U.S. patent application number 16/172251 was filed with the patent office on 2020-04-30 for deduplication of points of interest (pois) from different sources.
The applicant listed for this patent is INTERNATIONAL BUSINESS MACHINES CORPORATION. Invention is credited to Changhua Sun, Zhi Hu Wang, Li Zhang, Shiwan Zhao.
Application Number | 20200137512 16/172251 |
Document ID | / |
Family ID | 70325688 |
Filed Date | 2020-04-30 |
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United States Patent
Application |
20200137512 |
Kind Code |
A1 |
Wang; Zhi Hu ; et
al. |
April 30, 2020 |
DEDUPLICATION OF POINTS OF INTEREST (POIS) FROM DIFFERENT
SOURCES
Abstract
Methods, systems, and computer program products relate to
deduplication of points of interest (POIs) from different sources.
In some embodiments, a method is disclosed. According to the
method, a first set of POIs are obtained from a first source and a
second set of POIs are obtained from a second source. The first set
of POIs are divided into a plurality of groups of POIs including a
first group of POIs. A second group of POIs to be matched with the
first group of POIs are determined from the second set of POIs.
Duplicated POIs are identified from the first and second sets of
POIs by matching the first group of POIs and the second group of
POIs. In other embodiments, a system and a computer program product
are disclosed.
Inventors: |
Wang; Zhi Hu; (Beijing,
CN) ; Zhang; Li; (Beijing, CN) ; Zhao;
Shiwan; (Beijing, CN) ; Sun; Changhua;
(Beijing, CN) |
|
Applicant: |
Name |
City |
State |
Country |
Type |
INTERNATIONAL BUSINESS MACHINES CORPORATION |
Armonk |
NY |
US |
|
|
Family ID: |
70325688 |
Appl. No.: |
16/172251 |
Filed: |
October 26, 2018 |
Current U.S.
Class: |
1/1 |
Current CPC
Class: |
G01C 21/3679 20130101;
G06F 16/907 20190101; H04L 67/10 20130101; H04W 4/021 20130101;
G06F 16/29 20190101; H04W 4/025 20130101; H04L 67/16 20130101; G06F
17/18 20130101 |
International
Class: |
H04W 4/021 20060101
H04W004/021; H04W 4/02 20060101 H04W004/02; G06F 17/18 20060101
G06F017/18; G06F 17/30 20060101 G06F017/30 |
Claims
1. A method comprising: obtaining, by one or more processors, a
first set of points of interest (POIs) from a first source and a
second set of POIs from a second source; dividing, by the one or
more processors, the first set of POIs into a plurality of groups
of POIs, the plurality of groups of POIs including a first group of
POIs; determining, by the one or more processors and from the
second set of POIs, a second group of POIs to be matched with the
first group of POIs; determining, by the one or more processors,
respective probabilities between POIs of the first group of POIs
and the second group of POIs; and identifying, by the one or more
processors, duplicated POIs from the first and second sets of POIs
by identifying a highest probability indicating that a first POI in
the first group of POIs matches a second POI in the second group of
POIs.
2. The method of claim 1, further comprising: in response to a
first POI in the first set of POIs and a second POI in the second
set of POIs being identified as duplicated POIs, merging the first
set of POIs and the second set of POIs into a third set of POIs,
such that the third set of POIs include one of the first and second
POIs.
3. The method of claim 1, wherein dividing the first set of POIs
into the plurality of groups of POIs comprises: determining, by the
one or more processors, a geographic area where the first set of
POIs are located; dividing, by the one or more processors, the
geographic area into a plurality of sub-areas based on at least one
of the following: a distribution of the first set of POIs in the
geographic area, types of the first set of POIs, or a predetermined
sub-area size; and selecting, by the one or more processors, a POI
located in one of the plurality of sub-areas into one of the
plurality of groups of POIs.
4. The method of claim 3, wherein determining the second group of
POIs comprises: in response to the first group of POIs being
located in a first sub-area from the plurality of sub-areas,
determining, by the one or more processors, a distance from a third
POI in the second set of POIs to the first sub-area; and in
response to the distance being below a predetermined threshold,
selecting, by the one or more processors, the third POI into the
second group of POIs.
5. The method of claim 1, further comprising: determining, by the
one or more processors, a plurality of mappings between the first
group of POIs and the second group of POIs, wherein the respective
probabilities are determined for the plurality of mappings; and
identifying the first and second POIs as duplicated POIs is in
response to one of the plurality of mappings having the highest
probability.
6. The method of claim 5, wherein determining respective
probabilities for the plurality of mappings comprises: determining,
by the one or more processors, similarities between the first group
of POIs and the second group of POIs; and determining, by the one
or more processors and based on the similarities, a probability for
one of the plurality of mappings.
7. The method of claim 6, wherein determining similarities between
the first group of POIs and the second group of POIs comprises:
determining, by the one or more processors, a first similarity
between a first feature of a fourth POI in the first group of POIs
and the first feature of a fifth POI in the second group of POIs;
determining, by the one or more processors, a second similarity
between a second feature of the fourth POI and the second feature
of the fifth POI; and determining, by the one or more processors, a
similarity between the fourth POI and the fifth POI by weighting
the first similarity and the second similarity.
8. The method of claim 7, wherein each of the first feature and the
second feature includes one of a spatial feature and a text
feature.
9. The method of claim 2, wherein merging the first set of POIs and
the second set of POIs into the third set of POIs comprises:
comparing, by the one or more processors, first data quality of the
first source and second data quality of the second source; and in
response to the first data quality exceeding the second data
quality, causing, by the one or more processors, the third set of
POIs to include the first POI while excluding the second POI.
10. A system comprising: a processing unit; and a memory coupled to
the processing unit and storing instructions thereon, the
instructions, when executed by the processing unit, perform actions
comprising: obtaining a first set of points of interest (POIs) from
a first source and a second set of POIs from a second source;
dividing the first set of POIs into a plurality of groups of POIs,
the plurality of groups of POIs including a first group of POIs;
determining, from the second set of POIs, a second group of POIs to
be matched with the first group of POIs; determining respective
probabilities between POIs of the first group of POIs and the
second group of POIs; and identifying duplicated POIs from the
first and second sets of POIs by identifying a highest probability
indicating that a first POI in the first group of POIs matches a
second POI in the second group of POIs.
