets of the remaining points as said multiset of sequences.

53. The method as recited in claim 47 wherein said alphabet is defined by FIG. 10.

54. The method as recited in claim 53, wherein said alphabet is defined by columns 1-8 and 10-13 of FIG. 10 and is further defined by assigning a slope value corresponding to a range of values of the slope of the line connecting a given point to resolved points positioned to the right and left of the given point;

resolved points for step c) being said global maximum, said global minimum, and said terminator points; and

said resolved points for step f) being said local maximum, said local minimum, said global maximum, said global minimum and said terminator points.

55. The method as recited in claim 47 wherein said alphabet is defined by FIG. 10 without the “

slope”

column 9.

56. The method as recited in claim 47 wherein said alphabet comprises symbols which are defined to characterize any given point depending on whether the resolved point to its left is lower than, equal to, or higher than the given point and further dependent on whether the resolved point to its right is lower than, equal to, or higher than the given point, resolved points for step c) being said global maximum, said global minimum, and said terminator points;

and said resolved points for step f) being said local maximum, said local minimum, said global maximum, said global minimum and said terminator points.

57. The method as recited in claim 47 where said multiset of sequences has j sequences of symbols and the step of forming said multiset of sequences of symbols comprises:

(a) setting j=1

(b) removing one region of symbols of said first sequence of symbols from one end of said first sequence of symbols to form said jth sequence of said multiset of sequences; and

(c) repeating step (2) with j=j+1 until j reaches some predetermined number less than the total number of regions of said first sequence of symbols.

58. The method as recited in claim 47 wherein said multiset of sequences comprises a first and second multiset of sequences and wherein

(a) said first multiset of sequences has j sequences of symbols and the step of forming said first multiset of sequences of symbols comprises:

(i) setting j=1

(ii) removing at least one region of symbols of said first sequence of symbols from one end of said first sequence of symbols to form said jth sequence of said first multiset of sequences; and

(iii) repeating step (ii) with j=j+1 until j reaches some first number less than the total number of regions of said first sequence of symbols;

(b) said second multiset of sequences has k sequences of symbols and the step of forming said second multiset of sequences of symbols comprises;

(i) setting k=1

(ii) removing at least one region of said first sequence of symbols from another end of said first sequence of symbols to form said kth sequence of said second multiset of sequences; and

(iii) repeating step (ii) with k=k+1 until k reaches some second number less than the total number of symbols of said first sequence of symbols;

(c) performing steps j)-m) with said first multisets of sequences as said multiset of sequences and again with said second set of sequences as said multiset of sequences.

59. A method of classifying and identifying waveforms comprising the steps of:

(a) representing the waveform as a series of discrete points, each point having an amplitude value;

(b) selecting the global maximum and global minimum points according to their amplitude values within the waveform, said waveform defined between right and left terminator points that bound the waveform, said terminator points having amplitude values;

(c) assigning a symbol from an alphabet of symbols to represent the selected global maximum, global minimum and terminator points, said symbol assigned to characterize said points based on amplitude values of adjacent ones of said global maximum, global minimum and terminator points, while ignoring all other points;

(d) selecting the next global maximum and next global minimum points according to their amplitude values;

(e) assigning a symbol from said alphabet of symbols to represent the selected next global maximum and next global minimum points, said symbol assigned to characterize said points based on amplitude values of adjacent ones of said next global maximum, said next global minimum, said global maximum, said global minimum, and said terminator points, if any, while ignoring all other points;

(f) forming a first sequence of symbols by combining the assigned symbols formed in steps c) and e);

(g) forming a multiset of sequences of symbols by taking subsets of said first sequence;

(h) mapping said first sequence and said multiset of sequences with an attractor process, said attractive process being an iterative process which causes each of said first sequence and each sequence of said multiset of sequences to converge on one of at least two different behaviors;

(i) representing each of said at least two behaviors with a token value;

(j) concatenating said token values corresponding to said first sequence and said multiset of sequences to produce a token value sequence corresponding to said waveform;

(k) repeating steps (a) through (j) for at least one other waveform; and

(l) classifying or identifying said waveform and said at least one other waveform by ordering and comparing their token value sequences.

