Manipulating sets of hierarchical data

• US 8,037,102 B2
• Filed: 12/06/2004
• Issued: 10/11/2011
• Est. Priority Date: 02/09/2004
• Status: Expired due to Fees

• Current Assignee: Lower48 IP, LLC (Lower48 Analytics, Inc.), Virginia T. Jenkins
• Original Assignee: Robert T. Jenkins, Virginia T. Jenkins
• Inventors: Letourneau, Jack J.
• Primary Examiner(s): LY, CHEYNE D
• Application Number:
  US11/005,859
• Publication Number:
  US 20050187900A1
• Time in Patent Office: 2,500 Days
• Field of Search: 707/736, 707/790, 707/793, 707/795, 707/796, 707/797, 707/802, 707/803, 707/829
• US Class Current: 707/797
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 16/2246 Trees, e.g. B+trees
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 16/258 Data format conversion from or to a database
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 16/282 Hierarchical databases, e.g. IMS, LDAP data stores or Lotus Notes

Abstract

Embodiments of methods, apparatuses, devices and/or systems for manipulating hierarchical sets of data are disclosed. In particular embodiments, such hierarchical sets of data may be expressed as trees and/or strings. Further, such trees and/or strings may be associated with numerals. In other particular embodiments, operations on numerals associated with trees may be associated with manipulations of such trees.

Claims

1. A method comprising:

executing instructions on a processor to;

convert electrical digital signals representing at least two edge or node labeled trees to one or more electrical digital signals representing numerals, said numerals being selected from a set of numerals according to a one to one association between edge or node labeled trees and numerals in said set;

multiply said signals representing said numerals to provide one or more electrical digital signals representing a product of said numerals; and

convert the one or more signals representing said product to one or more electrical digital signals representing a resulting edge or node labeled tree, wherein said product is a member of said set of numerals associated with said resulting tree according to said association between edge or node labeled trees and numerals, wherein said resulting edge or node labeled tree comprises a combination of said at least two edge or node labeled trees and is stored in memory or displayed in a hierarchical format on a display device.

2. The method of claim 1, wherein said trees comprise binary edge labeled trees.

3. The method of claim 1, wherein said signals representing said at least two trees are converted to one or more electrical digital signals representing binary edge labeled trees.

4. The method of claim 1, wherein at least one of said at least two trees includes at least one null label.

5. The method of claim 4, wherein said at least one of said at least two trees that includes at least one null label is converted to a tree without a null label.

6. The method of claim 5, wherein said tree without a null type is converted to a binary edge labeled tree.

7. The method of claim 1, wherein said signals representing said at least two trees are converted to one or more electrical digital signals representing binary node labeled trees.

8. The method of claim 1, wherein said numerals comprise binary numerals.

9. The method of claim 1, wherein said signals representing said numerals are converted to one or more electrical digital signals representing binary numerals.

28. The method of claim 1, wherein said processor comprises a hierarchy manipulation processor programmed with instructions executable to perform tree hierarchy manipulation.

10. An apparatus comprising:

a computing platform;

said computing platform comprising one or more processors programmed with instructions executable by said one or more processors to;

convert electrical digital signals representing at least two edge or node labeled trees to electrical digital signals representing numerals, said numerals being selected from a set of numerals according to a one to one association between edge or node labeled trees and numerals in said set;

multiply said signals representing said numerals to provide one or more digital signals representing a product of said numerals; and

convert said signals representing the product of said at least two numerals to one or more signals representing a resulting edge or node labeled tree, wherein said product is a member of said set of numerals associated with said resulting tree according to said association between trees and numerals, wherein said resulting edge or node labeled tree comprises a combination of said at least two edge or node labeled trees and is stored in memory or displayed in a hierarchical format on a display device.

11. The apparatus of claim 10, wherein said at least two trees comprise binary edge labeled trees.

12. The apparatus of claim 10, wherein said one or more processors are further programmed with instructions executable by said one or more processors to convert signals representing said at least two trees to one or more electrical digital signals representing binary edge labeled trees.

13. The apparatus of claim 10, wherein at least one of said at least two trees includes at least one null label.

14. The apparatus of claim 13, wherein said one or more processors is further programmed with instructions executable by said one or more processors to convert said one or more signals representing said at least one of said at least two trees that includes at least one null label to one or more electrical digital signals representing a tree without a null label.

15. The apparatus of claim 14, wherein said one or more processors is further programmed with instructions executable by said one or more processors to convert said one or more signals representing said tree without a null type to one or more electrical digital signals representing a binary edge labeled tree.

16. The apparatus of claim 10, wherein said one or more processors are further programmed with instructions executable by said one or more processors to convert said one or more signals representing said at least two trees to one or more electrical digital signals representing binary node labeled trees.

17. The apparatus of claim 10, wherein said numerals comprise binary numerals.

18. The apparatus of claim 10, wherein said one or more processors is further programmed with instructions executable by said one or more processors to convert said signals representing said numerals to one or more electrical digital signals representing binary numerals.

29. The apparatus of claim 10, wherein said one or more processors comprise a hierarchy manipulation processor programmed with instructions executable to perform tree hierarchy manipulation.

19. An article comprising:

a storage medium comprising machine-readable instructions stored thereon executable by a processor to;

convert one or more electrical digital signals representing at least two edge or node labeled trees to one or more digital signals representing numerals, said numerals being selected from a set of numerals according to a one to one association between edge or node labeled trees and numerals in said set;

multiply one or more electrical digital signals representing said numerals to provide one or more electrical digital signals representing a product; and

convert said one or more signals representing the product of said numerals to one or more signals representing a resulting edge or node labeled tree, wherein said product is a member of said set of numerals associated with said resulting tree according to said association between trees and numerals, wherein said resulting edge or node labeled tree comprises a combination of said at least two edge or node labeled trees and is stored in memory or displayed in a hierarchical format on a display device.

20. The article of claim 19, wherein said trees comprise binary edge labeled trees.

21. The article of claim 19, wherein said instructions are further executable by said processor to convert said signals representing said at least two trees to one or more electrical digital signals representing binary edge labeled trees.

22. The article of claim 19, wherein at least one of said at least two trees includes at least one null label.

23. The article of claim 22, wherein said instructions are further executable by said processor to convert said signals representing said at least one of said at least two trees that includes at least one null label to one or more electrical digital signals representing a tree without a null label.

24. The article of claim 23, wherein said instructions are further executable by said processor to convert one or more signals representing said tree without a null type to one or more signals representing a binary edge labeled tree.

25. The article of claim 19, wherein said instructions are further executable by said processor to convert one or more signals representing said at least two trees to one or more signals representing binary node labeled trees.

26. The article of claim 19, wherein said numerals comprise binary numerals.

27. The article of claim 19, wherein said instructions are further executable by said processor to convert said one or more signals representing said numerals to one or more electrical digital signals representing binary numerals.

30. The article of claim 19, wherein said processor comprises a hierarchy manipulation processor programmed with instructions executable to perform tree hierarchy manipulation.