11. The system of claim 10, wherein the actions further comprise:
in response to a first POI in the first set of POIs and a second
POI in the second set of POIs being identified as duplicated POIs,
merging the first set of POIs and the second set of POIs into a
third set of POIs, such that the third set of POIs include one of
the first and second POIs.
12. The system of claim 10, wherein dividing the first set of POIs
into the plurality of groups of POIs comprises: determining a
geographic area where the first set of POIs are located; dividing
the geographic area into a plurality of sub-areas based on at least
one of the following: a distribution of the first set of POIs in
the geographic area, types of the first set of POIs, or a
predetermined sub-area size; and selecting a POI located in one of
the plurality of sub-areas into one of the plurality of groups of
POIs.
13. The system of claim 12, wherein determining the second group of
POIs comprises: in response to the first group of POIs being
located in a first sub-area from the plurality of sub-areas,
determining a distance from a third POI in the second set of POIs
to the first sub-area; and in response to the distance being below
a predetermined threshold, selecting the third POI into the second
group of POIs.
14. The system of claim 10, further comprising: determining a
plurality of mappings between the first group of POIs and the
second group of POIs, wherein the respective probabilities are
determined for the plurality of mappings; and identifying the first
and second POIs as duplicated POIs is in response to one of the
plurality of mappings having the highest probability.
15. The system of claim 14, wherein determining respective
probabilities for the plurality of mappings comprises: determining
similarities between the first group of POIs and the second group
of POIs; and determining, based on the similarities, a probability
for one of the plurality of mappings.
16. The system of claim 15, wherein determining similarities
between the first group of POIs and the second group of POIs
comprises: determining a first similarity between a first feature
of a fourth POI in the first group of POIs and the first feature of
a fifth POI in the second group of POIs; determining a second
similarity between a second feature of the fourth POI and the
second feature of the fifth POI; and determining a similarity
between the fourth POI and the fifth POI by weighting the first
similarity and the second similarity.
17. The system of claim 16, wherein each of the first feature and
the second feature includes one of a spatial feature and a text
feature.
18. The system of claim 11, wherein merging the first set of POIs
and the second set of POIs into the third set of POIs comprises:
comparing first data quality of the first source and second data
quality of the second source; and in response to the first data
quality exceeding the second data quality, causing the third set of
POIs to include the first POI while excluding the second POI.
19. A computer program product being tangibly stored on a
non-transient machine-readable medium and comprising
machine-executable instructions, the instruction, when executed on
a device, causing the device to perform acts comprising: obtaining
a first set of points of interest (POIs) from a first source and a
second set of POIs from a second source; dividing the first set of
POIs into a plurality of groups of POIs, the plurality of groups of
POIs including a first group of POIs; determining, from the second
set of POIs, a second group of POIs to be matched with the first
group of POIs; determining, by the one or more processors,
respective probabilities between POIs of the first group of POIs
and the second group of POIs; and identifying duplicated POIs from
the first and second sets of POIs by identifying a highest
probability indicating that a first POI in the first group of POIs
matches a second POI in the second group of POIs.
20. The computer program product of claim 19, wherein the actions
further comprise: in response to a first POI in the first set of
POIs and a second POI in the second set of POIs being identified as
duplicated POIs, merging the first set of POIs and the second set
of POIs into a third set of POIs, such that the third set of POIs
include one of the first and second POIs.
Description
BACKGROUND
Technical Field
[0001] The present disclosure generally relates to deduplication of
points of interest (POIs), and more specifically, to methods,
systems, and computer program products for deduplication of POIs
from different sources.
Description of the Related Art
[0002] POIs refer to geographic locations which might be of
interest for some users, such as public transport facilities,
hotels, restaurants, gas stations, hospitals and so on. Typically,
information about POIs can be gathered by surveyors using
sophisticated surveying instruments. Since information gathering
with respect to POIs is resource consuming, a service provider may
usually obtain information about POIs from different sources and
integrate the POI information originating from different sources
for use. However, the POI information from different sources may
have different data precision. For example, different POIs
describing the same physical geographic location might exist, and
thus need to be deduplicated
SUMMARY
[0003] In a first aspect, embodiments of the present disclosure
provide a method. According to the method, a first set of POIs are
obtained from a first source and a second set of POIs are obtained
from a second source. The first set of POIs are divided into a
plurality of groups of POIs including a first group of POIs. A
second group of POIs to be matched with the first group of POIs are
determined from the second set of POIs. Duplicated POIs are
identified from the first and second sets of POIs by matching the
first group of POIs and the second group of POIs.
[0004] In a second aspect, embodiments of the present disclosure
provide a system. The system includes a processing unit and a
memory coupled to the processing unit. The memory stores
instructions that, when executed by the processing unit, perform
actions comprising: obtaining a first set of points of interest
(POIs) from a first source and a second set of POIs from a second
source; dividing the first set of POIs into a plurality of groups
of POIs, the plurality of groups of POIs including a first group of
POIs; determining, from the second set of POIs, a second group of
POIs to be matched with the first group of POIs; and identifying
duplicated POIs from the first and second sets of POIs by matching
the first group of POIs and the second group of POIs.
[0005] In a third aspect, embodiments of the present disclosure
provide a computer program product. The computer program product is
tangibly stored on non-transient machine-readable medium and
includes machine-executable instructions. The machine-executable
instructions, when executed on a device, cause the device to
perform acts including: obtaining a first set of points of interest
(POIs) from a first source and a second set of POIs from a second
source; dividing the first set of POIs into a plurality of groups
of POIs, the plurality of groups of POIs including a first group of
POIs; determining, from the second set of POIs, a second group of
POIs to be matched with the first group of POIs; and identifying
duplicated POIs from the first and second sets of POIs by matching
the first group of POIs and the second group of POIs.
[0006] It is to be understood that the summary is not intended to
identify key or essential features of embodiments of the present
invention, nor is it intended to be used to limit the scope of the
present embodiment. Other features of the present embodiment will
become easily comprehensible through the description below.
BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS
[0007] Through the more detailed description of some embodiments of
the present embodiment in the accompanying drawings, the above and
other objects, features and advantages of the present embodiment
will become more apparent.
