Abstract:
Relevance data is displayed in a manner that allows the relevance data to be comprehended visually and intuitively. Relevance data includes element information and attribute information and is displayed as a network of element nodes and attribute nodes. The element information and attribute information is searched, designated as either element information or attribute information, and relevance information is extracted to reflect when an attribute is shared by a more than one element. Furthermore, a first network is displayed in which two element nodes with common attributes are connected. Alternatively, a second network is displayed in which attribute nodes are connected to element nodes when an element node posses an attribute node.

Description:
BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 
   1. Field of the Invention 
   The invention relates generally to an information relevance display method, program, storage medium and apparatus which perform network display of commonality between pieces of element information by utilizing relevance according to attributes possessed by element information such as gene information, and more specifically, to an information relevance display method, program, storage medium and apparatus which display the relevance with the network in which elements are connected as nodes by edges of common attributes. 
   2. Description of the Related Art 
   Traditionally, in the field of bioinformatics, starting with sequence analysis of human genome, the genome sequence analysis of animals other than human, plants, micro-organisms and the like is currently underway, and these genome sequence data is registered in databases which are administered by public institutions of countries, published through the internet to all over the world and utilized extensively. Usually, in bioresearch, properties for each gene, such as what functions it has, where in the body it works and what proteins it generates, are examined and stored in public sites and local sites all over the world. In this case, the genes which have the same properties are considered to play the same role, and researchers strive to predict what role the newly discovered genes play and to identify genes associated to disease, as they repeat experiments based on these information analysis and analysis. 
   However, in these traditional genome researches, for genes disclosed as the genome sequence data, researchers examined in what way the relevance (commonality) of each data exists by looking into individual data, and problem exists in that it is difficult for analysts to focus attention on the relevance, especially the commonality, of certain gene, as they cover huge volumes of data, and to look into and intuitively capture characteristics thereof. These problems also exit in the data analysis in various fields in which it is needed to intuitively capture the commonality of individual data and other data, covering huge volumes of data other than bioinformatics. 
   SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION 
   According to the invention there is provided an information relevance display method, program, storage medium and apparatus which perform the display enabling the relevance of data to be comprehended visually and intuitively. 
   In order to achieve the above object, according to a first aspect of the present invention there is provided an information relevance display method comprising: 
   a search designation step which, by a search designation unit, designates element information and attribute information; 
   a relevance information extract step which, by a relevance information extract unit, extracts attributes common to two pieces of element information as relevance information from possessed attributes of plural pieces of element information designated in the search designation step; 
   a first network display step which, by a first network display unit, displays a first network by arranging and displaying, for the element information and the attribute information designated in the search designation step, the element information as element nodes, and by connecting with edges two element nodes possessing common attribute information by referring to the relevance information; and 
   a second network display step which, by a second network display unit, displays a second network by converting possessed attributes of the element nodes in the first network into a display of attribute nodes for arrangement and by connecting with edges the element nodes and the attribute nodes of the possessed attributes thereof. 
   According to the relevance information display of the invention, a first network is displayed, in which two (2) nodes with common attributes are connected by a line defined as an edge in the situation that a plurality of element nodes are arranged, for example, in a circle, and nodes at which the edges are concentrated can be comprehended as the nodes with high commonality at a glance and can be comprehended as notable elements Adversely, for nodes with extremely less edges, low commonality can be comprehended. 
   Also, though attributes constitute the edges which connect the element nodes in the display of the first network, it is possible to change into the display of a second network in which these attributes which the edges have are converted into attribute nodes and connected to the element nodes which possess attributes for the attribute nodes by the edges, and it is possible to intuitively comprehend commonality to the element nodes when the attributes are looked from the viewpoint of nodes. 
   At this point, the first network display step is characterized in that a plurality of the element nodes is arranged uniformly. With this uniform arrangement of the element nodes, it is possible to intuitively comprehend the distribution in connection status of edges which connect between the element nodes according to common attributes, as the density of the edges. 
