USING CONTINUOUS OPTIMIZATION FOR ORDERING CATEGORICAL DATA SETS IN ADATA PROCESSING SYSTEM

摘要

Techniques for ordering categorical attributes so as to better visualize data are provided. In accordance with one embodiment of the invention, an ordering algorithm comprises the steps of: (a) translating the discrete ordering problem to a continuous optimization problem; (b) solving the continuous optimization problem; and (c) mapping an optimal continuous solution to the closest discrete solution.