[0008] FIG. 1 depicts a cloud computing node according to an
embodiment of the present invention;
[0009] FIG. 2 depicts a cloud computing environment according to an
embodiment of the present invention;
[0010] FIG. 3 depicts abstraction model layers according to an
embodiment of the present invention;
[0011] FIG. 4 depicts an example diagram of POIs from two different
sources according to embodiments of the present invention;
[0012] FIG. 5 depicts an example environment in which embodiments
of the present invention may be implemented;
[0013] FIG. 6 depicts an example flowchart of a method for
deduplicating POIs from different sources according to embodiments
of the present invention;
[0014] FIG. 7 depicts an example diagram for determining a second
group of POIs from the second source to be matched with a first
group of POIs from the first source according to embodiments of the
present invention;
[0015] FIG. 8 depicts an example diagram for determining a
similarity between two POIs according to embodiments of the present
invention;
[0016] FIG. 9 depicts an example diagram for determining a
similarity between two POI addresses according to embodiments of
the present invention;
[0017] FIG. 10 depicts an example diagram of matrices for recording
the determined similarities according to embodiments of the present
invention;
[0018] FIG. 11 depicts an example flowchart of a method for
identifying duplicated POIs according to embodiments of the present
invention; and
[0019] FIG. 12 depicts an example diagram of a plurality of
mappings between the first group of POIs and the second group of
POIs according to embodiments of the present invention; and
[0020] FIG. 13 depicts an example diagram of a result of POI
deduplication according to embodiments of the present
invention.
[0021] Throughout the drawings, same or similar reference numerals
represent the same or similar elements.
DETAILED DESCRIPTION
[0022] Some embodiments will be described in more detail with
reference to the accompanying drawings, in which the embodiments of
the present disclosure have been illustrated. However, the present
disclosure can be implemented in various manners, and thus should
not be construed to be limited to the embodiments disclosed
herein.
[0023] It is to be understood that although this disclosure
includes a detailed description on cloud computing, implementation
of the teachings recited herein are not limited to a cloud
computing environment. Rather, embodiments of the present invention
are capable of being implemented in conjunction with any other type
of computing environment now known or later developed.
[0024] Cloud computing is a model of service delivery for enabling
convenient, on-demand network access to a shared pool of
configurable computing resources (e.g., networks, network
bandwidth, servers, processing, memory, storage, applications,
virtual machines, and services) that can be rapidly provisioned and
released with minimal management effort or interaction with a
provider of the service. This cloud model may include at least five
characteristics, at least three service models, and at least four
deployment models.
[0025] Characteristics are as Follows:
[0026] On-demand self-service: a cloud consumer can unilaterally
provision computing capabilities, such as server time and network
storage, as needed automatically without requiring human
interaction with the service's provider.
[0027] Broad network access: capabilities are available over a
network and accessed through standard mechanisms that promote use
by heterogeneous thin or thick client platforms (e.g., mobile
phones, laptops, and PDAs).
[0028] Resource pooling: the provider's computing resources are
pooled to serve multiple consumers using a multi-tenant model, with
different physical and virtual resources dynamically assigned and
reassigned according to demand. There is a sense of location
independence in that the consumer generally has no control or
knowledge over the exact location of the provided resources but may
be able to specify location at a higher level of abstraction (e.g.,
country, state, or datacenter).
[0029] Rapid elasticity: capabilities can be rapidly and
elastically provisioned, in some cases automatically, to quickly
scale out and rapidly released to quickly scale in. To the
consumer, the capabilities available for provisioning often appear
to be unlimited and can be purchased in any quantity at any
time.
[0030] Measured service: cloud systems automatically control and
optimize resource use by leveraging a metering capability at some
level of abstraction appropriate to the type of service (e.g.,
storage, processing, bandwidth, and active user accounts). Resource
usage can be monitored, controlled, and reported providing
transparency for both the provider and consumer of the utilized
service.
[0031] Service Models are as Follows:
[0032] Software as a Service (SaaS): the capability provided to the
consumer is to use the provider's applications running on a cloud
infrastructure. The applications are accessible from various client
devices through a thin client interface such as a web browser
(e.g., web-based e-mail). The consumer does not manage or control
the underlying cloud infrastructure including network, servers,
operating systems, storage, or even individual application
capabilities, with the possible exception of limited user-specific
application configuration settings.
[0033] Platform as a Service (PaaS): the capability provided to the
consumer is to deploy onto the cloud infrastructure
consumer-created or acquired applications created using programming
languages and tools supported by the provider. The consumer does
not manage or control the underlying cloud infrastructure including
networks, servers, operating systems, or storage, but has control
over the deployed applications and possibly application hosting
environment configurations.
[0034] Infrastructure as a Service (IaaS): the capability provided
to the consumer is to provision processing, storage, networks, and
other fundamental computing resources where the consumer is able to
deploy and run arbitrary software, which can include operating
systems and applications. The consumer does not manage or control
the underlying cloud infrastructure but has control over operating
systems, storage, deployed applications, and possibly limited
control of select networking components (e.g., host firewalls).
[0035] Deployment Models are as Follows:
[0036] Private cloud: the cloud infrastructure is operated solely
for an organization. It may be managed by the organization or a
third party and may exist on-premises or off-premises.
[0037] Community cloud: the cloud infrastructure is shared by
several organizations and supports a specific community that has
shared concerns (e.g., mission, security requirements, policy, and
compliance considerations). It may be managed by the organizations
or a third party and may exist on-premises or off-premises.
[0038] Public cloud: the cloud infrastructure is made available to
the general public or a large industry group and is owned by an
organization selling cloud services.
[0039] Hybrid cloud: the cloud infrastructure is a composition of
two or more clouds (private, community, or public) that remain
unique entities but are bound together by standardized or
proprietary technology that enables data and application
portability (e.g., cloud bursting for load-balancing between
clouds).
[0040] A cloud computing environment is service oriented with a
focus on statelessness, low coupling, modularity, and semantic
interoperability. At the heart of cloud computing is an
infrastructure that includes a network of interconnected nodes.