   In the first network display step, it may be possible to arrange the element nodes depending on the degree of strength of the commonality, such as the number of the common attributes. For example, when the number of the common attributes is higher, a distance from other element nodes is shortened, and the strength of the commonality is emphasized. 
   In the second network display step, the attribute nodes are arranged based on distances corresponding to position information for an attribute hierarchical structure. For example, the attribute nodes are arranged in proportion to the distance in the hierarchical structure, making it possible to intuitively comprehend that the distance is shorter, the relevance is higher. 
   In the second network display step, the attribute nodes are arranged by finding distances corresponding to position information for the attribute hierarchical structure to which predefined weight is added. With this weight, it is possible to display such that certain commonality is emphasized manually or automatically. 
   In the second network display step, the second network is displayed by converting and arranging the common attributes represented by all or some of the designated edges in the first network into display of the attribute nodes and by connecting the element nodes and the attribute nodes for the possessed attributes thereof with the edges. In this way, the second network display is performed, in which only some of the edges are converted into the attribute nodes in the first network display, and it is possible to perform the mixed display of the first network and the second network. 
   In the search designation step, a select list for element information and a select list for attribute information represented by a hierarchical structure are displayed in the screen displaying the first network or the second network, and selective designation of the element information and/or the attribute information is prompted. Therefore, users can display the network of relevance and perform analysis work for notable characteristics, as they accordingly designate the element information and the attribute information designations. 
   To achieve the above object, according to a second aspect of the present invention there is provided a program for information relevance display executed by a computer. The program allows the computer to execute: 
   a search designation step which designates element information to be searched in an element information file that stores element information including element names to be searched and possessed attributes, as well as attribute information in an attribute information file which stores attribute information including attribute names; 
   a relevance information extract step which extracts attributes common to two pieces of element information as relevance information from possessed attributes of plural pieces of element information designated in the search designation step; 
   a first network display step which displays a first network by arranging and displaying, for the element information and the attribute information designated in the search designation step, the element information as element nodes and by connecting with edges two element nodes possessing common attribute information by referring to the relevance information; and 
   a second network display step which displays a second network by converting possessed attributes of the element nodes in the first network into a display of attribute nodes for arrangement and by connecting with edges the element nodes and the attribute nodes of the possessed attributes thereof. 
   To achieve the above object, according to a third aspect of the present invention there is provided a computer-readable storage medium which stores a program for the information relevance display executed by a computer. The record medium stores a program therein which allows the computer to execute: 
   a search designation step which designates element information in an element information file that stores element information including element names to be searched and possessed attributes, as well as attribute information in an attribute information file which stores attribute information including attribute names; 
   a relevance information extract step which extracts attributes common to two pieces of element information as relevance information from possessed attributes of plural pieces of element information designated in the search designation step; 
   a first network display step which displays a first network by arranging and displaying, for the element information and the attribute information designated in the search designation step, the element information as element nodes and by connecting with edges two element nodes possessing common attribute information by referring to the relevance information; and 
   a second network display step which displays a second network by converting possessed attributes of the element nodes in the first network into a display of attribute nodes for arrangement and by connecting with edges the element nodes and the attribute nodes of the possessed attributes thereof. 
   To achieve the above object, according to a fourth aspect of the present invention there is provided a search information relevance display apparatus comprising: 
   an element information file which stores element information including element names to be searched and possessed attributes; 
   an attribute information file which stores attribute information including attribute names; 
   a search designation unit which designates element information in the element information file and attribute information in the attribute information file; 
   a relevance information extract unit which extracts attributes common to two pieces of element information as relevance information, from possessed attributes of plural pieces of element information designated by the search designation unit; 
   a first network display unit which displays a first network by arranging and displaying, for the element information and the attribute information designated by the search designation unit, the element information as element nodes, and by connecting with edges two element nodes possessing common attribute information by referring to the relevance information; and 
   a second network display unit which displays a second network by converting possessed attributes of the element nodes in the first network into a display of attribute nodes for arrangement and by connecting with edges the element nodes and the attribute nodes of the possessed attributes thereof. 
