Hyperspace index

Abstract

A data structure indexes identifiers corresponding to parameter patterns. The presence of an identifier in the data structure indicates that the corresponding parameter pattern may be present in a set of parameter patterns, while absence of the indicator can be used to indicate that the corresponding parameter pattern is not present. The data structure includes a first field which includes small parameter pattern records. Each parameter pattern record corresponds to an identifier corresponding to a parameter pattern. If the record corresponding to the identifier is set or present, the identifier is included in the first field. One or more additional fields are hierarchically below the first field. Each of the additional fields includes identifiers for a subset of information in the first field. The absence of an identifier corresponding to a parameter pattern at any level in all of the hierarchical threads indicates that the parameter pattern is not present.

Description

CROSS-REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATIONS[0001]The present application is a continuation of U.S. patent application Ser. No. 12 / 281,262, filed Jun. 10, 2009, which is a national stage entry of PCT Application Serial No. PCT / US2007 / 063218, filed Mar. 2, 2007, which claims priority from U.S. Provisional Patent Application Ser. No. 60 / 779,214, filed Mar. 3, 2006, and entitled “ABBREVIATED PATTERN INDEX”.BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION[0002]Computers and computing systems have affected nearly every aspect of modern living. Computers are generally involved in work, recreation, healthcare, transportation, entertainment, household management, etc. With the widespread access to computers, and the involvement of computing resources in so many aspects of modern living, large amounts of digital data continue to be generated. Because computer storage is so cheap, a large portion of this digital data continues to persist for a significant amount of time. In fact, some have estimated that the collectiv...

AI Technical Summary

Benefits of technology

"The present invention provides a data structure for indexing identifiers that correspond to parameter patterns. The data structure includes a first field that includes a number of binary bits or small parameter pattern records, each corresponding to a possible identifier. The presence of an identifier in the first field indicates that the corresponding parameter pattern may be present in a set of parameter patterns. The data structure also includes one or more additional fields for identifiers corresponding to a subset of the set of parameter patterns. The absence of an identifier in a field indicates that the corresponding parameter pattern is not represented by an indicator in fields below the field. The technical effect of the invention is to provide a more efficient and effective way of indexing identifiers that correspond to parameter patterns."

Problems solved by technology

Because computer storage is so cheap, a large portion of this digital data continues to persist for a significant amount of time.

Although the computing processes required to store and retrieve electronic documents are well known, the sheer volume of documents and data stored in some databases can still make it difficult to properly index and find the desired content in a timely fashion.

This is particularly true when considering that many databases contain documents with similar or identical content, thereby increasing the difficulty and processing required to distinguish among the various documents.

Bottlenecks that slow down the searching processes, for example, can be created by the limitations of computer hardware and connections.

In particular, computer processors are limited in the number of calculations per time unit (e.g. calculations per second) that can be performed.

Networks are also limited in the amount of data per time unit that can be transmitted across the network.

Even storage devices are limited by the number of I / O operations that can be performed within a given time.

Memory devices are also limited in the amount of information that can be stored at a given time.

However, if digital data grows exponentially, under current methods of dealing with searching, the amount of hardware that would need to be added to account for the new digital data would also likely grow exponentially.

While this approach is somewhat logical, because it is unknown what to search for before the query is received, this approach delays computationally expensive processing which is noticeable to the consumer.

This blanket searching, however, wastes a lot of processing time and expense looking for the data in places were the data is unlikely to be found.

However, because the existing searching techniques are directed to identifying where the data is, they may fail to appreciate the value of knowing where the data is not.

Additionally, there is a large cost for getting records or documents that contain a number of search terms combined in various ways.

Typically, present indexing schemes invest a significant amount of time and processing power merging together long lists and determining how the relevant order is to be given to the intersection of the set.

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