JP2001229200A - Display system for data retrieval result and data registration system for the same - Google Patents

Abstract

PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To provide a database which permits data retrieval by only retriever's intention by eliminating the incapability of retrieving target data due to the difference between the key word that the registerer of the data intends and the key word that the retriever intends. SOLUTION: The database is provided which enables the retriever to retrieve target data without fail by providing a registering means which gives the relation to existing information as relation information when data are registered, a retrieving means which performs narrowing-down retrieval by using the relation information, and a display means which displays a retrieval result including the relation with the data by using the relation means.

Description

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

[0001]

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 1. Field of the Invention The present invention relates to a database in which a user registers, searches, and uses data in a situation where the data is managed and used.

[0002]

2. Description of the Related Art In searching data, a searcher must
The search process is executed based on the keyword or classification associated with the searcher. In the actual search processing, the search is performed according to a keyword defined in the database, a classification system having a tree structure, and a classification name. Therefore, in order for the data requested by the searcher to be extracted by the search process, the keyword, the classification system and the name of the classification associated with the searcher and the name of the keyword, the classification system and the classification predefined in the database are used. Is a condition.

In displaying search results by the above-mentioned search method, data extracted by the search processing is displayed as a list, and if there is no extracted data, a message indicating that the search could not be performed is displayed. . In either case, if the keyword, classification system, and classification name associated with the searcher do not match the name of the keyword, classification system, and classification defined in the database, the reliability of the search result is high. It will be low.
In particular, even if the search cannot be performed by the above-mentioned search method, it does not guarantee that the data requested by the searcher does not exist in the database.

[0004] From the point of view of a searcher, a plurality of data extracted by a keyword, a classification system, and a name of a classification given by the searcher are recognized as having a close relationship between the contents. If the searcher can recognize the relationship between the data, it will be useful information for subsequent search processing for narrowing down, but since the search results are displayed as a list, I can't recognize it. In addition, since the search is actually performed based on the keywords, the classification system, and the names of the classifications defined in the database in advance, it cannot be guaranteed that the contents are close to the contents of the data on the list.

[0005]

In the above prior art, if a keyword, a classification system, and a classification name associated with a searcher do not match a keyword, a classification system, and a classification name defined in a database in advance. I can't get accurate search results. Therefore, if the searcher cannot extract the target data in a single search, the searcher must perform the search again using a different keyword, classification system, and classification name from the previous search. There is. Further, since it is impossible to obtain a search result indicating that the target data does not exist in the database, there is a problem that search processing for data that does not exist is wastefully repeated. Furthermore, since the search result is provided as a list, there is a problem that it is not possible to recognize the relationship between the respective data, and it is not possible to obtain effective information for the subsequent search processing for narrowing down.

The present invention reduces the repetition of search processing required when searching for data requested by a searcher, and clarifies the relationship between data, thereby making it possible to reduce the labor required for searching for narrowing down. Is to be reduced.

[0007]

To solve the above-mentioned problems, the following means are used.

[0008] When registering data, registration means for giving a relationship with existing data as related information, search means for performing a search for narrowing down using the related information, and relations between data using the related information. A database having display means for displaying the retrieved search results.

[0009]

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS An embodiment of the present invention will be described with reference to FIGS.

First, the concept of the database of the present invention will be described with reference to FIG. (11) ・ (12) ・ (13) ・
(16) is data constituting a database. Since this data may have the same data structure as that of the database of the related art, it does not matter whether the format is a table format or a hierarchical structure. However, a function that can set a plurality of key items is required. Regarding the search method, no particular method is required since the access using a key, which is a conventional technique, is used. It should be noted that, among the information of the data, there is at most one parent data, but the reference data and the child data may increase as the original data is updated. Further, in the present invention, a plurality of data having the same content can exist depending on the relationship between the data, but how to manage the data having the same content is not directly related to the content of the present invention. In the invention, data having the same content may or may not be present.

(14) is an association line (data association line) indicating the association of data. The key item of the actual data is set based on this relation line. The data having the key item is the data under the arrow. Note that data having arrows in both directions has key items in both data.
It should be noted that the data relation line merely represents the relation of data, and does not represent the actual data arrangement. Further, since the key items themselves can be realized by using the conventional technology, the present invention does not care about the key items themselves on the database.