   The details of the program, storage medium and information relevance display unit of the present invention will become essentially the same as those of the information relevance display method. 
   The above and other objects, aspects, features and advantages of the present invention will become more apparent from the following detailed description when taken in conjunction with the accompanying drawings. 

   
     BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS 
       FIG. 1  is a block diagram showing an embodiment of an information relevance display apparatus with a function structure thereof according to the invention; 
       FIG. 2  is a schematic diagram of hardware environment of a computer to which the information relevance display apparatus of  FIG. 1  is applied; 
       FIG. 3  is a schematic diagram of a display screen displaying a first network according to the invention; 
       FIG. 4  is a schematic diagram of element information stored in the element information file of  FIG. 1 ; 
       FIG. 5  is a schematic diagram of attribute information stored in the attribute information file of  FIG. 1 ; 
       FIG. 6  is a schematic diagram of relevance information stored in the relevance information file of  FIG. 1 ; 
       FIG. 7  is a schematic diagram of display of a second network according to the invention, in which all the edges of  FIG. 3  are converted to attribute nodes; 
       FIG. 8  is a schematic diagram of arrangement distance of the attribute nodes in  FIG. 7 ; 
       FIG. 9  is a schematic diagram of display of the second network according to the invention, in which some edges of  FIG. 3  are converted to attribute nodes; 
       FIG. 10  is a flowchart of an information relevance display process according to the invention; 
       FIG. 11  is a flowchart of the first network display process in  FIG. 10 ; 
       FIG. 12  is a flowchart of the second network display process in  FIG. 10 ; 
       FIG. 13  is a schematic diagram of a display screen of the first network in the case that the invention is applied to the relevance display of gene information; 
       FIG. 14  is a schematic diagram of display screen in which certain attribute edges are converted into attribute nodes in  FIG. 3  and the second network is partially displayed; and 
       FIG. 15  is a schematic diagram of display status of check boxes displayed in the attribute information display list of  FIG. 13 . 
   

   DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS 
     FIG. 1  is a block diagram showing an embodiment of an information relevance display apparatus with a function structure thereof according to the invention. In  FIG. 1 , the information relevance display apparatus  10  of the invention is achieved by a personal computer and, for example via the internet  12 , able to connect to databases  14 - 1 ,  14 - 2  and  14 - 3  of public sites, collects search target data from the databases  14 - 1  to  14 - 3  and executes a display process for information relevance. As these search target data collected from the databases  14 - 1  to  14 - 3 , for example gene information published in bioinformatics field may be quoted. The information relevance display apparatus  10  is provided with a search information management section  11 , and to the search information management section  11 , an element information file  16 - 1 , an attribute information file  18 - 1 , a relevance information file  20 - 1 , an input device  22  such as a keyboard and a tablet and a display  24  are connected. In order to achieve the information relevance display process according to the invention, the search information management section  11  is provided with a search information input unit  26 , a search designation unit  28 , a relevance information extract unit  30 , a first network display process unit  32  and a second network display process unit  34 , as functions to be achieved by execution of programs. With the access to the databases  14 - 1  to  14 - 3  via the internet  12 , the search information input unit  26  inputs the element information including element names and possessed attributes and stores into the element information file  16 - 1 , and simultaneously inputs the attribute information including attribute names and position information for an attribute hierarchical structure and stores into the attribute information file  18 - 1 . The search designation unit  28  designates plural pieces of the element information and the attribute information based on operations of the input device  22 . The relevance information extract unit  30  extracts common attributes for two (2) element information as relevance information from the possessed attributes of the plural pieces of the element information designated in the search designation unit  28 , and stores into the relevance information file  20 - 1 . The first network display process unit  32  arranges and displays the element information designated in the search designation unit  28  as the element nodes on the display screen of the display  24 , as well as displays the first network in which two (2) element nodes having common attribute information are connected by the edge with reference to the relevance information in the relevance information file  20 - 1 . The edge herein is a line with an orientation which defines one element node as a connection source and other element node as a connection destination, and in following description, though this is defined as the edge, it represents a linear route which connects nodes in a network. The second network display process unit  34  converts and arranges the possessed attributes of the element nodes into the display of the attribute nodes in the first network displayed on the display  24  by the first network display process unit  32 , and displays second network by connecting between the element nodes and the attribute nodes for the possessed attributes thereof with the edges. In other words, the second network display process unit  34  converts the edges into the attribute nodes by filtering the edges of the first network displayed by the first network display process unit  32 , and performs the network display in which notable attributes are emphasized hereby. The personal computer which achieves the information relevance display apparatus  10  of the invention in  FIG. 1  is, for example, achieved by hardware resources of a computer as shown in  FIG. 2 . 