[0041] Referring now to FIG. 1, a schematic of an example of a
cloud computing node is shown. Cloud computing node 10 is only one
example of a suitable cloud computing node and is not intended to
suggest any limitation as to the scope of use or functionality of
embodiments of the invention described herein. Regardless, cloud
computing node 10 is capable of being implemented and/or performing
any of the functionality set forth hereinabove.
[0042] In cloud computing node 10 there is a computer system/server
12 or a portable electronic device such as a communication device,
which is operational with numerous other general purpose or special
purpose computing system environments or configurations. Examples
of well-known computing systems, environments, and/or
configurations that may be suitable for use with computer
system/server 12 include, but are not limited to, personal computer
systems, server computer systems, thin clients, thick clients,
hand-held or laptop devices, multiprocessor systems,
microprocessor-based systems, set top boxes, programmable consumer
electronics, network PCs, minicomputer systems, mainframe computer
systems, and distributed cloud computing environments that include
any of the above systems or devices, and the like.
[0043] Computer system/server 12 may be described in the general
context of computer system-executable instructions, such as program
modules, being executed by a computer system. Generally, program
modules may include routines, programs, objects, components, logic,
data structures, and so on that perform particular tasks or
implement particular abstract data types. Computer system/server 12
may be practiced in distributed cloud computing environments where
tasks are performed by remote processing devices that are linked
through a communications network. In a distributed cloud computing
environment, program modules may be located in both local and
remote computer system storage media including memory storage
devices.
[0044] As shown in FIG. 1, computer system/server 12 in cloud
computing node 10 is shown in the form of a general-purpose
computing device. The components of computer system/server 12 may
include, but are not limited to, one or more processors or
processing units 16, a system memory 28, and a bus 18 that couples
various system components including system memory 28 to processor
16.
[0045] Bus 18 represents one or more of any of several types of bus
structures, including a memory bus or memory controller, a
peripheral bus, an accelerated graphics port, and a processor or
local bus using any of a variety of bus architectures. By way of
example, and not limitation, such architectures include Industry
Standard Architecture (ISA) bus, Micro Channel Architecture (MCA)
bus, Enhanced ISA (EISA) bus, Video Electronics Standards
Association (VESA) local bus, and Peripheral Component Interconnect
(PCI) bus.
[0046] Computer system/server 12 typically includes a variety of
computer system readable media. Such media may be any available
media that is accessible by computer system/server 12, and it
includes both volatile and non-volatile media, removable and
non-removable media.
[0047] System memory 28 can include computer system readable media
in the form of volatile memory, such as random access memory (RAM)
30 and/or cache memory 32. Computer system/server 12 may further
include other removable/non-removable, volatile/non-volatile
computer system storage media. By way of example only, storage
system 34 can be provided for reading from and writing to a
non-removable, non-volatile magnetic media (not shown and typically
called a "hard drive"). Although not shown, a magnetic disk drive
for reading from and writing to a removable, non-volatile magnetic
disk (e.g., a "floppy disk"), and an optical disk drive for reading
from or writing to a removable, non-volatile optical disk such as a
CD-ROM, DVD-ROM or other optical media can be provided. In such
instances, each can be connected to bus 18 by one or more data
media interfaces. As will be further depicted and described below,
memory 28 may include at least one program product having a set
(e.g., at least one) of program modules that are configured to
carry out the functions of embodiments of the invention.
[0048] Program/utility 40, having a set (at least one) of program
modules 42, may be stored in memory 28 by way of example, and not
limitation, as well as an operating system, one or more application
programs, other program modules, and program data. Each of the
operating system, one or more application programs, other program
modules, and program data or some combination thereof, may include
an implementation of a networking environment. Program modules 42
generally carry out the functions and/or methodologies of
embodiments of the invention as described herein.
[0049] Computer system/server 12 may also communicate with one or
more external devices 14 such as a keyboard, a pointing device, a
display 24, etc.; one or more devices that enable a user to
interact with computer system/server 12; and/or any devices (e.g.,
network card, modem, etc.) that enable computer system/server 12 to
communicate with one or more other computing devices. Such
communication can occur via Input/Output (I/O) interfaces 22. Still
yet, computer system/server 12 can communicate with one or more
networks such as a local area network (LAN), a general wide area
network (WAN), and/or a public network (e.g., the Internet) via
network adapter 20. As depicted, network adapter 20 communicates
with the other components of computer system/server 12 via bus 18.
It should be understood that although not shown, other hardware
and/or software components could be used in conjunction with
computer system/server 12. Examples, include, but are not limited
to: microcode, device drivers, redundant processing units, external
disk drive arrays, RAID systems, tape drives, and data archival
storage systems, etc.
[0050] Referring now to FIG. 2, illustrative cloud computing
environment 50 is depicted. As shown, cloud computing environment
50 includes one or more cloud computing nodes 10 with which local
computing devices used by cloud consumers, such as, for example,
personal digital assistant (PDA) or cellular telephone 54A, desktop
computer 54B, laptop computer 54C, and/or automobile computer
system 54N may communicate. Nodes 10 may communicate with one
another. They may be grouped (not shown) physically or virtually,
in one or more networks, such as Private, Community, Public, or
Hybrid clouds as described hereinabove, or a combination thereof.
This allows cloud computing environment 50 to offer infrastructure,
platforms and/or software as services for which a cloud consumer
does not need to maintain resources on a local computing device. It
is understood that the types of computing devices 54A-N shown in
FIG. 2 are intended to be illustrative only and that computing
nodes 10 and cloud computing environment 50 can communicate with
any type of computerized device over any type of network and/or
network addressable connection (e.g., using a web browser).
[0051] Referring now to FIG. 3, a set of functional abstraction
layers provided by cloud computing environment 50 (FIG. 2) is
shown. It should be understood in advance that the components,
layers, and functions shown in FIG. 3 are intended to be
illustrative only and embodiments of the invention are not limited
thereto. As depicted, the following layers and corresponding
functions are provided:
[0052] Hardware and software layer 60 includes hardware and
software components. Examples of hardware components include:
mainframes 61; RISC (Reduced Instruction Set Computer) architecture
based servers 62; servers 63; blade servers 64; storage devices 65;
and networks and networking components 66. In some embodiments,
software components include network application server software 67
and database software 68.