(15) is a relation line (reference relation line) in which data references are related. The key item of the actual data is set based on this relation line. The data having the key item is the data at the base of the arrow as in the case of the data relation line. Similarly, when there are arrows in both directions, both data have key items. It should be noted that the reference relation line merely represents the relation between the data, and does not represent the actual data arrangement. (11) ・ (12) ・
(13) shows a set of data associations. (11)
Since there is no parent data, it can be seen that the data is newly generated data. Further, since there is no reference data, it can be seen that this data is newly created. (12) is (1
It is registered as child data of 1) and parent data of (13). This data has parent data and child data added as key items. The presence of the reference data indicates that this data was created from the parent data and the reference data. (13) is registered as child data of (12). The parent data is added to this data as a key item. Further, since there is no reference data, it is understood that this data is created only from the parent data. (11), (12), and (13) are related by a parent-child relationship line. The timing of the occurrence of this relationship is specifically described in (11) and (12). , (11) is called (1
It is the time when it was registered as 2). After "calling" (11) and editing the data to be processed into target data, "store" is instructed to (11). At this time (1
By storing as (12) without storing as (1), (1)
A parent-child relationship is added between 1) and (12). At this time, when (12) is stored, (11) and (12)
In order to establish the parent-child relationship, the registrant does not set a keyword unlike the conventional data registration, and the data is automatically associated. On the other hand, if a call is made but no storage instruction is issued for the data, reference association is made.

This will be specifically described with reference to (11), (12), and (16).
1) is called, and (16) is also called as a reference. At this time, “store” for (16)
By performing “store” on (11) without performing (1), (1)
6) is treated as a reference relation. Also in this case, when (12) is stored, the parent-child relationship of (11) and (12) and (1)
2) Since the reference relationship of (16) is established, the registrant does not set a keyword unlike the conventional data registration, and the data is automatically associated. It should be noted that the degree to which (16) is referred to is not particularly limited in the present invention. Therefore, the function of the reference level may or may not be added. In any case, automatic association becomes possible by performing association at the time of storage.

Next, the operation of the present invention will be described. When performing data search, data search is performed according to a preset classification operation. At this time, the data is searched in accordance with the classification by using the data search technique which is a conventional technique, and data meeting the conditions is displayed on the screen. Since this part is not related to the present invention, it is realized by a combination of the prior art. The transition to the related search screen is performed using an operation key, an operation button, or the like that can transition from the search screen to the related search screen. At this time, after selecting a reference for the related search (route data in FIG. 1), the screen shifts to the related search screen. On the related search screen, a parent / child related / reference related search of the data serving as the root is performed, and the related data is displayed on the screen as it is. As an example, the root data is displayed at the center of the screen, and its parent data is developed to the left of the screen, and the child data is developed to the right and left of the screen. The related data is displayed below the reference data. For the related line, a visually effective expression (such as an arrow) is used. In the present invention, the layout of the screen is not particularly limited in the display on the screen, and any display may be used. Since the attribute of the detailed data in the conventional classification search is not directly related to the present invention, the method of displaying the attribute at the time of the related search, the method of displaying the attribute by a separate operation from the display result of the related search, and the attribute The method of not displaying may be used. Further, in the related search, since the range of the search is determined by the depth of the relation, the search option may be set so that the depth of the relation can be given as a search condition.

Further, in the present invention, since there are two types of relationships, an option is provided for each of the parent-child relationship and the reference relationship,
It is even better to be able to combine search conditions.
Further, it is also possible to change the option setting using the searched data and perform a re-search (in this case, also referred to as a refined search) so that the search can be performed again. It should be noted that a conventional classification search can be performed using the data searched by the related search, or an operation to return to the classification search screen immediately before shifting to the related search screen can be performed. According to the automatic association function, which is a feature of the present invention, a new association is added by directly editing the data after searching for necessary data on the association search screen.

FIG. 2 shows an example of a conventional classification search screen.
(21) shows an example of a search result screen using the related art. For display method and display contents of the search key and search results as shown in (21), any method may be utilized because there is no direct relation to the present invention. It is only necessary that a transition to the related search required for the present invention is possible. (22)
Is an operation key for shifting to a related search according to the present invention. In this example, the operation screen is provided with operation keys for moving to the related search on the search screen.However, any method such as a key operation method or a special operation method called a shortcut is used. You may. In this example, only one conventional search result is displayed, but a plurality of search results may be displayed. In this case, after selecting data serving as a reference for the related search, an operation of shifting to the related search is performed.

FIG. 3 shows an example of the related search screen. In this example, parent-child relations and reference relations are searched for one layer based on the data A1. (31) is an operation key for a conventional operation of returning to the classification search screen. In this case, as a method of returning to the conventional search screen, a method of returning to the screen immediately before switching to this screen and a method of selecting data to be newly returned when returning from this screen are conceivable. In the present invention, any method is used. Is also good. (32) is an operation key for performing a narrowed search of the related search. In the refined search, it is possible to select the reference data again. Therefore, it is necessary to have a function of visually indicating the reference data as shown in (35) of the screen example. In this example, a visual effect is directly set on the displayed data, but another area for inputting reference data may be provided on the screen.
The two operation keys (31) and (32) may be operation buttons, key operations, or shortcuts, and may be provided as functions. (33) is an operation key for setting as an option whether or not the parent-child relation and the reference relation are used as search conditions. Since it is only necessary to be able to select whether or not the operation key is used as a search condition, it is not necessary to limit the method of directly inputting a key or selecting by a button format in the present invention. The search condition is changed by setting this option so that only the search intended by the searcher can be performed.