   In the computer of  FIG. 2 , a bus of CPU  100  is connected with RAM  102 , a hard disk controller (software)  104 , a floppy disk driver (software)  110 , a CD-ROM driver (software)  114 , a mouse controller  118 , a keyboard controller  122 , a display controller  126  and a communication board  130 . The hard disk controller  104  is connected with a hard disk drive  106  and loaded with an application program which executes the information relevance display process of the invention, and by calling a necessary program from the hard disk drive  106  at startup of the computer, deploying the program on RAM  102  and executing it in CPU  100 , the information relevance display by the display controller  126  is performed. The floppy disk driver  110  is connected with a floppy disk drive (hardware)  112  and can read from and write to a floppy disk (R). The CD-ROM driver  114  is connected with a CD drive (hardware)  116  and can read data and programs stored in CD. The mouse controller  118  transfers input operations with the mouse  120  to CPU  100 . The keyboard controller  122  transfers input operations with the keyboard  124  to CPU  100 . The display controller  126  performs the display on the display unit  128 . The communication board  130  uses a communication line  132 , collects information from the databases via networks such as the internet and communicates with other computers or servers. 
     FIG. 3  is a block diagram of a display screen  36  of the information relevance which is displayed on the display  24  by the first network display process unit  32  of  FIG. 1 . In this display screen  36 , centering on a network display area  38 , a element information list  42  is displayed on the underside, as well as an attribute information list  44  represented by a hierarchical directory structure is displayed on the left side, and an attribute appearance frequency list  45  is displayed under it. Also, a filtering button  38 - 1  and a layout button  38 - 2  is provided at upper left corner of the network display area  38 ; by manipulating the filtering button  38 - 1 , the first network  40  as shown or the second network is displayed in the network display area  38  based on designations of search targets; and by manipulating the layout button  38 - 2 , the element nodes and the attribute nodes are arranged depending on degrees of commonalities of the edges and weighting. 
   This displayed information on the display screen  36  of the search information relevance display in  FIG. 3  is based on element information  16  in  FIG. 4 , attribute information  18  in  FIG. 5  and relevance information  20  in  FIG. 6 . The element information  16  in  FIG. 4  consists of element ID  50 , element names  52 , possessed attributes  54  and element node display flags  55 . The element information  16  is generated on the element information file  16 - 1  based on obtaining of search target data from the databases  14 - 1  to  14 - 3  by the search information input unit  26  provided to the search information management section  11  of  FIG. 1 . The element node display flags  55  in the element information  16  are set to a display flag=1 for the elements designated as the search targets by processes in the search designation unit  28 , based on the designation of the elements which are designated as the search targets by a user with the input device  22 . The attribute information  18  in  FIG. 5  is consists of attribute ID  56 , attribute names  58 , end flags  60 , parent attributes  62 , attribute information search flags  63  and attribute node display flags  64 . At this point, when the attribute information  18  is represented using the attribute names  58 , it has the hierarchical structure as shown in the attribute information list  44  in  FIG. 3 . This hierarchical structure is defined by the end flags  60  and the parent attributes  62 . The attribute information search flags  63  are set to a search flag=1 for the attributes designated as the search targets by processes in the search designation unit  28 , based on the designation of the attributes which are designated as the search targets by a user with the input device  22 . The attribute node display flags  64  are set to 1 in order to indicate attributes which are displayed as the attribute nodes in the second network. 