[0053] Virtualization layer 70 provides an abstraction layer from
which the following examples of virtual entities may be provided:
virtual servers 71; virtual storage 72; virtual networks 73,
including virtual private networks; virtual applications and
operating systems 74; and virtual clients 75.
[0054] In one example, management layer 80 may provide the
functions described below. Resource provisioning 81 provides
dynamic procurement of computing resources and other resources that
are utilized to perform tasks within the cloud computing
environment. Metering and Pricing 82 provide cost tracking as
resources are utilized within the cloud computing environment, and
billing or invoicing for consumption of these resources. In one
example, these resources may include application software licenses.
Security provides identity verification for cloud consumers and
tasks, as well as protection for data and other resources. User
portal 83 provides access to the cloud computing environment for
consumers and system administrators. Service level management 84
provides cloud computing resource allocation and management such
that required service levels are met. Service Level Agreement (SLA)
planning and fulfillment 85 provide pre-arrangement for, and
procurement of, cloud computing resources for which a future
requirement is anticipated in accordance with an SLA.
[0055] Workloads layer 90 provides examples of functionality for
which the cloud computing environment may be utilized. Examples of
workloads and functions which may be provided from this layer
include: mapping and navigation 91; software development and
lifecycle management 92; virtual classroom education delivery 93;
data analytics processing 94; transaction processing 95; and
deduplication processing 96. Hereinafter, reference will be made to
FIG. 4 to FIG. 12 to describe details of the deduplication
processing 96.
[0056] As described above, a service provider or POI integration
provider may capture POIs from different sources, which might
include duplicated POIs. FIG. 4 depicts an example diagram 400 of
POIs from two different sources according to some embodiments of
the present invention. In FIG. 4, POIs from two different sources
are projected and displayed on a same map for the purpose of
explanation. As shown in FIG. 4, a first set of POIs 410-1 and
410-2 (collectively referred to as POIs 410) may be obtained from a
first source. A second set of POIs 420-1, 420-2 . . . 420-5
(collectively referred to as POIs 420) may be obtained from a
second source, which is different from the first source. The POI
information obtained from the first and second sources may have
different data precision, and thus there may be duplicated POIs in
the first and second sets of POIs. For example, in FIG. 4, although
the POI 420-1 from the second source and the POI 410-1 from the
first source are separated by a street, they might refer to a same
physical geographic location, such as, a big park or parking lot.
Such duplicated POIs should be avoided as they could harm the data
quality and integrity.
[0057] Traditionally, duplicated POIs from different sources can be
identified by comparing their respective features, such as,
locations, names, addresses, types and business hours. For example,
in the example as shown in FIG. 4, duplicated POIs can be
identified by comparing features of each of the first set of POIs
410 with features of each of the second set of POIs 420, and then
deduplicated. However, in some cases, the number of POIs from
different sources may be huge, and thus the above solution might be
inefficient and time consuming.
[0058] In order to at least partially solve the above and other
potential problems, embodiments of the present invention provide a
new solution for deduplicating POIs from different sources. The
solution splits the global POI matching among different sources
into multiple parallel groups, so as to narrow the search space for
duplicated POIs. In this way, the solution can greatly improve the
efficiency of POI deduplication, and reduce the computing overhead
thereof.
[0059] FIG. 5 depicts an example environment 500 in which
embodiments of the present invention can be implemented. As shown
in FIG. 5, the environment 500 includes a deduplication processing
system 530. For example, the deduplication processing system 530
could be implemented by computer system/server 12 of FIG. 1. In
some embodiments, the deduplication processing system 530 may
obtain the first set of POIs 410 from a first source 510 and obtain
the second set of POIs 420 from a second source 520. In some
embodiments, the first source 510 and the second source 520 may be
different. For example, the first source may be a specialized POI
provider, which may provide a small number of POIs with relatively
high precision. The second source may be a common POI provider (for
example, an online ordering website), which may provide a large
number of POIs with relatively low precision. Although two sources
are shown in the environment 500, it is to be understood that this
is merely for the purpose of illustration, without suggesting any
limitation to the present invention. Embodiments of the present
invention can be applied to another environment with more than two
sources.
[0060] In some embodiments, the deduplication processing system 530
may divide the first set of POIs 410 from the first source into a
plurality of groups. For each of the plurality of groups divided
from the first set of POIs 410, the deduplication processing system
530 may determine, from the second set of POIs 420, a respective
group of POIs to be matched with the first group of POIs. Then, the
deduplication processing system 530 may match each of the plurality
of groups divided from the first set of POIs 410 and a respective
group of POIs from the second set of POIs 420 to identify
duplicated POIs. The deduplication processing system 530 may
integrate the first set of POIs and the second set of POIs into a
third set of POIs 540. For example, if it is determined that a
first POI in the first set of POIs 410 matches a second POI in the
second set of POIs 420, the deduplication processing system 530 may
cause the third set of POIs 540 to include one of the first and
second POIs.
[0061] FIG. 6 depicts an example flowchart of a method 600 for
deduplicating POIs from different sources according to some
embodiments of the present invention. The method 600 will be
described in connection with the environment 500 shown in FIG. 5.
For example, the method 600 may be performed by the deduplication
processing system 530. It is to be understood that the method 600
may include additional blocks not shown and/or may omit some blocks
as shown, and the scope of the present invention is not limited in
this regard.
[0062] At block 610, the deduplication processing system 530
obtains a first set of POIs from a first source and a second set of
POIs from a second source. In some embodiments, the first set of
POIs and the second set of POIs may be located in a same geographic
area, such as, a city, a certain district in a city or any other
geographic area. Alternatively, in some embodiments, the first set
of POIs may be located in a first geographic area and the second
set of POIs may be located in a second geographic area that is
overlapped with the first geographic area. Alternatively, in other
embodiments, the first geographic area where the first set of POIs
are located and the second geographic area where the second set of
POIs are located may be separated from each other, but a distance
between the two geographic areas (such as, the minimum distance
between respective boundaries of the two geographic areas) may not
exceed a predetermined threshold.
