Method for extracting knowledge from online documentation and creating a glossary, index, help database or the like

• US 6,212,494 B1
• Filed: 07/20/1998
• Issued: 04/03/2001
• Est. Priority Date: 09/28/1994
• Status: Expired due to Term

• Current Assignee: Apple Inc.
• Original Assignee: Apple Computer Incorporated (Apple Inc.)
• Inventors: Boguraev, Branimir K.
• Primary Examiner(s): Thomas, Joseph
• Application Number:
  US09/119,166
• Time in Patent Office: 988 Days
• Field of Search: 704/1, 704/9, 704/10, 704/8, 707/530, 707/531, 707/532, 707/100, 707/102, 707/104, 707/3, 707/4, 707/5, 707/1, 395/703, 395/707, 395/708
• US Class Current: 704/9
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 40/289 Phrasal analysis, e.g. finite state techniques or chunking
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 40/30 Semantic analysis
• CPC Class Codes: Y10S 707/99943 Generating database or data structure, e.g. via user interface

Abstract

A method involving computer-mediated linguistic analysis of online technical documentation to extract and catalog from the documentation knowledge essential to, for example, creating a online help database useful in providing online assistance to users in performing a task. The method comprises stripping markup tags from the documentation, linguistically analyzing and annotating the text, including the steps of morphologically and lexically analyzing the text, disambiguating between possible parts-of-speech for each word, and syntactically analyzing and labeling each word. The method further comprises the steps of combining the linguistically analyzed, annotated, and labeled text and previously stripped markup information into a merged file, mining the merged file for domain knowledge, including the steps of identifying and creating a list of technical terminology, mining the merged file for manifestations of domain primitives and maintaining a list of manifestations of such domain primitives in an observations file, analyzing the discourse context of each sentence or phrase in the merged file, analyzing the frequency of manifestations of domain primitives in the observations file to determine those that are important, expanding the list of key terms by searching for terms sanctioned by a domain primitive deemed important in the previous step, and searching the merged file for larger relations by searching for particular lexico-syntactic patterns involving key terms and manifestations of domain primitives previously identified. The method further comprises the steps of structuring the knowledge thus mined and building a domain catalog.

Claims

1. A machine-readable medium having stored thereon sequences of instructions, which when executed by a processor cause the processor to:

a) linguistically analyze and annotate text of online documentation to create a linguistically analyzed and annotated text;

b) mine said linguistically analyzed and annotated text for text representative of said online documentation, including;

i) searching for syntactic patterns indicative of key terms and maintaining a list of said key terms,

ii) searching for syntactic patterns indicative of manifestations of a domain primitive involving one of said key terms and maintaining a list of said manifestations, and

iii) analyzing said list of said manifestations to determine said manifestations that are representative of said online documentation on the basis of frequency of their occurrence; and

c) combining said list of said key terms and said list of said manifestations that are representative of said online documentation in a domain catalog.

2. A machine-readable medium having stored thereon sequences of instructions, which when executed by a processor cause the processor to:

(a) linguistically analyze and annotate a source code document in a computer system;

(b) mine the linguistically analyzed and annotated source code for code representative of a library of variables and procedure calls, wherein mining further comprise sequences of instructions that cause the processor to;

(i) search for syntactic patterns indicative of key terms comprising variables and procedure calls, and maintaining a list of the key terms,

(ii) search for syntactic patterns indicative of manifestations of a primitive involving one of the key terms and maintaining a list of the manifestations, and

(iii) analyze the list of the manifestations to determine the manifestations that are representative of the variables and procedure calls on the basis of frequency of occurrence;

(c) combine the list of the key terms and the list of the manifestations that are representative of the variables and procedure calls in a library file; and

(d) use the library file to create the library of variables and procedure calls.

