Indexing to efficiently support fuzzy queries on range specifications

Range specifications, such as the temperature operating range of an electrical circuit component, are widely used in the process of component selection. This paper proposes a method to index such specifications in a fuzzy query database system which supports a search engine for component selection and which performs efficient and accurate queries. We discuss the rationale for range specifications, fuzzy queries, and reasons why commonly used spatial database indexing methods do not meet the requirements for queries on range specifications. We then describe a method to represent range specifications in the database and show that we can use this representation to efficiently and accurately perform queries. Queries involving indexed attributes can then be performed without exhaustively searching the entire database