[0063] In some embodiments, the deduplication processing system 530
may obtain first information on the first set of POIs 410 from the
first source 510. For example, the first information may describe
features of the first set of POIs 410. In some embodiments, the
features of a POI may include at least one of the following:
spatial features, such as latitude, longitude and the like; text
features, such as name, address and the like; and/or additional
features, such as POI type (e.g., park, hotel, restaurant, gas
station, hospital, over ground or underground, and the like),
business hour and so on. In some embodiments, the first source 510
may be a specialized POI provider, which may provide a small number
of POIs with relatively high precision. Additionally, the
deduplication processing system 530 may obtain second information
on the second set of POIs 420 from the second source 520. For
example, the second information may describe features of the second
set of POIs 420, including spatial features like latitudes and
longitudes, text features like names and addresses, and additional
features such as POI types, business hours and so on. In some
embodiments, the second source 520 may be a common POI provider
(such as an online order website), which may provide a large number
of POIs with relatively low precision.
[0064] At block 620, the deduplication processing system 530
divides the first set of POIs into a plurality of groups of POIs.
In some embodiments, the deduplication processing system 530 may
compare the first number of POIs in the first set of POIs with the
second number of POIs in the second set of POIs. In response to the
first number being below the second number, the deduplication
processing system 530 may divide the first set of POIs into a
plurality of groups. Alternatively, or in addition, in some
embodiments, in order to divide the first set of POIs into a
plurality of groups, the deduplication processing system 530 may
divide the geographic area where the first set of POIs are located
into a plurality of sub-areas. Then, the deduplication processing
system 530 may select POIs located in one of the plurality of
sub-areas into a corresponding one of the plurality of groups of
POIs.
[0065] Each of the plurality of sub-areas may correspond to a
respective search space for duplicated POIs. Therefore, it is
desired that each sub-area can have a suitable size. If the
sub-area is too large, the corresponding search space may involve
too many POIs, and thus the searching for duplicated POIs in this
search space could be inefficient and time consuming. If the
sub-area is too small, the corresponding search space may not
involve enough POIs to identify duplicated POIs.
[0066] In some embodiments, the deduplication processing system 530
may divide the geographic area into a plurality of sub-areas based
on a spatial distribution of the first set of POIs in the
geographic area. Alternatively, or in addition, in some
embodiments, the deduplication processing system 530 may divide the
geographic area into a plurality of sub-areas based on types of the
first set of POIs. For example, a park may usually involve a larger
area than a gas station, and thus a sub-area including the park may
be larger than another sub-area including the gas station.
Alternatively, or in addition, in some embodiments, the
deduplication processing system 530 may divide the geographic area
into a plurality of sub-areas based on a predetermined range of
sub-area sizes. For example, the radius of each sub-area should be
within a scope of 2-5 kilometers. Further, the plurality of
sub-areas may have a same size or different sizes, and/or have a
same shape or different shapes. In this way, suitable search spaces
for duplicated POIs can be achieved.
[0067] At block 630, the deduplication processing system 530
determines, from the second set of POIs 420, a group of POIs (also
referred to as second group of POIs in the following) to be matched
with one of the plurality of groups (also referred to as first
group of POIs in the following) divided from the first set of POIs
410. For example, the first group of POIs may be located in a first
sub-area from the plurality of sub-areas divided from the
geographic area. In some embodiments, the deduplication processing
system 530 may select, from the second set of POIs 420, the second
group of POIs based on the first sub-area.
[0068] FIG. 7 depicts an example diagram 700 for determining a
group of POIs from the second set of POIs to be matched with a
corresponding group of POIs from the first set of POIs according to
some embodiments of the present invention. As shown in FIG. 7, the
first set of POIs 410 is divided into two groups by the
deduplication processing system 530. One group includes the POI
410-1 located in a sub-area 710-1 and another group includes the
POI 410-2 located in a sub-area 710-2. Although the sub-areas 710-1
and 710-2 are both shown as circular, it is to be understood that
this is merely for the purpose of illustration, without suggesting
any limitations to the present invention. In some embodiments, the
sub-areas divided from the geometrical area can be of any shape,
such as rectangular or irregular shape. In the following
description, only for the purpose of explanation, the group
including the POI 410-1 will be taken as an example of the first
group of POIs, and the sub-area 710-1 will be taken as an example
of the first sub-area.
[0069] In some embodiments, in order to determine a group of POIs
(that is, the second group of POIs) from the second set of POIs 420
to be matched with the first group of POIs located in the sub-area
710-1, the deduplication processing system 530 may determine a
distance from a POI in the second set of POIs 420 to the first
sub-area 710-1. If the distance is below a predetermined threshold,
the deduplication processing system 530 may select this POI into
the second group of POIs. This predetermined threshold actually
defines a fault-tolerant buffer extended from the boundary of the
first sub-area, which is shown by 730 in FIG. 7. That is, the
deduplication processing system 530 can determine, based on the
sub-area 710-1 and the predetermined threshold 730, a sub-area
720-1 where the second group of POIs may be located. In this way,
the global POI matching among different sources can be split into
multiple groups, so as to narrow the search space for duplicated
POIs. In this way, the efficiency for searching duplicated POIs can
be increased. As shown in FIG. 7, the second group of POIs to be
matched with the POI 410-1 may include the POIs 420-1, 420-2, 420-3
and 420-5. Likewise, the deduplication processing system 530 may
further determine the POIs 420-4 and 420-5 located in the sub-area
720-2 to be matched with the POI 410-2.
[0070] With reference back to FIG. 6, the method 600 proceeds to
block 640, where the deduplication processing system 530 identifies
duplicated POIs from the first set of POIs 410 and the second set
of POIs 420 by matching the first group of POIs and the second
group of POIs. In some embodiments, the deduplication processing
system 530 may match the first group of POIs and the second group
of POIs to determine duplicated POIs. For example, if it is
determined that a first POI from the first group of POIs matches a
second POI from the second group of POIs, the deduplication
processing system 530 may identify the first and second POIs as
duplicated POIs.
[0071] In some embodiments, the deduplication processing system 530
may determine a similarity between each of the first group of POIs
and each of the second group of POIs. The determined similarities
between the first group of POIs and the second group of POIs can be
used to identify duplicated POIs.
