Identifier vocabulary data access method and system

#This invention relates to the field of computers, more particularly to computer information storage and retrieval, and particularly to information organizational structures such as databases.

#Data access is becoming increasingly important, as the extent of information sources that are available to computers increases with the exponential growth of networks, such as the Internet. Unfortunately, current database designs are inflexible and impose severe demands on user and computing power effort during unplanned queries.

#Inflexibilities and high processing demands result from the current structure of known databases. Such structures generally seek to achieve quick access to records within the database by calculating the precise location of the record within the whole database. Inconvenient structural limitations are often imposed to facilitate this common database goal. For example, each record may be required to be the same size. This limitation may be avoided by using pointers, but a pointer structure requires user foresight and decisions at the outset, if database restructuring is to be avoided.

#FIG. 1 is a block diagram showing typical information flow in a TIE system.

#FIG. 2 illustrates derivation of a Boolean expression from ItemSelectors in groups.

#FIG. 3 illustrates Boolean derivation for ItemSelectors differing from those of FIG. 2.

#Introduction

#Extremely flexible databases can be achieved by employing a universal matrix structure (“UMS”). For background on such structures, see U.S. Pat. No. 5,544,360 (Lewak et al.) (“the '360 patent”).

#In TIE (Technology for Information Engineering™) system databases described herein, each element of information is called an Item, and each Item has its own unique identifier (typically an ID number). Each Item may be described using a set of one or more descriptors (ItemSelectors), each of which represents an attribute of the Item. Some combination of meaningful ItemSelectors (which may be key words, phrases, or other descriptors, each uniquely identified within the system), will suffice to distinguish a particular Item within the constellation of Items available in a database. Such meaningful descriptive key words or phrases may therefore be used to select an Item. The meaningful descriptive key words or phrases will be referred to as “ItemSelectors.” (Note that in the Provisional Application upon which this application is based, these key words or phrases were referred to as “Categories.” The terminology is substantially arbitrary, and, though different, is internally consistent within each document.) As with any search, a set of ItemSelectors will typically describe a first set of Items consistent therewith. One or more additional ItemSelectors may be needed to uniquely describe a single Item from the first set of Items. Conversely, Items may be described as belonging to, or associated with, one or more ItemSelectors.