60. The method as recited in claim 59 wherein said multiset of sequences has j sequences of symbols and the step of forming said multiset of sequences of symbols comprises:

(a) setting j=1

(b) removing j symbols of said first sequence of symbols from one end of said first sequence of symbols to form said jth sequence of said multiset of sequences; and

(c) repeating step (b) with j=j+1 until j reaches some predetermined number less than the total number of symbols of said first sequence of symbols.

61. The method as recited in claim 59 wherein said multiset of sequences comprises a first and second multiset of sequences and wherein

(a) said first multiset of sequences has j sequences of symbols and the step of forming said multiset of sequences of symbols comprises:

(i) setting j=1

(ii) removing j symbols of said first sequence of symbols from one end of said first sequence of symbols to form said jth sequence of said multiset of sequences; and

(iii) repeating step (a)(ii) with j=j+1 until j reaches some first number less than the total number of symbols of said first sequence of symbols;

(b) said second multiset of sequences has k sequences of symbols and the step of forming said multiset of sequences of symbols comprises;

(i) setting k=1

(ii) removing k symbols of said first sequence of symbols from another end of said first sequence of symbols to form said kth sequence of said multiset of sequences; and

(iii) repeating step (b)(ii) with k=k+1 until k reaches some second number less than the total number of symbols of said first sequence of symbols;

(c) performing steps j)-m) with said first multisets of sequences as said multiset of sequences and again with said second set of sequences as said multiset of sequences.

62. The method as recited in claim 61 wherein said first number is equal to said second number.

63. The method as recited in claim 59 further including the step of dividing the waveform into a regions defined by said global maximum, said global minimum, said next global maximum and said next global minimum and said terminator points.

64. The method as recited in claim 63 wherein said multiset of sequences is formed by removing all points from one region and using subsets of the remaining points as said multiset of sequences.

65. The method as recited in claim 64 wherein said multiset of sequences is formed by removing all points from one region at a right or left end of said waveform and using subsets of the remaining points as said multiset of sequences.

66. The method as recited in claim 59 wherein said alphabet is defined by FIG. 10.

67. The method as recited in claim 66, wherein said alphabet is defined by columns 1-8 and 10-13 of FIG. 10 and is further defined by assigning a slope value corresponding to a range of values of the slope of the line connecting a given point to points positioned to the right and left of the given point.

68. The method as recited in claim 59 wherein said alphabet is defined by FIG. 10 without the “

slope”

column 9.

69. The method as recited in claim 59 wherein said alphabet comprises symbols which are defined to characterize any given point depending on whether the resolved point to its, left is lower than, equal to, or higher than the given point and further dependent on whether the point to its right is lower than, equal to, or higher than the given point.

70. A method of classifying and identifying a statistical distribution between parameter A and parameter B comprising the steps of:

(a) dividing parameter A into regions;

(b) setting j=2

(c) dividing the parameter B space into j regions;

(d) counting the number of points for each of the regions of parameter A that fall within each of the j regions of parameter B;

(e) setting j=2×

j and repeating steps (d) at least one time;

(f) representing the counted number of points from step (d) for each of the regions as a first sequence of numbers;

(g) forming multisets of the first sequence by taking subsets of the first sequence;

(h) mapping said first sequence and said multiset of sequences with an attractor process, said attractive process being an iterative and contractive process which causes each of said first sequence and each sequence of said multiset of sequences to converge on one of at least two different behaviors;

(i) representing each of said at least two behaviors with a token value;

(j) concatenating said token values corresponding to said first sequence and said multiset of sequences to produce a token value sequence corresponding to said waveform;

(k) repeating steps (a) through (j) for at least one other statistical distribution; and

(l) classifying or identifying said statistical distribution and said at least one other statistical distribution by ordering and comparing their token value sequences.