[0072] FIG. 8 depicts an example diagram 800 for determining a
similarity between two POIs according to some embodiments of the
present invention. Two POIs 810 and 820 are shown in FIG. 8. For
example, the POI 810 may come from the first group of POIs, and the
POI 820 may come from the second group of POIs. As shown in FIG. 8,
each of the POIs 810 and 820 may be associated with a group of
features 830-1, 830-2 . . . 830-N (individually referred to as
feature 830 or collectively referred to as features 830, where N is
a nature number). Each of the features 830 may be one of the
following: spatial feature (such as, latitude and longitude), text
feature (such as, name, address or the like) or any other
feature.
[0073] In some embodiments, the deduplication processing system 530
may determine a similarity 840-1 between the feature 830-1 of the
POI 810 and that of the POI 820, a similarity 840-2 between the
feature 830-2 of the POI 810 and that of the POI 820, . . . and a
similarity 840-N between the feature 830-N of the POI 810 and that
of the POI 820, respectively. For example, the feature 830-1 may
represent a spatial feature, such as a position represented by
latitude and longitude. In some embodiments, the deduplication
processing system 530 may determine the similarity 840-1 by
determining an Euclid distance between positions of the POI 810 and
the POI 820. For example, the feature 830-2 may represent a text
feature, such as name or address represented by a text string. In
some embodiments, the deduplication processing system 530 may
utilize semantic analysis to determine the similarity 840-2.
Hereafter, reference will be made to FIG. 9 to explain details
about how to determine the similarity between two text features.
Only for the purpose of explanation, in FIG. 9, POI address will be
taken as an example of the text feature.
[0074] FIG. 9 depicts an example diagram 900 for determining a
similarity between two POI addresses according to some embodiments
of the present invention. Two POI addresses 910 and 920 are shown
in FIG. 9, each of which may be represented as a text string. In
some embodiments, the deduplication processing system 530 may
preform segmentation on the text string 910 to determine a group of
semantic units included in the text string 910, such as province,
city, district, street, . . . and house number as shown in FIG. 9.
Likewise, the deduplication processing system 530 may also perform
segmentation on the text string 920 to determine a same group of
semantic units included in the text string 920. In some cases, the
semantic units included in the text string 910 and those included
in the text string 920 may be different. For example, the district
may be absent in the text string 910, while the city may be absent
in the text string 920. In this case, the deduplication processing
system 530 may attempt to infer the absent semantic units. For
example, according to the street and the house number included in
the text string 910, the deduplication processing system 530 may
infer the district indicated by the POI address 910. According to
the district and the street included in the text string 920, the
deduplication processing system 530 may infer the city indicated by
the POI address 920.
[0075] In some embodiments, the deduplication processing system 530
may determine a group of match degrees 930-1, 930-2 . . . 930-N
(collectively referred to as match degrees 930) by comparing the
semantic units of the POI address 910 and those of the POI address
920. Then, the deduplication process system 530 may determine a
similarity 950 between the POI address 910 and the POI address 920
by weighting the match degrees 930 as the following equation
(1):
S=.SIGMA..sub.k=0.sup.n(w.sub.km.sub.k)/n (1)
where S represent the similarity 950, n represents the total number
of match degrees 930, k represents an index of summation, m.sub.k
represents the match degree 930-k and w.sub.k represent a weight to
be applied to the match degree 930-k.
[0076] In this way, the deduplication processing system 530 can
determine similarities between the first group of POIs and the
second group of POIs with respect to different features.
Additionally, in some embodiments, the deduplication process system
530 may utilize matrices to record the determined similarities.
[0077] FIG. 10 depicts an example diagram of matrices for recording
the determined similarities according to some embodiments of the
present invention. Only for the purpose of illustration, in FIG.
10, it is assumed that the first group of POIs from the first
source include 4 POIs, which are represented as POI_1_1, POI_1_2,
POI_1_3 and POI_1_4; while the second group of POIs from the second
source include 4 POIs, which are represented as POI_2_1, POI_2_2,
POI_2_3 and POI_2_4. A plurality of matrices 1010-1 to 1010-N
(collectively referred to as matrices 1010, where N is a natural
number) are shown in FIG. 10, each of which may record similarities
between the first group of POIs and the second group of POIs with
respect to one feature.
[0078] In some embodiments, the deduplication processing system 530
may further determine total similarities between the first group of
POIs and the second group of POIs based on the matrices 1010. For
example, the deduplication processing system 530 may determine a
matrix 1020 by weighting the matrices 1010 as the following
equation (2):
M=.SIGMA..sub.i=0.sup.n(W.sub.iN.sub.i) (2)
where M represents the matrix 1020, i represents an index of
summation, n represents the total number of matrices, N.sub.i
represents the matrix 1010-i and W.sub.i represents a weight to be
applied to the matrix 1010-i. The matrix 1020 can indicate the
total similarities between the first group of POIs and the second
group of POIs, which can be used by the deduplication process
system 530 to identify duplicated POIs from the first and second
groups of POIs.
[0079] FIG. 11 depicts an example flowchart of a method 1100 for
identifying duplicated POIs according to some embodiments of the
present invention. The method 1100 can be considered as an example
implementation of block 640 shown in FIG. 6. For example, the
method 1100 may be performed by the deduplication processing system
530. It is to be understood that the method 1100 may include
additional blocks not shown and/or may omit some blocks as shown,
and the scope of the present invention is not limited in this
regard.
[0080] At block 1110, the deduplication processing system 530
determines a plurality of mappings between the first group of POIs
and the second group of POIs. In some embodiments, one of the
plurality of mappings may indicate a matching relationship between
the first group of POIs and the second group of POIs. For example,
the deduplication processing system 530 may determine the plurality
of mappings based on various permutations of the first group of
POIs and the second group of POIs.
[0081] At block 1120, the deduplication processing system 530
determines respective probabilities for the plurality of mappings.
In some embodiments, the deduplication processing system 530 may
determine the probabilities for the plurality of mappings based on
the determined total similarities between the first group of POIs
and the second group of POIs as described above. Hereafter,
reference will be made to FIG. 12 to explain details about how to
determine the probabilities for the plurality of mappings.
