Data analyzing method

• US 5,940,815 A
• Filed: 12/18/1997
• Issued: 08/17/1999
• Est. Priority Date: 09/07/1994
• Status: Expired due to Term

• Current Assignee: Hitachi, Ltd.
• Original Assignee: Hitachi, Ltd.
• Inventors: Taniguchi, Yoji, Maeda, Akira, Ashida, Hitoshi, Ito, Yukiyasu, Takahashi, Yori
• Primary Examiner(s): Downs, Robert W.
• Application Number:
  US08/993,150
• Time in Patent Office: 607 Days
• Field of Search: 706/11, 706/47, 706/12, 706/59, 707/104
• US Class Current: 706/12
• CPC Class Codes: G06N 5/025 Extracting rules from data
• CPC Class Codes: Y10S 707/99945 Object-oriented database structure processing
• CPC Class Codes: Y10S 707/99948 Application of database or data structure, e.g. distributed, multimedia, or image

Abstract

A data analyzing method and system for generating a rule based on data items in a data base, wherein the rule expresses relational features of the data items. The invention includes a user interface and a rule generation module. The rule generation module, in response to an input from the user via the user interface, selects data items for use in a conditional clause and a conclusion clause of a rule from the data items stored in the data base, converts, when the selected data items have numerical values, the numerical values into symbolic values and creates plural candidate rules each expressing a correlation between selected data items in a rule form having one or plural sets of item names and symbolic values. The rule generation module further calculates a criterion for evaluating strength of correlation between data items in each of the candidate rules, determines one or plural candidate rules having highest calculated criterion from the candidate rules, and outputs to the user via the user interface the one or plural candidate rules.

Claims

1. A data analyzing method of generating a rule based on a plurality of data items stored in a database by using a processing unit comprising the steps of:

selecting data items in said database for use in an IF clause based on a designation input from an input device;

selecting data items in said database for use in a THEN clause corresponding to said IF based on a designation input from an input device; and

generating plural candidate rules by analyzing data stored in said database, each rule expressing a correlation between said selected data items.

2. A data analyzing method of generating a rule based on a plurality of data items stored in a database by using a processing unit, comprising the steps of:

selecting one conclusion item as a data item for use in a conclusion clause of a rule from said data items stored in said database based on a designation input from an input device;

selecting condition items as data items for use in a condition clause of said rule from said data items stored in said database based on a designation input from an input device; and

generating plural candidate rules by analyzing data stored in said database, each rule expressing a correlation between selected data items.

3. A data analyzing method of generating rule based on a plurality of data items stored in a database by using a processing unit, said method comprising the steps of:

selecting data items in said database for use in an IF clause based on a designation input from an input device;

selecting data items in said database for use in a THEN clause based on a designation input from an input device;

converting numerical values into symbolic values when said selected data items include said numerical values; and

generating plural candidate rules by analyzing data stored in said database, each rule expressing a correlation between said selected data items.

4. A program stored on a computer readable storage medium for generating a rule based on a plurality of data items stored in a database by using a processing unit, said program comprising the steps of:

selecting data items in said database for use in an IF clause based on a designation input from an input device;

selecting data items in said database for use in a THEN clause corresponding to said IF clause based on a designation input from an input device; and

generating plural candidate rules by analyzing data stored in said database, each rule expressing a correlation between said selected data items.

5. A program stored on a computer readable storage medium for generating a rule based on a plurality of data items stored in a database by using a processing unit, said program comprising the steps of:

selecting one conclusion item as a data item for use in a conclusion clause of a rule from said data items stored in said database based on a designation input from an input device;

selecting condition items as data items for use in a condition clause of said rule from said data items stored in said database based on a designation input from an input device; and

generating plural candidate rules by analyzing data stored in said database, each rule expressing a correlation between selected data items.

6. A program stored on a computer readable storage medium for generating a rule based on a plurality of data items stored in a database by using a processing unit, said program comprising the steps of:

selecting data items in said database for use in an IF clause based on a designation input from an input device;

selecting data items in said database for use in a THEN clause based on a designation input from an input device;

converting numerical values into symbolic values when said selected data items include said numerical values; and

generating plural candidate rules by analyzing data stored in said database, each rule expressing a correlation between said selected data items.

7. A data analyzing apparatus for generating a rule based on a plurality of data items stored in a database, comprising:

first selecting means for selecting data items in said database for use in an IF clause based on a designation input from an input device;

second selecting means for selecting data items in said database for use in a THEN clause based on a designation input from an input device;

converting means for converting numerical values into symbolic values when said selected data items include said numerical values; and

a generating means for generating plural candidate rules by analyzing data stored in said database, each rule expressing a correlation between said selected data items.