Reference numeral 34 denotes an operation key for setting a data search hierarchy as an option. This option is (3
The option 3) automatically determines whether the setting is valid. The key input for this option is simple, but the present invention does not limit the input method such as the button format as in (33). The searcher can change the setting of this option to determine how far back or forward the data is related. (35) ・ (3)
6) and (37) are data searched by the related search. Here, the attribute indicating the relation of the data is displayed, but the attribute of the data as in the policy result of the conventional classification search may be displayed. (38) is a parent-child relation line. This relationship line shows the relationship between data. Although it is necessary to always display the data on the screen, in the present invention, it is sufficient if the relation of data can be expressed visually, and the expression is not limited in some cases. (39) is a reference relation line. This related line must also be displayed on the screen without fail in order to indicate the relationship between the data, but the expression is not limited by the present invention like the parent-child related line in (38).

FIG. 4 is a processing flow for associating data and registering it in a database. In step 400, data is created or the previously called data is corrected. In step 410, a data storage instruction is issued. If the data is newly created or the name of the called data is not changed, step 460 is executed. When the name of the called data is changed by modifying the called data in advance, step 420 is executed. In step 420, the corrected data is newly registered on the database. At this time, the name after the name change is used as the data name. At step 430, the association before the name change is registered as parent data. At step 440, it is checked whether there is any other data used, and if no other data is used, nothing is executed. Step 450 is a process for registering an association when all other data is used as a reference association. Step 460 is a reference association check when there is no parent data, and is the same process as step 440. Step 4
70 is a reference association process, which is the same process as step 450. In step 480, a name to be registered in the database is newly set in a process when data is newly created, and data is registered in the database.

FIG. 5 is a flowchart of a screen operation for a data-related search. Since this processing is executed by the operation from the conventional classification search processing, the data-related search processing is repeatedly executed until returning to the original screen. Step 500 is for judging whether or not the return button operation has been performed. Step 510 is for judging whether or not the option has been set. Although this exists as a process on the flow, the operation is not necessarily performed in the actual process. This is because the previous option setting or the initial setting may be acceptable. Therefore, after this process, it is necessary to always pass the option status to the database search regardless of the presence or absence of the operation. In some cases, data to be the route of the search data is specified according to the option setting. This only needs to be able to visually represent which data of the displayed data is the root.

Step 520 is for judging whether or not the search button has been operated. The database search process is performed for the first time by this operation. Step 530 is the actual database search process. Search for parent-child related / reference related data based on the route data set with the already set options as conditions. Step 540 is a process for displaying the searched data on the screen. The data retrieved in this process is represented visually in an easily understandable manner. In the present invention, any conventional technique may be used because there is no direct relationship between the database search processing and the screen display of the search results.

[0022]

According to the present invention, the target data can be searched by utilizing the association of the data without being influenced by the keyword or the classification system associated with the searcher.
In addition, by automating the association, the association can be reliably performed irrespective of the intention of the registrant, so that the difference in consciousness between the registrant and the searcher can be eliminated.

[Brief description of the drawings]

FIG. 1 is a diagram showing an example of a data structure showing a concept of a database showing a core of the present invention.

FIG. 2 is a diagram showing an example of a search screen by a conventional classification search.

FIG. 3 is a diagram showing a screen example of a search result screen by a data-related search which is a feature of the present invention.

FIG. 4 is a flowchart of a data association process.

FIG. 5 is a flowchart of a data-related search screen operation process.

[Explanation of symbols]

11, 12, 13, 16 ... data constituting a database, 14 ... parent-child related lines, 15 ... reference related lines.

Claims (4)

[Claims] 1. A method of handling related information indicating a relationship between different data in searching data, a method of generating related information with other data in registering new data, and a method of generating a search result of data in relation to related information. A data management method characterized by having a display method based on the data. 2. A data management method according to claim 1, wherein the related information is capable of representing a relationship between data, and the related information is handled. 3. A database having the data management method according to claim 1, wherein if data containing the content to be searched is not in the database, it is possible to clarify the fact. Search method to be performed. 4. A related information management system according to claim 1, wherein in the database having the data management system according to claim 1, association between different data is performed in ascending order of relation.