   The relevance information  20  in  FIG. 6  is consists of relevance ID  65 , connection source nodes  66  indicated by “From”, connection destination nodes  68  indicated by “To”, common attribute ID  70 , edge display flags  72  and edge coupling strength  74 . This relevance information  20  holds common attributes of two (2) elements which is obtained by referring to the possessed attributes  54  of each elements in the element information  16  of  FIG. 4 , as the common attribute ID  70 . For example, for R 001  of the relevance ID  65  in the relevance information  20 , when looking at the relevance of the element ID=N 001  of the connection source nodes  66  and the element ID=N 002  of the connection destination nodes  68  in the element information  16  of  FIG. 4 , two (2) attribute IDs, V 003  and V 005 , out of the possessed attributes  54  of each ID are common, and these are stored in the common attribute ID  70  in the relevance information  20  of  FIG. 6 . The edge display flags  72  are set to 1 if the edge display is performed in the network display, and set to 0 if it&#39;s not performed. The set status of the edge display flags  72  in the relevance information  20  of  FIG. 6  is the set status of the display flags for the display of the second network. As opposed to this, in the first network display status, the attribute node display is not performed and only the display of the element nodes is performed, therefore the inverse relevance occurs, wherein 0 in the edge display flag  72  will be 1 and 1 will be 0. The edge coupling strength  74  can be configured manually or automatically by calculations. In the automatic configuration by calculations, for example values corresponding to the number of the common attributes or the strength of the commonality are configured. This value of the edge coupling strength is utilized as the weight to correct the relevance in uniform arrangement of the element nodes in the first network. 
   The first network  40  displayed in the network display area  38  on the display screen  36  of FIG.  3  is displayed based on the element information  16 , the attribute information  18  and the relevance information  20  of  FIG. 4 ,  FIG. 5  and  FIG. 6 , respectively. In the first network  40 , for the elements for which the element node display flag  55  is set to 1 in the element information  16  of  FIG. 4 , the elements nodes  46 - 1 ,  46 - 2  and  46 - 3  are uniformly arranged, for example, in a circle shape. 
   This arrangement of the element nodes  46 - 1  to  46 - 3  may be corrected by using the values of the edge coupling strength  74  in the relevance information  20  as the weights. For example, by checking the number of the common attribute IDs  70  in the relevance information  20 , arrangement corresponding to this number of the common attribute IDs may be used. For the element nodes  46 - 1  to  46 - 3  arranged in the first network  40 , “Node 1”, “Node 2” and “Node 3” are displayed respectively, according to the element names  52  in the element information  16 . The element nodes  46 - 1  to  46 - 3  in the arrangement display are connected with the edges  48 - 1 ,  48 - 2  and  48 - 3  based on the common attribute IDs  70  in the relevance information  20  in  FIG. 6 . The edge  48 - 1  represents the common attributes V 003  and V 005  which are possessed by the element nodes  46 - 1  and  46 - 2  herein. Also, the edge  48 - 2  represents the common attribute V 005  which are possessed by the element nodes  46 - 2  and  46 - 3 . Further, the edge  48 - 3  represents the common attributes V 002  and V 005  which are possessed by the element nodes  46 - 1  and  46 - 3 . At this point, in the element information list  42  and the attribute information list  44  on the display screen  36  of  FIG. 3 , check boxes are provided to the element IDs and the attribute names respectively, and the element information and the attribute information to be the search targets are designated using these check boxes. The check box in the attribute information list  44  may indicates three (3) different statuses  150 ,  152  and  154  as shown in  FIG. 15 . The display status  150  represents that the relevant attribute is not considered as the search target. The attributes which are not considered as the search target are displayed in neither the first network display nor the second network display. In this way, it is possible to limit the information displayed. The display status  154  represents that the relevant attribute is considered as the search target and also that it is displayed as the attribute node in the second network display. 
