Automatic generation of SQL for frame completion

• US 6,625,613 B2
• Filed: 02/26/2001
• Issued: 09/23/2003
• Est. Priority Date: 02/26/2001
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Google Technology Holdings LLC (Alphabet Inc.)
• Original Assignee: Motorola, Inc. (Motorola Solutions, Inc.)
• Inventors: Thompson, William
• Primary Examiner(s): Rones, Charles
• Application Number:
  US09/794,487
• Publication Number:
  US 20020120603A1
• Time in Patent Office: 939 Days
• Field of Search: 707/1, 707/3, 707/102, 707/4, 707/5, 707/6, 707/103.R, 707/103.Y, 707/103.Z, 707/103, 707/104.1, 717/107, 717/116, 717/147
• US Class Current: 1/1
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 16/243 Natural language query formulation
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 16/24522 Translation of natural language queries to structured queries
• CPC Class Codes: Y10S 707/99933 Query processing, i.e. searching
• CPC Class Codes: Y10S 707/99934 Query formulation, input preparation, or translation
• CPC Class Codes: Y10S 707/99943 Generating database or data structure, e.g. via user interface

Abstract

The current invention provides a method for managing a dialogue between a processing system and a user. It addresses the problem of inferring possible feature values by automatically generating an SQL query from a frame representation posting this query to a relational database containing the relevant domain knowledge, and updating the frame representation to reflect the results of this query. Because the method is not dependent on particular information of the domain utilizing the method, it can be readily implemented for any specific application which benefits from inferring possible feature values by extracting data from a database.

Claims

1. A system for processing a user dialog, said system comprising:

(a) a frame representation of a series of objects with a typed feature structure comprising typed features with feature values including one or more empty feature values, one or more non-empty feature values, one or more complex feature values, and embedded objects providing values of a corresponding complex feature value, at least one of the one or more non-empty feature values being provided by an input signals; and

(b) a relational database operable with the series of objects to provide a structure that is isomorphic to the typed feature structure of the frame representation.

2. The system for processing a user dialog of claim 1, the relational database comprising tables corresponding to the series of objects of the frame representation, fields corresponding to features of the frame representation, and field values corresponding to feature values of the frame representation, wherein the relational database further comprises one or more records providing each of the one or more empty feature values, one or more records providing each of the one or more non-empty feature values, and wherein one or more tables representing the one or more embedded objects comprises a unique identifier field with values corresponding to values of a field of a table representing a corresponding complex feature value.

7. The method of claim 1, wherein the method is domain portable.

8. The method of claim 1, wherein the relational database structure comprises tables corresponding to objects and fields corresponding to features.

9. The method of claim 8, wherein the SQL query maps objects to database tables of a FROM statement, empty atomic features to database fields of a SELECT statement, non-empty atomic features to database table values of a WHERE statement including a join restriction of a complex feature and a unique identifier field of a table representing an embedded object of the complex feature.

10. The method of claim 9, wherein the primary object and the first embedded object are mapped to the database tables of the FROM statement, wherein the first empty feature is mapped to a database field of the SELECT statement, wherein the first non-empty feature is mapped to the database table value of the WHERE statements and wherein the WHERE statement includes a join restriction of the first complex feature and a unique identifier field of a table representing the first embedded object.

11. The method of claim 10, wherein the frame representation further comprises a second complex feature being defined by a second embedded object, and wherein the WHERE statement further comprises a join restriction of the second complex feature and a unique identifier field of a table representing the second embedded object.

12. The method of claim 11, wherein the second complex feature is a feature of the first embedded object.

3. A relational database comprising tables corresponding to objects of a frame representation, fields corresponding to features of the frame representation, and field values corresponding to feature values of the frame representation, a first table comprising a record with a field value corresponding to a non-empty value of the frame representation, and a second table comprising a record with a field value corresponding to a value of an empty value of the frame representation, wherein the second table represents a first embedded object with a unique identifier field having values corresponding to values of a field of the first table representing a complex feature having a feature value defined by a feature value of the first embedded object.

4. The relational database of claim 3, further comprising a third table representing a third object, wherein the first table represents a second embedded object with a unique identifier field that provides values of a third table field representing a complex feature having a value defined by a value of the second embedded object.

5. The relational database of claim 4, further comprising a fourth table representing a fourth object, wherein the third table represents a third embedded object with a unique identifier field that provides values of a fourth table field representing a complex feature having a value defined by a value of the third embedded object.

6. A method for generating an SQL query from a frame representation, the method comprising:

(a) receiving an input signal;

(b) providing a frame representation of a primary object with a typed feature structure comprising typed features with feature values including a first empty feature value of a first empty feature, a first complex feature value of a first complex feature, and a first non-empty feature value of a first non-empty feature, the first complex feature value being defined by a first embedded object, the first non-empty feature value being provided by the input signal;

(c) providing a relational database having a structure isomorphic to the typed feature structure of the frame representation the relational database comprising a record with a field value corresponding to the first non-empty value of the frame representation and a record with a field value corresponding to a value of the first empty value of the frame representation; and

(d) generating the SQL query for determining the first empty feature value from the first non-empty feature value based on the structural relationship of the relational database and the frame representation.

13. A method for managing a dialogue between a processing system and a user, the method comprising:

(a) receiving an input signal from the user;

(b) providing a frame representation of a primary object with a typed feature structure comprising typed features with feature values including a first empty feature value of a first empty feature, a first complex feature value of a first complex feature, and a first non-empty feature value of a first non-empty feature, the first complex feature value being defined by a first embedded object, the first non-empty feature value being provided by the input signal;

(c) providing a relational database having a structure isomorphic to the typed feature structure of the frame representation, wherein the relational database comprises the first empty feature value and the first non-empty feature value;

(d) generating the SQL query for determining the first empty feature value from the first non-empty feature value based on the structural relationship of the relational database and the frame representation;

(e) performing the SQL query to generate SQL query results; and

(f) sending the SQL query results to the user.

14. The method of claim 13, wherein the relational database structure comprises tables corresponding to objects and fields corresponding to features.

15. The method of claim 14, wherein the SQL query maps objects to database tables of a FROM statement, empty atomic features to database fields of a SELECT statement, non-empty atomic features to database table values of a WHERE statement including a join restriction of a complex feature and a unique identifier field of a table representing an embedded object of the complex feature.

16. The method of claim 15, wherein the primary object and the first embedded object are mapped to the database tables of the FROM statement, wherein the first empty feature is mapped to a database field of the SELECT statement, wherein the first non-empty feature is mapped to the database table value of the WHERE statement, and wherein the WHERE statement includes a join restriction of the first complex feature and a unique identifier field of a table representing the first embedded object.

17. The method of claim 16, wherein the frame representation further comprises a second complex feature being defined by a second embedded object, and wherein the WHERE statement further comprises a join restriction of the second complex feature and a unique identifier field of a table representing the second embedded object.

18. The method of claim 17, wherein the second complex feature is a feature of the first embedded object.