A visual language compiler for information retrieval by visual reasoning

When a database increases in size, retrieving the data becomes a major problem. An approach based on data visualization and visual reasoning is described. The main idea is to transform the data objects and present sample data objects in a visual space. The user can use a visual language to incrementally formulate the information retrieval request in the visual space. A prototype system is described with the following features: (1) it is built on top of the SIL-ICON visual language compiler and therefore can be customized for different application domains; (2) it supports a fuzzy icon grammar to define reasonable visual sentences; (3) it incorporates a semantic model of the database for fuzzy visual query translation; and (4) it incorporates a VisualNet which stores the knowledge learned by the system in its interaction with the user so that the VisualReasoner can adapt its behavior