System and method for the generalized topological mapping of an information base

摘要

A system is provided for the input, retrieval, manipulation and analysis of stored information in an information base. The system comprises an input device (22), a storage device (14), and an output device (34) each capable of handling information elements. Each of the attributes of the information elements is processed to produce a compact symbol or code corresponding to predefined ranges of values of an attribute. These codes are then stored in correspondence with the information elements which gave rise to them. The result of this processing is a topological map (16) of the attributes of the information elements. These topological maps (16) may be retrieved and later processed to efficiently retrieve stored information elements, given any general unpreprogrammed query as input to the system. These topological maps (16) may also be utilized in a process to determine correlations among the various attributes of the information elements.