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Automated detection of null field values and effectively null field values

  • US 8,195,670 B2
  • Filed: 04/24/2009
  • Issued: 06/05/2012
  • Est. Priority Date: 04/24/2008
  • Status: Active Grant
First Claim
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1. A computer implemented method of detecting and treating one or more field values as null field values in records of an electronic database, the computer implemented method comprising:

  • selecting a field of the records;

    determining, using a programmed computer, a frequency for each field value of the field, the frequency comprising an amount of the records in which the field value of the field appears;

    calculating, using a programmed computer, a critical frequency for the field based on the frequency of each field value of the field by calculating f(x) =g(x)−

    g(x+1), wherein f is a function of the frequency differences based on a function g that is defined by the frequency of each field value of the field wherein the calculating comprises ordering the frequencies of the field values of the field according to frequency along a horizontal axis of a histogram of the one or more field values of the field; and

    treating, using a programmed computer, each field value of the field with a frequency that is greater than the critical frequency of the field as a null field value and each field value of the field with a frequency that is less than the critical frequency of the field as a non-null field value.

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