Method and system for similarity search and clustering

A method for analyzing two sets of properties from a plurality of sets of properties, comprising the steps of:

• determining a set of common properties in the intersection of the two sets of properties;
• determining the number of sets of properties from the plurality of sets of properties that include the set of common properties;
• and
• assessing the distance between the two sets of properties as a function of the number of sets of properties that include the set of common properties.

A computer program product, residing on a computer readable medium, for use in searching a collection of items, the computer program product comprising instructions for causing a computer to:

• receive a query composed of one or more properties;
• and
• obtain a result based on applying a distance function to one or more items in the collection, wherein
• the distance function determines a distance between the query and an item in the collection based on the number of items in the collection that are associated with all of the properties in the intersection of the first set of properties and the set of properties for the item.

A computer system for managing data records comprising:

• an information retrieval subsystem that stores and retrieves data records, each data record being associated with a set of properties;
• and
• a similarity search subsystem that receives similarity search queries and processes similarity search queries based on a distance function, a similarity search query being associated with a first set of properties, wherein
• the distance function determines a distance between the query and a data record in the collection based on the number of data records in the collection that are associated with all of the properties in the intersection of the first set of properties and the set of properties for the data record.