71. A method of classifying and identifying a statistical distribution between parameter A and parameter B comprising the steps of:

(a) dividing parameter A into regions;

(b) dividing the parameter B space into j regions;

(c) counting the number of points for each of the regions of parameter A that fall within each of the j regions of parameter B;

(d) representing the counted number of points from step (c) for each of the regions as a first sequence of numbers;

(e) forming multisets of the first sequence by taking subsets of the first sequence;

(f) mapping said first sequence and said multiset of sequences with an attractor process, said attractive process being an iterative and contractive process which causes each of said first sequence and each sequence of said multiset of sequences to converge on one of at least two different behaviors;

(g) representing each of said at least two behaviors with a token value;

(h) concatenating said token values corresponding to said first sequence and said multiset of sequences to produce a token value sequence corresponding to said waveform;

(i) repeating steps (a) through (h) for at least one other statistical distribution; and

(j) classifying or identifying said statistical distribution and said at least one other statistical distribution by ordering and comparing their token value sequences.

72. A method of waveform comparison comprising:

(a) mapping, through an attractor process, at least first and second waveform sequence source multisets, from an original representation space (ORS) into an attractor behavior space;

(i) each of said at least first and second waveform sequence source multisets being a plurality of subsets of a first and second waveform sequence and each subset having a plurality of waveform sequence elements;

(ii) said attractor process being an iterative process which causes first and second waveform sequences source multisets in the ORS to converge to at least two distinct behaviors in said attractor behavior space;

(iii) wherein each behavior in said attractor behavior space is assigned a distinct symbol from a symbol scheme,

(iv) said mapping resulting in a first and second token string, each consisting of a series of said symbols, corresponding to said first and second waveform sequence source multisets respectively;

(b) mapping, through said attractor process and into said attractor behavior space, a plurality of first and second waveform subsequences source mutisets of said first and second waveform sequences respectively,

(i) said plurality of first and second waveform subsequence source multisets each being a plurality of subsets of a different one of a plurality of first and second waveform subsequence of said first and second waveform sequence and each having a number of waveform sequence elements;

(ii) said mapping resulting in a plurality of first and second subsequence token strings, each consisting of a series of said symbols, corresponding to said plurality of first and second waveform subsequence source multisets respectively; and

(c) comparing said first token string and said plurality of first subsequence token strings with said second token string and said plurality of second subsequence token strings to determine a match among said first and second waveform sequence source multisets and said plurality of first and second waveform subsequences source multisets.

73. The method as recited in claim 72 further including the step of forming said at least first and second waveform sequence source multisets by, for each of said first and second waveform sequences:

(a) removing j sequence elements, where j is an integer initially equal to one, from one end of said waveform sequence;

(b) iteratively repeating step (a) at least once for j j+1 at each iteration, and at most for j equal to the number of sequence elements in said waveform sequence.

74. The method as recited in claim 73 further including the step of forming said at least first and second waveform sequence source multisets by, for each of said first and second waveform sequences:

(c) removing k sequence elements, where k is an integer initially equal to one, from the other end of said waveform sequence; and

(d) iteratively repeating step (c) at least once for k=k+1 at each iteration, and at most for k equal to the number of sequence elements in said waveform sequence.

75. The method as recited in claim 74 further including the step of forming said at least first and second waveform subsequence source multisets by, for each of said plurality of first and second waveform subsequences:

(e) removing j sequence elements, where j is an integer initially equal to one, from one end of said waveform subsequence;

(f) iteratively repeating step (e) at least once for j=j+1 at each iteration, and at most for j equal to the number of sequence elements in said waveform subsequence.

76. The method as recited in claim 75 further including the step of forming said at least first and second waveform subsequence source multisets by for each of said plurality of first and second waveform subsequences:

(g) removing k sequence elements, where k is an integer initially equal to one, from the other end of said waveform subsequence; and

(h) iteratively repeating step (g) at least once for k=k+1 at each iteration, and at most for k equal to the number of sequence elements in said waveform subsequence.

77. The method as recited in claim 72 wherein said mapping of said at least first and second waveform sequence source multisets is performed taking said sequence elements of each of said subsets of each of said first and second waveform sequence source multisets one-at-a-time and mapping the resulting one-at-a-time elements through said attractor process to form one-at-a-time tokens, sequences of said one-at-a-time tokens forming at least portions of said first and second token strings.