   In the display status of the first network  40  in  FIG. 3 , when the check boxes of the attribute information list  44  for the attribute names V 11 , V 12  and V 21  are configured to be the display status  154  which represents the attribute node display, and the filtering button  38 - 1  is manipulated, the network display area  38  will be converted to the display status of the second network  76  as shown in  FIG. 7 . For this second network  76 , since the attribute names V 11 , V 12  and V 21  which express the edges  48 - 1 ,  48 - 2  and  48 - 3  in the first network  40  in  FIG. 3  are designated as the attribute node display targets, as shown by the display status  154  in  FIG. 15 , by the check boxes of the attribute information list  44  in  FIG. 3 , when the filtering for conversion to the second network is performed by the manipulation of the filtering button  38 - 1 , all the edges  48 - 1  to  48 - 3  in the first network will be represented by the attribute nodes  78 - 1 ,  78 - 2  and  78 - 3  and arranged as shown in the second network  76  of  FIG. 7 . Arrangement positions of the attribute nodes  78 - 1  to  78 - 3  in the second network  76  are determined according to positions in the attribute hierarchical structure in the attribute information list  44  of  FIG. 3  by manipulating the layout button  38 - 2  in  FIG. 3 . 
     FIG. 8  illustrates distances L 1 , L 2  and L 3  which indicate mutual positional relationship between the attribute nodes  78 - 1  to  78 - 3  in the second network  76 . These distances L 1 , L 2  and L 3  which define the positional relations are based on the positional relevance in the hierarchical structure in the attribute information list  44  of  FIG. 3 , and the attribute nodes  78 - 1  and  78 - 2  for the attribute names V 11  and V 12  are adjoining and this results in short distance L 1 . As opposed to this, since the attribute node  78 - 3  for the attribute name V 21  is more distant from the attribute nodes  78 - 1  and  78 - 2  for the attribute names V 11  and V 12  in the hierarchical positions, it is arranged with distances L 2  and L 3  which is longer than the distance L 1 . Therefore, by looking at mutual positional relationship between the attribute nodes  78 - 1 ,  78 - 2  and  78 - 3 , it is understood at a glance that if the attribute node&#39;s relationship is closer, the commonality is stronger, and if it is more distant, the commonality is lower. Referring to  FIG. 7  again, the attribute nodes  78 - 1  to  78 - 3  which are arranged and represented in the second network  76  perform the edge representation for relations which are set to 1 in the edge display flags  72  in the relevance information  20  of  FIG. 6 , between the element nodes  46 - 1  to  46 - 3  already displayed in the network  40 . Specifically, the edges  80 - 1  to  80 - 7  are displayed as shown, from the attribute nodes  78 - 1  to  78 - 3  to the element nodes  46 - 1  to  46 - 3  which possess respective attributes. From this display of edges  80 - 1  to  80 - 7 , it is known that the attribute name V 11  of the attribute node  78 - 1  is possessed by the element node  46 - 1  and the element node  46 - 3 . Also, it is known that the attribute name V 12  of the attribute node  78 - 2  is possessed by the element node  46 - 1  and the element node  46 - 2 . Further, it is known that the attribute name V 21  of the attribute node  78 - 3  is possessed by the element node  46 - 1 ,  46 - 2  and  46 - 3 . 
