Patent ID: 8046362

Claim:
A computer implemented iterative process for generating entity representations in a computer implemented database using a record matching formula and for generating parameters for the record matching formula, the database comprising a plurality of records, each record comprising a plurality of fields, each field capable of containing a field value, wherein at least a portion of parameters for the record matching formula are generated using a symmetric and reflexive function and configured for a particular field value appearing in a selected field of at least one record, and wherein the process provides for linking records or entity representations with non-identical field values, the process comprising: selecting a distance; calculating a field value weight, the field value weight reflecting a likelihood that an arbitrary record in the database comprises a field value in the selected field of the arbitrary record that lies within the distance of the particular field value as determined by the symmetric and reflexive function; forming a plurality of entity representations in the database, each entity representation comprising at least two records linked using a first instance of the record matching formula, at least one entity representation comprising a first record comprising the particular field value, the first record linked to a second record using a first instance of the record matching formula comprising the field value weight; calculating a revised field value weight, the revised field value weight reflecting a likelihood that an arbitrary entity representation in the database comprises a field value, in the selected field of a record in the arbitrary entity representation, that lies within the distance of the particular field value as determined by the symmetric and reflexive function; linking at least two entity representations in the database based on a second instance of the record matching formula, wherein the second instance of the record matching formula comprises the revised field value weight, whereby a number of entity representations in the database is reduced by the linking at least two entity representations relative to a number of entity representations in the database prior to the linking at least two entity representations; and retrieving information from at least one record in the database.