78. The method as recited in claim 72 wherein said mapping of said at least first and second waveform sequence source multisets is performed taking said sequence elements of each of said subsets of each of said first and second waveform sequence source multisets two-at-a-time and mapping the resulting two-at-a-time elements through said attractor process to form two-at-a-time tokens, sequences of said two-at-a-time tokens forming at least portions of said first and second token strings.

79. The method as recited in claim 72 wherein said mapping of said at least first and second waveform sequence source multisets is performed taking said sequence elements of each of said subsets of each of said first and second waveform sequence source multisets three-at-a-time and mapping the resulting three-at-a-time elements through said attractor process to form three-at-a-time tokens, sequences of said three-at-a-time tokens forming at least portions of said first and second token strings.

80. The method as recited in claim 77 wherein said mapping of said at least first and second waveform sequence source multisets is performed taking said sequence elements of each of said subsets of each of said first and second waveform sequence source multisets two-at-a-time and mapping the resulting two-at-a-time elements through said attractor process to form two-at-a-time tokens, sequences of said two-at-a-time tokens together with said one-at-a-time tokens forming at least portions of said first and second token strings.

81. The method as recited in claim 80 wherein said mapping of said at least first and second waveform sequence source multisets is performed taking said sequence elements of each of said subsets of each of said first and second waveform sequence source multisets three-at-a-time and mapping the resulting three-at-a-time elements through said attractor process to form three-at-a-time tokens, sequences of said three-at-a-time tokens, together with said two-at-a-time tokens and said one-at-a-time tokens forming at least portions of said first and second token strings.

82. The method as recited in claim 72 wherein said mapping of each of said plurality of first and second waveform subsequence source multisets is performed taking said sequence elements of each of said subsets of each of said plurality of first and second waveform subsequence source multisets one-at-a-time and mapping the resulting one-at-a-time elements through said attractor process to form one-at-a-time tokens, sequences of said one-at-a-time tokens forming at least portions of said plurality of first and second subsequence token strings.

83. The method as recited in claim 72 wherein said mapping of each of said plurality of first and second waveform subsequence source multisets is performed taking said sequence elements of each of said subsets of each of said plurality of first and second waveform subsequence source multisets two-at-a-time and mapping the resulting two-at-a-time elements through said attractor process to form two-at-a-time tokens, sequences of said two-at-a-time tokens forming at least portions of said plurality of first and second subsequence token strings.

84. The method as recited in claim 72 wherein said mapping of each of said plurality of first and second waveform subsequence source multisets is performed taking said sequence elements of each of said subsets of each of said plurality of first and second waveform subsequence source multisets three-at-a-time and mapping the resulting three-at-a-time elements through said attractor process to form three-at-a-time tokens, sequences of said three-at-a-time tokens forming at least portions of said plurality of first and second subsequence token strings.

85. The method as recited in claim 82 wherein said mapping of each of said plurality of first and second waveform subsequence source multisets is performed taking said sequence elements of each of said subsets of each of said plurality of first and second waveform subsequence source multisets two-at-a-time and mapping the resulting two-at-a-time elements through said attractor process to form two-at-a-time tokens, sequences of said two-at-a-time tokens forming, together with said one-at-a-time tokens, at least portions of said plurality of first and second subsequence token strings.

86. The method as recited in claim 85 wherein said mapping of each of said plurality of first and second waveform subsequence source multisets is performed taking said sequence elements of each of said subsets of each of said plurality of first and second waveform subsequence source multisets three-at-a-time and mapping the resulting three-at-a-time elements through said attractor process to form three-at-a-time tokens, sequences of said three-at-a-time tokens forming, together with said one-at-a-time tokens and said two-at-a-time tokens, at least portions of said plurality of first and second subsequence token strings.

87. The method as recited in claim 72 wherein said waveform sequence elements of each subset of each of said first and second waveform sequence source multisets is assigned using FIG. 10.

88. The method as recited in claim 72 wherein said waveform sequence elements of each subset of each of said first and second waveform sequence source multisets are derived by:

(a) representing a waveform of interest as a series of discrete points, each point having an amplitude value;

(b) assigning an alphabet symbol from an alphabet characterized by describing, for a given discrete point, the relative amplitude value of a point to the right and left of the given point such that the local shape of the waveform may be described relative to the given point..