     FIG. 9  is the display of the second network  76 - 1  which is displayed, in the case that the edges of the first network  40  in  FIG. 3  are displayed by the attribute nodes, when the V 21  is removed from the attribute node display targets and the filtering button  38 - 1  is manipulated. In this way, if the second network  76 - 1  is displayed with the attribute name V 21  removed from the attribute node display targets, remaining attribute names V 11  and V 12  are displayed as the attribute nodes  78 - 1  and  78 - 2 . It is noted that the attribute node  78 - 3  of the attribute name V 21  is represented by dotted lines for the purpose of easy-to-understand illustration, but actually, the attribute node  78 - 3  is not displayed. For the attributes in the attribute node  78 - 3  which is not displayed, the structure of the first network  40  is remain intact as the edges  48 - 1 ,  48 - 2  and  48 - 3  which represent that the attribute ID=V 005  is possessed by the element nodes  46 - 1 ,  46 - 2  and  46 - 3 . This way, in the invention, it is possible to display the second network, if necessary, in which all or some of the edges representing the common attributes between the element nodes in the first network  40  of  FIG. 3  are designated as the attribute node display targets. Naturally, in the display status of the second network  76  and  76 - 1  in  FIG. 7  and  FIG. 9 , if the attribute names V 11  and V 12  are further removed from the attribute node display targets and the filtering button  38 - 1  in  FIG. 3  are manipulated, then it is possible to go back to the former display of the first network  40 . 
     FIG. 10  is a flowchart of the information relevance display process according to the invention. In  FIG. 10 , first in step S 1 , the element information and the attribute information is input from the databases  14 - 1  to  14 - 3 , and the element information  16  such as  FIG. 4  and the attribute information  18  such as  FIG. 5  is generated and stored in the element information file  16 - 1  and the attribute information file  18 - 1 . Next, in-step S 2 , the element information and the attribute information to be considered as the search targets are designated based on the operation of the input device by the user. Specifically, since the input for designation is performed by the manipulation of the check boxes in the element information list  42  on the display screen  36  of  FIG. 3  and the manipulation of the check boxes in the hierarchical structure in the attribute information list  44 , setup is performed based on this for the element node display flags  55  in the element information of  FIG. 4  as well as for the attribute information search flags  63  and attribute node display flags  64  in the attribute information of  FIG. 5 . Next, in step S 3 , considering plural pieces of designated element information as targets, common attribute information for two (2) pieces of the element information is extracted, and the relevance information  20  such as  FIG. 6  is generated and stored in the relevance information file  20 - 1 . Subsequently, in step S 4 , it is checked whether the designation for the first network display mode is present or not, and if present, the first network  40  is displayed in step S 5 , in which the element nodes are arranged and the edges are connected between two (2) element nodes possessing common attributes, as shown by the first network  40  in  FIG. 3 . Also, in step S 6 , if the designation for the second network display mode is identified, then, for example as shown in  FIG. 7 , the second network  76  is displayed, in which the edges corresponding to the designated attributes in the first network are converted into the attribute nodes, arranged and displayed, and then the edges are connected between the element nodes and the attribute nodes for the possessed attributes thereof. These processes of steps S 2  to S 7  are repeated until termination direction is given in step S 8 . 
   More specifically, the users perform display of the first network  40  as they change the designations for plural pieces of the element information and the attribute information to be considered as the search targets accordingly, convert the display into the second network display in which the edges in the first network  40  are converted into the attribute nodes and emphasized if necessary, and analyze characteristics of the search targets as they look at the network display. 
     FIG. 11  is a flowchart showing details of the first network display process in step S 5  of  FIG. 10 . In this first network display process, after the display designation status of the elemental nodes is identified in step S 1 , uniform arrangement of the element nodes are determined in step S 2 . Subsequently, if position corrections are directed corresponding to the commonalities such as the number of the common attributes in step S 3 , the positions are corrected by means of the degrees of the commonalities in step S 4 . For the arrangement control of the element nodes in step S 4 , for example the automatic arrangement of nodes in U.S. Pat. No. 3,350,223 may be utilized. Subsequently, after arranging the element nodes which positions are determined in step S 5 , the edges for the common attributes are connected between the element nodes in step S 6 . 
