System and method for handling a high-cardinality attribute in decision trees

Abstract

High-cardinality attributes are used as input attributes and as output attributes in decision tree creation. When determining which attribute test to use at a node, a distribution of states for the high-cardinality attribute in the testing data at the node is created. A certain number of the most common states for the high-cardinality attribute are selected. The most common states are used as the states for the high-cardinality attribute in determining which attribute test to use. The remaining states are combined into one state and used as a single state for the high-cardinality attribute in determining which attribute test to use. The high-cardinality attribute may be either an input attribute or an output attribute to the decision tree.

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