89. The method as recited in claim 88 wherein the alphabet comprises the alphabet shown in FIG. 10.

90. The method as recited in claim 88 wherein said waveform comprises a plurality of waveform segments and each waveform segment is defined by a group of said waveform sequence elements, said mapping in steps (a) and (b) and said comparing in step (c) taking place individually for each of said waveform segments:

91. The method as recited in claim 90 wherein the alphabet comprises right and left terminator points for describing the right and left end points respectively of each segment, said terminator point indicating whether the segment is part of an interior region of a waveform or a beginning or end portion of a waveform.

92. The method as recited in claim 72 wherein said waveform sequence elements of each subset of each of said first and second waveform sequence source multisets are derived by:

(a) representing a first and second waveform of interest as a series of discrete points, each point having an amplitude value;

(b) defining each of said first and second waveforms between right and left terminator points, said terminator points having amplitude values;

(c) selecting, for each of said first and second waveforms, the global maximum and global minimum points according to their amplitude values, said global maximum and global minimum selected between said right and left terminator points;

(d) assigning an alphabet symbol to represent the selected global maximum, global minimum and terminator points, said alphabet symbol assigned to characterize said points based on amplitude values of adjacent ones of said global maximum, global minimum and terminator points, while ignoring all other points;

(e) dividing each of said first and second waveforms into regions according to the respective selected global maximum and global minimum points and the terminator points;

(f) within each region, selecting a local maximum and minimum points according to their amplitude values;

(g) within each region and for each of said first and second waveforms, assigning an alphabet symbol to represent the selected local maximum and local minimum points, said symbol assigned to characterize said local maximum and local minimum points based on amplitude values of adjacent ones of said local maximum, said local minimum, said global maximum, said global minimum, and said terminator points, if any, while ignoring all other points; and

(h) forming said first and second waveform sequence by combining said alphabet symbols assigned in steps (d) and (g).

93. The method as recited in claim 72 wherein said waveform sequence elements of each subset of each of said first and second waveform sequence source multisets are derived by:

(a) representing a first and second waveform of interest as a series of discrete points, each point having an amplitude value;

(b) defining each of said first and second waveforms between right and left terminator points, said terminator points having amplitude values;

(c) selecting, for each of said first and second waveforms, the global maximum and global minimum points according to their amplitude values, said global maximum and global minimum selected between said right and left terminator points;

(d) assigning an alphabet symbol to represent the selected global maximum, global minimum and terminator points, said alphabet symbol assigned to characterize said points based on amplitude values of adjacent ones of said global maximum, global minimum and terminator points, while ignoring all other points;

(e) dividing each of said first and second waveforms into regions according to the respective selected global maximum and global minimum points and the terminator points;

(f) selecting, for each of said first and second waveforms, the next global maximum and next global minimum points according to their amplitude values;

(g) assigning an alphabet symbol to represent the selected next global maximum and next global minimum points, said alphabet symbol assigned to characterize said points based on amplitude values of adjacent ones of said next global maximum, said next global minimum, said global maximum, said global minimum, and said terminator points, if any, while ignoring all other points; and

(h) forming a first sequence of symbols by combining the symbols assigned in steps (d) and (g).

94. A method of waveform comparison comprising:

(a) mapping, through an attractor process, a first waveform sequence source multiset, from an original representation space (ORS) into an attractor behavior space;

(i) said first waveform sequence source multisets being a plurality of subsets of a first waveform sequence and each subset having a plurality of waveform sequence elements;

(ii) said attractor process being an iterative and contractive process which causes first waveform sequences source multisets in the ORS to converge to at least two distinct behaviors in said attractor behavior space;

(iii) wherein each behavior in said attractor behavior space is assigned a distinct symbol from a symbol scheme,

(iv) said mapping resulting in a first token string consisting of a series of said symbols, corresponding to said first waveform sequence source multisets respectively;

(b) mapping, through said attractor process and into said attractor behavior space, a plurality of first waveform subsequences source mutisets of said first waveform sequences respectively,

(i) said plurality of first waveform subsequence source multisets being a plurality of subsets of a different one of a plurality of a first waveform subsequence of said first waveform sequence and each having a number of waveform sequence elements;