     FIG. 12  is a flowchart showing details of the second network display process in step S 7  in  FIG. 10 . In this second network display process, after identifying display designation status of the element nodes and the attribute nodes in step S 1 , by referring to the relevance information  20  in  FIG. 6 , it is checked whether both of the connection source nodes  66  and the connection destination nodes  68  of the relevance information are in display designation or not in step S 2 . At this point, if the nodes are the element nodes, the element nodes display flags  55  in the element information  16  in  FIG. 4  are referred for the display designation, and if the nodes are the attribute nodes, the attribute nodes display flags  64  in the attribute information  18  in  FIG. 5  are referred. If both of the connection source nodes  66  and the connection destination nodes  68  of the relevance information are in display designation in step S 2 , then proceed to step S 3  and it is checked whether the common attribute IDs are present or not. If the common attribute IDs are present, since these are relevance between the element nodes, determination for mixing the first network display is needed. On the other hand, if the common attribute IDs are not present, since it will be second network display, then proceed to step S 6  and the edge display flags  72  is set to 1. If the common attribute IDs are present in step S 3 , it is checked whether all the common attribute IDs are displayed as the attribute nodes in step S 4 . If all the common attribute IDs are displayed as the attribute nodes, since the first network display is not necessary, then proceed to step S 5  and the edge display flags are reset to 0. If there is the common attribute ID which is not displayed as the attribute node, since the first network display is mixed, then proceed to step S 6  and the edge display flags are set to 1. In step S 7 , it is checked whether the relevance IDs are identified in these steps S 2  to S 6  or not for all the relevance IDs  65 , which is R 001  to R 011  in this case, in the relevance information  20  of  FIG. 6 , and if identified, proceed to step S 8 . In step S 8 , the edges for the designated attributes in the first network are converted into the attribute nodes, and the converted attribute nodes are arranged with distances corresponding to the positions in the attribute hierarchical structure. And in step S 9 , the edges which the edge display flags  72  are set to 1 as shown in the relevance information  20  of  FIG. 6  are displayed between the attribute nodes and the element nodes. 
     FIG. 13  is a schematic diagram of a display screen of the first network in the case that the invention is applied to the relevance display of gene information. On the display screen of  FIG. 13 , a first network  86  is displayed in a network display area  84 . Under the network display area  84 , gene information is displayed as an element information list  88 . Also, on the left of the network display area  84 , an attribute information list  90  is displayed, and attributes are provided with check boxes to designate as targets. Regarding to this, the element information list  88  is provided with check boxes on the left of each gene as well. Further, an attribute appearance frequency list  92  is provided. In the upper left of the network display area  84 , a filtering button  136  and a layout button  148  are provided. In this display status of the first network  86 , if the filtering button  136  is manipulated, it is converted to a display screen of a second network  94  shown in  FIG. 14 , for example. In this second network  94 , for the attribute hierarchical structure in the attribute information list  90 , the attribute nodes designated as the attribute node display targets are connected to the element nodes possessing the attributes thereof by the edges. 
   Although, in above embodiments, the display process of information relevance targeting gene information is taken as an example, the invention is not limited to this and can be directly applied to the analyses targeting the information in which attribute information is added to appropriate element information, for example the analysis of personal purchasing information obtained as POS information in convenience stores, the analysis of patent information and the like. 
   Further, the invention includes any alteration not impairing the purpose and the benefit thereof and also is not limited by the numeric values shown in the above embodiments. 
   According to the invention described above, with a first network in which nodes with common attributes are connected by edges in the situation that a plurality of element nodes are arranged, nodes at which the edges are concentrated can be comprehended as the nodes with high commonality at a glance and can be comprehended as notable elements. 
   Also, by designating certain common attributes under the display status of the first network and displaying a second network in which edges corresponding to common attributes are converted into attribute nodes and arranged, data with strong relevance are located near by each other, and it is facilitated to comprehend data relevance visually and intuitively. 
   Further, in arrangement of the attribute nodes in the second network in which the edges in the first network are converted into the attribute nodes, by performing arrangement of the attribute nodes based on a hierarchical structure or appearance frequencies of attributes, it is facilitated to narrow down attributes or attribute groups of interest, and the discovery of new knowledge is promoted.