Semantic framework for natural language programming

• US 8,201,139 B2
• Filed: 09/15/2004
• Issued: 06/12/2012
• Est. Priority Date: 04/23/2004
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Microsoft Technology Licensing LLC (Microsoft Corporation)
• Original Assignee: Microsoft Corporation
• Inventors: Chang, Su Chin, Shahani, Ravi C., Cipollone, Domenic J., Calcagno, Michael V., Olsen, Mari J. B., Parkinson, David J.
• Primary Examiner(s): Dam, Tuan
• Assistant Examiner(s): Wei, Zheng
• Application Number:
  US10/943,046
• Publication Number:
  US 20050273335A1
• Time in Patent Office: 2,827 Days
• Field of Search: None
• US Class Current: 717/104
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 40/30 Semantic analysis
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 8/20 Software design
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 8/315 Object-oriented languages
• CPC Class Codes: G10L 15/18 using natural language modelling
• CPC Class Codes: G10L 15/1815 Semantic context, e.g. disambiguation of the recognition hypotheses based on word meaning
• CPC Class Codes: Y10S 707/99944 Object-oriented database structure

Abstract

A framework for generating a semantic interpretation of natural language input includes an interpreter, a first set of types, and a second set of types. The interpreter is adapted to mediate between a client application and one or more analysis engines to produce interpretations of the natural language input that are valid for the client application. The first set of types is adapted to define interactions between the interpreter and the one or more analysis engines. The second set of types is adapted to define interactions between the interpreter and the client application.

Claims

1. A framework for generating a semantic interpretation of a natural language input received by a client application, the framework comprising:

an interpreter that is stored as computer executable instructions on a computer readable storage medium, wherein the computer executable instructions are executed by a computer processor that is a component of a computing device, and wherein this execution of the computer readable instructions causes the interpreter to utilize the computer processor to communicate between the client application and a plurality of analysis engines; and

a linguistic object model comprising;

a first set of linguistic object model types that are adapted to define possible interpretations; and

a second set of linguistic object model types that are adapted to define actual interpretations from the possible interpretations;

wherein the first set of linguistic object model types and the second set of linguistic object model types are each independent of any particular natural language; and

a declarative schema associated with the client application and configured to be received by the interpreter from the client application, the declarative schema describing a semantic model of natural language features of the client application, wherein the semantic model includes a description of relationships among a plurality of semantic modeling types, and wherein at least a portion of the semantic modeling types are derived from the first and second sets of linguistic object model types;

wherein the interpreter is configured to be initialized with the declarative schema;

wherein the interpreter is configured to receive, from the plurality of analysis engines, a plurality of possible interpretations expressed in the first set of linguistic object model types, and wherein the plurality of possible interpretations are possible interpretations of the natural language input received by the client application; and

wherein the interpreter is configured to instantiate one of the second linguistic object model types for at least one of the plurality of possible interpretations that are determined to be an actual interpretation of the natural language input received by the client application.

2. The framework of claim 1 wherein the semantic model further comprises:

procedural rules implemented by the interpreter so as to apply context-based constraints on validity on an instance of one or more of the plurality of semantic modeling types when call by the interpreter.

3. The framework of claim 2 wherein the context-based constraint causes the instance to be discarded if invalid.

4. The framework of claim 2 wherein the semantic model further comprise:

a restriction clause adapted to describe a relationship between types of the second set of linguistic object model types.

5. The framework of claim 4 wherein the restriction clause is configured to support implementation of procedural rules that determine acceptance or rejection of said relationship at runtime.

6. The framework of claim 1 further comprising:

a programming language comprising a set of programming constructs adapted to target the interpreter using types corresponding to the second set of linguistic object model types.

7. A framework, in a computer system having a processor and memory, for instantiating an interpretation of a natural language input to natural language features of a client application, the framework comprising:

a linguistic object model comprising;

a first set of linguistic object model types that are adapted to define possible interpretations; and

a second set of linguistic object model types that are adapted to define actual interpretations from the possible interpretations;

wherein the first set of linguistic object model types and the second set of linguistic object model types are each independent of any particular natural language; and

an interpreter configured to be implemented by the processor executing computer readable instructions from the memory, and further configured to be initialized with declarative schema associated with the client application and received by the interpreter from the client application, the declarative schema describing a semantic model of natural language features of the client application, wherein the semantic model includes a description of relationships among a plurality of semantic modeling types. and wherein at least a portion of the semantic modeling types are derived from the first and second sets of linguistic object model types;

wherein the interpreter is adapted to receiver a natural language input and to communicate with one or more natural language analysis engines to produce interpretations of the natural language input by resolving possible interpretations received from the one or more analysis engines against the declarative schema; and

wherein the interpreter is adapted to instantiate one or more of the resolved interpretations in the client application.

8. The framework of claim 7 wherein the instantiated one of the interpretations corresponds to at least one of the natural language features in the client application.

9. The framework of claim 7 wherein the modeling types comprise:

procedural rules adapted to place context-based constraints on the instantiation of the plurality of semantic modeling types when called by the interpreter.

10. The framework of claim 7 further comprising:

a programming language comprising a set of programming constructs adapted to target the interpreter using types corresponding to the set of types.

11. A natural language processing framework comprising:

an interpreter that is stored as computer executable instructions on a computer readable storage medium, wherein the computer executable instructions are configured to be executed by a computer processor that is a component of a computing device, and wherein this execution of the computer readable instructions causes the interpreter to utilize the computer processor to communicate between a client application and a plurality of analysis engines;

a linguistic object model comprising;

a first set of linguistic object model types that are adapted to define possible interpretations; and

a second set of linguistic object model types that are adapted to define actual interpretations from the possible, interpretations;

wherein the first set of linguistic object model types and the second set of linguistic object model types are each independent of any particular natural language; and

a declarative schema associated with the client application and received by the interpreter from the client application, the declarative schema describing a semantic model of natural language features of the client application, wherein the semantic model includes a description of relationships among a plurality of semantic modeling types, and

wherein at least a portion of the semantic modeling types are derived from the first and second sets of linguistic object model types;

wherein the interpreter is configured to be initialized with the declarative schema and resolves, against the declarative schema, a plurality of possible interpretations received from the plurality of natural language analysis engines as possible interpretations of the natural language input; and

wherein the interpreter is configured to instantiate one type of the second set of linguistic object model types in the client application for at least one of the plurality of possible interpretations that are determined, as a result of said resolution of the plurality of possible interpretations against the declarative schema, to be an actual interpretation of the natural language input received by the client application, said actual interpretation being one of said interpretations of the natural language input that are valid for the client application.

12. The natural language processing framework of claim 11 wherein the plurality of possible interpretations received from the plurality of natural language analysis engines are expressed as linguistic objects representing elements of the natural language input as mapped to the first set of linguistic object model types by the one or more analysis engines.

13. The framework of claim 11, wherein the semantic model further comprises procedural rules implemented by the interpreter so as to apply context-based constraints on validity on an instance of one or more of the plurality of semantic modeling types when call by the interpreter.

14. The framework of claim 13, wherein the context-based constraint causes the instance to be discarded if invalid.

15. The framework of claim 13, wherein the semantic model further comprises a restriction clause adapted to describe a relationship between types of the second set of linguistic object model types.

16. The framework of claim 15, wherein the restriction clause is configured to support implementation of procedural rules that determine acceptance or rejection of said relationship at runtime.