(ii) said mapping resulting in a plurality of first subsequence token strings, each consisting of a series of said symbols, corresponding to said plurality of first waveform subsequence source multisets respectively; and

(c) mapping, through an attractor process, a second waveform sequence source multiset, from an original representation space (ORS) into an attractor behavior space;

(i) said second waveform sequence source multisets being a plurality of subsets of a second waveform sequence and each subset having a plurality of waveform sequence elements;

(ii) said attractor process being an iterative and contractive process which causes second waveform sequences source multisets in the ORS to converge to at least two distinct behaviors in said attractor behavior space;

(iii) wherein each behavior in said attractor behavior space is assigned a distinct symbol from said symbol scheme,

(iv) said mapping resulting in a second token string consisting of a series of said symbols, corresponding to said second waveform sequence source multisets respectively;

(d) mapping, through said attractor process and into said attractor behavior space, a plurality of second waveform subsequences source mutisets of said second waveform sequences respectively,

(i) said plurality of second waveform subsequence source multisets being a plurality of subsets of a different one of a plurality of a second waveform subsequence of said second waveform sequence and each having a number of waveform sequence elements;

(ii) said mapping resulting in a plurality of second subsequence token strings, each consisting of a series of said symbols, corresponding to said plurality of second waveform subsequence source multisets respectively; and

(e) comparing said first token string and said plurality of first subsequence token strings with said second token string and said plurality of second subsequence token strings respectively to determine a match among said first and second waveform sequence source multisets and said plurality of first and second waveform subsequences source multisets.

95. A method of waveform comparison comprising:

(a) representing a first waveform as a first series of discrete points, each point having a value, a first waveform sequence source multiset being at least a portion of said first series of discrete points and a plurality of subsets of said portion of said first series of discrete points, and each subset having a plurality of said discrete points as waveform sequence elements;

(i) mapping, through an iterative and contractive process, said first waveform sequence source multiset into an attractor behavior space having at least two distinct behaviors with each behavior assigned a distinct symbol;

(ii) said mapping resulting in a first token string consisting of a series of said symbols, corresponding to said first waveform sequence source multisets;

(b) representing a second waveform as a second series of discrete points, each point having a value, a second waveform sequence source multiset being at least a portion of said second series of discrete points and a plurality of subsets of said portion of said second series of discrete points, and each subset having a plurality of said discrete points as waveform sequence elements;

(i) mapping, through said iterative and contractive process, said second waveform sequence source multiset into said attractor behavior space;

(ii) said mapping resulting in a second token string consisting of a series of said symbols, corresponding to said second waveform sequence source multisets;

(c) comparing said first token string and with said second token string to determine a match among said first and second waveform sequence source multisets.

96. The method as recited in claim 95 further comprising:

(a) mapping, through said iterative and contractive process into said attractor behavior space, a plurality of first waveform subsequences source mutisets of said first waveform sequences respectively,

(i) said plurality of first waveform subsequence source multisets being a plurality of subsequences of said first series of discrete points and, for each subsequence, a plurality of subsets said first series of discrete points which belong so said subsequences, each subset having a plurality of said discrete points as waveform sequence elements

(ii) said mapping resulting in a plurality of first subsequence token strings, each consisting of a series of said symbols, corresponding to said plurality of first waveform subsequence source multisets respectively;

(b) mapping, through said iterative and contractive process into said attractor behavior space, a plurality of second waveform subsequences source mutisets of said second waveform sequences respectively,

(i) said plurality of second waveform subsequence source multisets being a plurality of subsequences of said second series of discrete points and, for each subsequence, a plurality of subsets of said second series of discrete points which belong so said subsequences, each subset having a plurality of said discrete points as waveform sequence elements

(ii) said mapping resulting in a plurality of second subsequence token strings, each consisting of a series of said symbols, corresponding to said plurality of second waveform subsequence source multisets respectively;

(c) comparing said first token string and said plurality of first subsequence token strings with said second token string and said plurality of second subsequence token strings respectively to determine a match among said first and second waveform sequence source multisets and said plurality of first and second waveform subsequences source multisets.

