Applications of superimposed coding to partial-match retrieval

Experimental information-retrieval systems for telephone directory assistance and for filing office correspondence utilizing a superimposed-coded partial-match-retrieval scheme have been implemented. This extended-hash-code methodology permits the integration into the system of such user-oriented features as overlapping the query input and database search processes to give rapid apparent response, continual feedback to the user of the progress of the search, and abbreviation of keys by truncation. Simple coding and retrieval logic allow updating and rapid response to be achieved easily in either software or hardware realizations. The flexibility of the technique offers special advantages when casual users with fragmentary and ill-formulated queries need to approach a computerized information-retrieval system.