Geometric approach to clustering and querying in databases and warehouses

Abstract

Databases and warehouses play significant role in real world providing the human with the necessary information for solving problems in all areas of life from marketing to bioinformatics. Therefore, databases and warehouses are essential components of all intelligent information systems in cyberworlds. This paper describes a geometric approach to clustering and querying data in databases and warehouses. Data are interpreted geometrically as multidimensional points. A geometric definition of the cluster as a multidimensional solid defined with implicit functions is introduced. A query window is a query solid of any shape specified by its location. The queries are formulated with geometric objects and operations over them. The geometric objects and operations are described with implicit functions. With the uniform geometric model of the clustering and querying, 3D visualization tools can be naturally incorporated in one system that allows us to visualize and query clusters in 3D space. The user clusters the data and poses the queries through a graphics interface accessing dynamically multidimensional points and solids.