97. The method as recited in claim 96 further including the step of forming said at least first and second waveform sequence source multisets by, for each of said first and second waveforms s:

(a) removing j sequence elements, where j is an integer initially equal to one, from one end of said waveform sequence;

(b) iteratively repeating step (a) at least once for j=j+1 at each iteration, and at most for j equal to the number of sequence elements in said waveform.

98. The method as recited in claim 97 further including the step of forming said at least first and second waveform subsequence source multisets by, for each of said plurality of first and second waveform subsequences:

(a) removing j sequence elements, where j is an integer initially equal to one, from one end of said waveform subsequence;

(b) iteratively repeating step (e) at least once for j=j+1 at each iteration, and at most for j equal to the number of sequence elements in said waveform subsequence.

99. The method as recited in claim 95 further including the step of forming said at least first and second waveform sequence source multisets by, for each of said first and second waveforms s:

(a) removing j sequence elements, where j is an integer initially equal to one, from one end of said waveform sequence;

(b) iteratively repeating step (a) at least once for j=j+1 at each iteration, and at most for j equal to the number of sequence elements in said waveform.

100. A method of waveform comparison comprising:

(a) representing a first waveform as a first series of discrete points;

(b) mapping, said first waveform through an iterative and contractive process, to obtain a first token based on the results of the iterative and contractive process;

(c) representing a second waveform as a second series of discrete points,

(d) mapping, said second waveform through said iterative and contractive process, to obtain a second token based on the results of the iterative and contractive process, said first and second tokens each being one or a plurality of symbols;

(e) comparing said first token and with said second token to determine a match among said first and second waveforms.

101. A method of comparing at least a first and second waveform comprising the steps of:

(a) representing the first waveform as a series of discrete points;

(b) setting k initially equal to “

first”

where k is an ordinal number;

(c) selecting a k plurality of points based on a k resolution examination of said series of discrete points,;

(d) assigning symbols from an alphabet of symbols to represent the k plurality of points at said k resolution examination;

(e) incrementing k such that k=k+1;

(f) repeating steps (c) and (d) at least once;

(g) forming a sequence of symbols by combining the assigned symbols formed in steps (d);

(h) forming a plurality of said subsequences of symbols by taking subsets of said sequence of symbols;

(i) mapping said sequence and said plurality of subsequences with an iterative, contractive process which causes said sequence and each of said plurality of subsequences to converge on one of at least two different behaviors;

(j) representing each of said at least two behaviors with a token value;

(k) concatenating said token values corresponding to said sequence and said plurality of subsequences to produce a first token value sequence corresponding to said first waveform;

(l) representing the second waveform as a series of discrete points;

(m) repeating steps (b) through (k) for said second waveform to produce a second token value sequence corresponding to said second waveform; and

(n) comparing said first and second waveforms by comparing the first and second token value sequences.

102. The method as recited in claim 101 wherein for each of said first and second waveforms, each point of said series of discrete points has an amplitude value and the assignment made in step 101(d) is based on amplitude values of adjacent ones of said discrete points, while ignoring all other points for each k resolution examination.

103. The method as recited in claim 101 wherein for each of said first and second waveforms, each point of said series of discrete points has an amplitude value and the assignment made in step 101(d) for any given point of the k plurality of points is based on amplitude values of a point to the left and the right of the given point.

104. The method as recited in claim 101 wherein for each of said first and second waveforms, each point of said series of discrete points has an amplitude value and the assignment made in step 101(d) for any given point of the k plurality of points is based on amplitude values of adjacent points, and, for each repeat in step 101(f) the incremented value of k is of a higher resolution examination of said series of discrete points as compared with the non-incremented value of k.

