Extensions to semantic net

• US 8,001,073 B2
• Filed: 09/24/2010
• Issued: 08/16/2011
• Est. Priority Date: 04/08/2002
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Comcast Cable Communications Management LLC (Comcast Corporation)
• Original Assignee: TVWorks LLC (Comcast Corporation)
• Inventors: Painter, Evan V.
• Primary Examiner(s): Rivas; Omar F Fernandez
• Application Number:
  US12/889,648
• Publication Number:
  US 20110040712A1
• Time in Patent Office: 326 Days
• Field of Search: None
• US Class Current: 706/47
• CPC Class Codes: G06N 5/02 Knowledge representation; Symbolic representation

Abstract

A semantic network includes a number of nodes are interconnected to one another through links (e.g., in a subject/verb/target form) representing relationships between the nodes and one or more of the links have one or more variants representing qualifications of the relationships between the nodes. For each link having one or more variants, the variants may be ordered in configurations. Such ordering of the variants in the configurations may be self-described within the semantic network and may determine precedence of those links belonging to the variants. Some of the links of the network may be nodes of others of the links. The interconnection of at least some of the nodes may define a meta-meta model that defines terms in which particular meta models can be defined, each meta model comprising meta facts regarding the nodes of the semantic network.

Claims

1. A method, comprising:

generating, via a processor configured to execute a computer program, first data representing a network, the network representing a plurality of nodes and a plurality of links, each of the links interconnecting a pair of the nodes such that, for each of the links, the respective link represents a relationship between the corresponding pair of nodes, at least some of the links each being conditioned by at least one variant;

determining, via the processor, a portion of the network that contains fewer links than the network depending upon which of the variants are included in second data and which of the variants condition the at least some of the links, wherein the second data represents one or more of the variants; and

generating, via the processor, third data based on the determined portion of the network.

2. The method of claim 1, wherein some of the links of the network are visible in the portion of the network and others of the links are not visible in the portion of the network.

3. The method of claim 2, wherein determining comprises determining the portion of the network such that those of the links conditioned by a variant represented by the second data are visible, and those of the links conditioned by a variant that is not represented by the second data are not visible.

4. The method of claim 2, wherein the second data represents an ordered stack of a plurality of variants, and wherein determining comprises determining the portion of the network such that some of the links are visible and others of the links are not visible, depending upon both whether the variants that condition the at least some of the links are included in the second data and an order of the variants in the stack.

5. The method of claim 1, wherein the network further comprises a further link interconnecting a first one of the plurality of links with a second one of the plurality of links.

6. The method of claim 1, wherein the network comprises a semantic network that represents an object model.

7. The method of claim 1, wherein the third data identifies the portion of the network.

8. The method of claim 1, wherein the at least some of the links are each conditioned by a plurality of variants.

9. An apparatus, comprising:

a processor; and

a computer-readable medium coupled to the processor and storing first data representing a network, the network representing a plurality of nodes and a plurality of links, each of the links interconnecting a pair of the nodes such that, for each of the links, the respective link represents a relationship between the corresponding pair of nodes, at least some of the links each being conditioned by at least one variant,

wherein the processor is configured to, in response to receiving second data representing one or more variants;

determine a portion of the network that contains fewer links than the network depending upon which of the variants are included in the second data and which of the variants condition the at least some of the links, and

generate third data based on the determined portion of the network.

10. The apparatus of claim 9, wherein some of the links of the network are visible in the portion of the network and others of the links are not visible in the portion of the network.

11. The apparatus of claim 10, wherein the processor is further configured to determine the portion of the network such that those of the links conditioned by a variant represented by the second data are visible, and those of the links conditioned by a variant that is not represented by the second data are not visible.

12. The apparatus of claim 10, wherein the second data represents an ordered stack of a plurality of variants, and wherein the processor is further configured to determine the portion of the network such that some of the links are visible and others of the links are not visible, depending upon both whether the variants that condition the links are included in the second data and an order of the variants in the stack.

13. The apparatus of claim 9, wherein the network further comprises a further link interconnecting a first one of the plurality of links with a second one of the plurality of links.

14. The apparatus of claim 9, wherein the network comprises a semantic network that represents an object model.

15. The apparatus of claim 9, wherein the third data identifies the portion of the network.

16. The apparatus of claim 9, wherein the at least some of the links are each conditioned by a plurality of variants.

17. A method, comprising:

configuring a computer program to generate first data representing a network, the network representing a plurality of nodes and a plurality of links, each of the links interconnecting a pair of the nodes such that, for each of the links, the respective link represents a relationship between the corresponding pair of nodes, and wherein the network also comprises a further link interconnecting a first one of the links with a second one of the links; and

configuring the computer program to cause a computer to respond to a query with a response that depends upon which one of the plurality of links is the first or second one of the links.

18. The method of claim 17, wherein each of the plurality of links is conditioned by a variant, the method further comprising configuring the computer program to determine, in response to receiving second data representing an ordered stack of a plurality of variants, a portion of the network such that some of the links are visible and others of the links are not visible, depending upon whether the variants represented by the links are included in the second data and an order of the variants in the stack.

19. The method of claim 17, wherein the semantic network represents an object model of an interactive television application.

20. The method of claim 17, wherein the network comprises a semantic network that represents an object model.