Patent ID: 7035864

Claim:
A computer-implemented method for retrieving information associated with a set of materials, the method comprising: storing a plurality of attribute-value pairs associated with the materials, wherein each of a plurality of values has an association with at least one of a plurality of attributes characterizing the materials, and computing a plurality of navigation states, each navigation state corresponding to a particular set of attribute-value pairs and to a particular subset of the materials, wherein for each navigation state the particular subset of the materials corresponding to the navigation state consists of those materials that are each described by every attribute-value pair in the particular set of attribute-value pairs corresponding to that navigation state; wherein within the plurality of computed navigation states, at least a first navigation state includes a first attribute-value pair having a first attribute, in which the first attribute-value pair does not describe all the materials that the first attribute characterizes, a second navigation state includes a second attribute-value pair having the first attribute, in which the second attribute-value pair refines the first attribute-value pair, and at least one of the first navigation state and the second navigation state includes a third attribute-value pair having a third attribute, which is not the same as the first attribute, wherein the third attribute-value pair is mutually incomparable with the first attribute-value pair and is mutually incomparable with the second attribute-value pair, and the third attribute-value pair does not describe all the materials that the third attribute characterizes; storing the computed navigation states in a data structure; providing an interface, the interface providing a plurality of transitions, each transition providing a direct path, with no intervening navigation states, between two of the navigation states, wherein each transition represents a change from the set of attribute-value pairs corresponding to an originating navigation state to the set of attribute-value pairs corresponding to a destination navigation state, wherein a series of one or more transitions provides a path between any two navigation states, and wherein the interface provides a direct path, with no intervening navigation states, between the first navigation state and the second navigation state; accepting a query directed at the materials; and retrieving a stored navigation state responsive to the query.