Patent ID: 8521738

Claim:
A method for computerized classification and retrieval of characters in a domain of characters having recurring character components, the method comprising: providing a database including the domain of characters; identifying, within the domain of characters, a plurality of recurring character components, wherein each recurring character component is a grapheme used to compose characters; identifying a stroke count for each of the recurring character components; identifying a free endpoint count for each of the recurring character components, wherein a free endpoint is an endpoint of a stroke that does not abut another stroke; classifying each of the recurring character components according to a stroke-endpoint value pair determined for that recurring character component, the stroke-endpoint value pair being based on the stroke count and the free endpoint count identified for that recurring component; identifying relationships between each recurring character component and one or more characters, a relationship being identified when a character includes the recurring character component; recording identified relationships in the database by storing a plurality of relational entries in the database, each relational entry corresponding to a bidirectional association between a recurring character components and respective related characters; receiving an input stroke-endpoint value pair via a user interface and using the received stroke-endpoint value pair to access the database and retrieve a group of one or more of the recurring character components corresponding to the received stroke-endpoint value pair; generating a group of one or more recurring character components corresponding to the received stroke-endpoint value pair; receiving, via the user interface, an indication of a selected target recurring character component from among the group of recurring character components corresponding to the received stroke-endpoint value pair; retrieving characters in the database having a relationship to the target recurring character component; and generating a list of characters based on the target recurring character component and providing the list of characters to the user interface as output.