3. A machine-readable medium having stored thereon sequences of instructions, which when executed by a processor cause the processor to:

(a) linguistically analyze and annotate text of an online technical document to create a linguistically analyzed and annotated text, further comprising sequences of instructions that cause the processor to;

(i) lexically and morphologically analyze the text, and

(ii) disambiguate between possible parts-of-speech for each word of the text and identify a syntactic function for each word of the text;

(b) mine the linguistically analyzed and annotated text for text representative of the online technical document, further comprising sequences of instructions that cause the processor to;

(i) search for syntactic patterns indicative of technical terms and maintain a list of the technical terms and frequency with which the technical terms occur in the text, and

(ii) search for syntactic patterns indicative of manifestations of a domain primitive involving one of said technical terms and maintain a list of the manifestations,

(iii) analyze the list of the manifestations to determine the manifestations that are representative of the online technical documentation on the basis of frequency of occurrence,

(iv) expand the list of technical terms by searching the list of the manifestations for syntactic patterns involving additional term not presently in said list of said technical terms that are adjunct to the manifestations,

(v) search the online technical documentation for lexico-syntactic patterns indicative of larger relations involving the technical terms, the additional terms and the manifestations; and

(c) combine the technical terms, the additional terms, the manifestations, and the larger relations in a domain catalog.

4. A machine-readable medium having stored thereon sequences of instructions, which when executed by a processor cause the processor to:

(a) translate an American Standard Code for Information Interchange (ASCII) data file having stored therein an online technical document and information regarding a proprietary internal representation for the online technical document to a second ASCI data file having stored therein the online technical document and information regarding standard internal representation of the online technical document;

(b) separate text of the online technical document from the information regarding the standard internal representation for the online document;

(c) linguistically analyze and annotate the text of the online technical document to create a linguistically analyzed and annotated text, further comprising sequences of instructions that cause the processor to;

(i) lexically and morphologically analyze the text to determine possible lexical and morphological features, and

(ii) disambiguate between possible parts-of-speech for each word of the text and identify a syntactic function for each word of the text,

(d) label each word of the text and the annotations;

(e) combine the linguistically analyzed and annotated text with the information regarding the standard internal representation for the online document into a merged file;

(f) mine the merged file for text representative of the online technical document further comprising sequences of instructions that cause the processor to;

(i) identify key terms further comprising sequences of instructions that cause the processor to;

(A) search for syntactic patterns indicative of technical terms, and

(B) maintaining a list of the key terms comprising the technical terms and the frequency with which the technical terms occur,

(ii) search for syntactic patterns indicative of manifestations of a domain primitive involving one of the key terms and maintaining a list of the manifestations and the frequency with which the manifestations occur,

(iii) discourse analyze each phrase in the merged file to resolve conjunctions and antecedent basis of pronouns to more accurately record the manifestations and the frequency with which the manifestations occur,

(iv) analyze the list of the manifestations to determine the manifestation that are representative of the online document on the basis of the frequency with which the manifestations occur,

(v) expand the list of key terms by searching the list of the manifestations for syntactic patterns involving additional terms not presently in the list of key terms that are adjunct to one of the manifestations, and

(vi) search the online technical document for lexico-syntactic patterns indicative of larger relations involving one of the key terms and one of the manifestations and maintain a list of the larger relations; and

(g) combine the key terms, the manifestations, and the larger relations in a domain catalog.

5. The machine-readable medium of claim 4 wherein said frequency with which said technical terms occur in said merged file is weighted according to said information regarding said standard internal representation for said online document.

6. The machine-readable medium of claim 4 wherein analyzing said list of manifestations to determine said manifestations that are representative of said online document on the basis of said frequency with which said manifestations occur is weighted according to said information regarding said standard internal representation for said online document.

7. The machine-readable medium of claim 4 wherein the sequences of instructions that cause the processor to combine said key terms, said manifestations, and said larger relations in a domain catalog further comprises sequences of instructions that cause the processor to:

a) cluster said key terms for similarity of use on the basis of repeated manifestations of said manifestations of a domain primitive occurring in a similar syntactic context;

b) cluster said key terms on the basis of proximity of said key terms in said merged file with respect to other said key terms; and

c) index said domain catalog by said key terms such that each of said key terms is an index therein, and incorporate said manifestations and said larger relations according to said indexed key terms.