105. A method of comparing at least a first and second waveform comprising the steps of:

(a) representing the first waveform as a series of discrete points;

(b) setting k initially equal to “

first”

where k is an ordinal number;

(c) selecting a k plurality of points based on a k resolution examination of said series of discrete points;

(d) assigning symbols from an alphabet of symbols to represent the k plurality of points at said k resolution examination;

(e) incrementing k such that k=k+1;

(f) repeating steps (c) and (d) at least once;

(g) forming a sequence of symbols by combining the assigned symbols formed in steps (d);

(h) mapping said sequence with an iterative, contractive process which causes said sequence to converge on one of at least two different behaviors, and assigning a first token indicative of said behavior;

(i) representing the second waveform as a series of discrete points;

(j) setting m initially equal to “

first”

where m is an ordinal number;

(k) selecting a m plurality of points based on a m resolution examination of said series of discrete points;

(l) assigning symbols from said alphabet of symbols to represent the m plurality of points at said m resolution examination;

(m) incrementing m such that m=m+1;

(n) repeating steps (k) and (l) at least once;

(o) forming a sequence of symbols by combining the assigned symbols formed in steps (l);

(p) mapping said sequence with an iterative, contractive process which causes said sequence to converge on one of at least two different behaviors, and assigning a second token indicative of said behavior;

(q) comparing said first and second waveforms by comparing the first and second tokens.

106. The method as recited in claim 105 wherein said selecting steps (c) and (k) are performed by selecting successive maxima and minima points at each iteration of steps (f) and (n) respectively.

107. A method of waveform sequence matching comprising:

(a) mapping a first waveform sequence having a plurality of waveform sequence elements from an original representation space (ORS) into a multidimensional attractor behavior space (HMBS), said first waveform sequence converging to one of at least two distinct behaviors in said attractor behavior space, wherein each behavior is assigned to one of unique analytical symbols from an analytical symbol scheme;

(b) forming a plurality of first waveform subsequences of said first waveform sequence; and

(c) mapping said plurality of first waveform subsequences of said first waveform sequence to said HMBS space to create a plurality of analytical symbols corresponding to the behavior of each waveform subsequence, said analytical symbol assigned to said first waveform sequence and said plurality of analytical symbols assigned to said first waveform subsequences defining together a first analytical symbol string uniquely characterizing said first waveform sequence including said first waveform subsequences;

(d) repeating steps (a)-(c) for a second waveform sequence and second waveform subsequences to obtain a second analytical symbol string;

(e) said first and second analytical symbol strings representing an exact identity of the first and second waveform sequences respectively and all waveform subsequences ordered from the first and second ends of the first and second waveform sequences; and

(f) comparing the first analytical symbol string with the second analytical symbol string whereby a match may be detected between said first waveform sequence and said second waveform sequence.

109. A method of waveform comparison comprising:

(a) representing a waveform as a series of discrete points;

(b) mapping said waveform representation through an iterative and contractive process to obtain a token string based on the results of the iterative and contractive process;

(c) comparing said token string with stored token strings from previously mapped waveform representations to determine a match between said token string and said stored token strings.

110. A method of waveform comparison comprising:

(a) mapping a waveform representation through an iterative and contractive process to obtain a token string based on the results of the iterative and contractive process;

(b) comparing said token string with stored token strings from previously mapped waveforms representations to determine a match between said token string and said stored token strings.

111. Apparatus for waveform comparison comprising:

(a) a device for mapping a waveform representation through an iterative and contractive process to obtain a token string based on the results of the iterative and contractive process;

(b) a comparator for comparing said token string with stored token strings from previously mapped waveform representations to determine a match between said token string and said stored token strings.

112. Apparatus as recited in claim 111 wherein said for device comprises a programmed digital computer programmed for mapping said waveform representation through said iterative and contractive process to obtain said token string.

113. Apparatus as recited in claim 112 wherein said waveform representation is a digital representation derived from an analogue signal and said apparatus further comprises an analogue to digital converter for converting said analogue signal into said digital representation.

114. Apparatus for waveform comparison comprising:

(a) means for mapping a waveform representation through an iterative and contractive process to obtain a token string based on the results of the iterative and contractive process;

(b) means for comparing said token string with stored token strings from previously mapped waveform representations to determine a match between said token string and said stored token strings.

115. Apparatus comprising:

(a) a device for mapping a plurality of waveform representations through an iterative and contractive process to obtain a plurality of token strings each of which is based on the results of the iterative and contractive process; and

(b) a storage device for storing said token strings.

116. Apparatus comprising:

(a) means for mapping a plurality of waveform representations through an iterative and contractive process to obtain a plurality of token strings each of which is based on the results of the iterative and contractive process; and

(b) means for storing said token strings