[0082] FIG. 12 depicts an example diagram 1200 of the plurality of
mappings between the first group of POIs and the second group of
POIs and their probabilities according to embodiments of the
present disclosure. In the example as shown in FIG. 12, it is also
assumed that the first group of POIs from the first source include
4 POIs, which are represented as POI_1_1, POI_1_2, POI_1_3 and
POI_1_4, and the second group of POIs from the second source
include 4 POIs, which are represented as POI_2_1, POI_2_2, POI_2_3
and POI_2_4. A plurality of mappings 1210-1, 1210-2 . . . 1210-10
(collectively referred to as mappings 1210) between the first group
of POIs and the second group of POIs are determined and shown in
FIG. 12. Each of the mappings 1210 may indicate a matching
relationship between the first group of POIs and the second
POIs.
[0083] For example, as shown in FIG. 12, the mapping 1210-1 may
indicate the following matching relationship: POI_1_1 matching
POI_2_1 (represented as "POI_1_1=POI_2_1"), POI_1_2 matching
POI_2_2, POI_1_3 matching POI_2_3, and POI_1_4 matching POI_2_4. In
some embodiments, the probability for the mapping 1210-1 can be
determined based on the matrix 1020 shown in FIG. 10. For example,
the probability for the mapping 1210-1 can be represented as a sum
of a similarity between POI_1_1 and POI_2_1 (that is, "0.2"), a
similarity between POI_1_2 and POI_2_2 (that is, "0.01"), a
similarity between POI_1_3 and POI_2_3 (that is, "0.01") and a
similarity between POI_1_4 and POI_2_4 (that is, "0.74"). That is,
the probability for the mapping 1210-1 can be determined as 0.96.
In this way, respective probabilities of the plurality of mappings
can be determined as shown in FIG. 12.
[0084] With reference back to FIG. 11, the method 1100 proceeds to
block 1130. At block 1130, in response to one of the plurality of
mappings with the highest probability indicating that a first POI
in the first group of POIs matches a second POI in the second group
of POIs, the deduplication processing system 530 may identify the
first POI and the second POI as duplicated POIs.
[0085] In the example as shown in FIG. 12, it can be seen that, the
mapping 1210-9 is associated with the highest probability among the
plurality of mappings 1210. The mapping 1210-9 indicates the
following matching relationship: POI_1_1 matching POI_2_2, POI_1_2
matching POI_2_3, POI_1_3 matching POI_2_1, and POI_1_4 matching
POI_2_4. For example, in this case, the deduplication processing
system 530 may identify POI_1_1 and POI_2_2 as duplicated POIs,
identify POI_1_2 and POI_2_3 as duplicated POIs, identify POI_1_3
and POI_2_1 as duplicated POIs and identify POI_1_4 and POI_2_4 as
duplicated POIs.
[0086] In some cases, one POI from the second set of POIs may be
identified as a duplicate of more than one POIs from the first set
of POIs. For example, as shown in FIG. 7, the deduplication
processing system 530 may identify the POIs 420-5 and 410-1 as
duplicated POIs by matching the POIs 420-1, 420-2, 420-3 and 420-5
with the POI 410-1. In addition, the deduplication processing
system 530 may identify the POIs 420-5 and 410-2 as duplicated POIs
by matching the POIs 420-4 and 420-5 with the POI 410-2. In some
embodiments, in this event, the deduplication processing system 530
may further compare the similarity between the POI 420-5 and the
POI 410-1 and the similarity between the POI 420-5 and the POI
410-2 (such as, based on the similarity matrices), so as to
determine whether the POI 420-5 is a duplicate of the POI 410-1 or
a duplicate of the 410-2. If the similarity between the POI 420-5
and the POI 410-1 exceeds the similarity between the POI 420-5 and
the POI 410-2, the POI 420-5 will be considered as a duplicate of
the POI 410-1 instead of the POI 410-2.
[0087] With reference back to FIG. 6, the method 600 proceeds to
block 650. At block 650, in response to a first node in the first
set of POIs and a second node in the second set of POIs being
identified as duplicated POIs, the deduplication processing system
530 merges the first set of POIs and the second set of POIs into
the third set of POIs by causing the third set of POIs to include
one of the first and second POIs.
[0088] In some embodiments, the first source may be a specialized
POI provider, which may provide POIs with relatively high
precision. The second source may be a common POI provider, which
may provide POIs with relatively low precision. In this event, if
it is determined that the first POI and the second POI are
duplicated POIs, the deduplication processing system 530 may cause
the third set of POIs to include the first POI originating from the
first source, while excluding the second POI originating from the
second source.
[0089] For example, as shown in FIG. 7, the deduplication
processing system 530 may match the POIs 420-1, 420-2, 420-3 and
420-5 with the POI 410-1 to determine duplicated POIs. If it is
determined that one of the POIs 420-1, 420-2, 420-3 and 420-5 (for
example, the POI 420-2) matches the POI 410-1, the deduplication
processing system 530 may identify the POIs 420-2 and 410-1 as
duplicated POIs. Likewise, the deduplication processing system 530
may match the POIs 420-4 and 420-5 with the POI 410-2 to determine
duplicated POIs. If it is determined that one of the POIs 420-4 and
420-5 (for example, the POI 420-4) matches the POI 410-2, the
deduplication processing system 530 may identify the POIs 420-4 and
410-2 as duplicated POIs. Then, the deduplication processing system
530 may cause the third set of POIs 540 to include the POIs 410-1,
410-2, 420-1, 420-3 and 420-5, and exclude the POIs 420-2 and
420-4. An example diagram of the deduplication result may be shown
in FIG. 13.
[0090] It can be seen from the above descriptions that, embodiments
of the present invention provide a new solution for deduplicating
POIs from different sources. The solution splits the global POI
matching between different sources into multiple parallel groups,
so as to narrow the search space for duplicated POIs. In this way,
the solution can greatly improve the efficiency of POI
deduplication, and reduce the computing overhead thereof.
[0091] It should be noted that the processing of POI deduplication
(or achieved by the deduplication processing system 530) according
to embodiments of this invention could be implemented by computer
system/server 12 of FIG. 1.
[0092] The present invention may be a system, a method, and/or a
computer program product at any possible technical detail level of
integration. The computer program product may include a computer
readable storage medium (or media) having computer readable program
instructions thereon for causing a processor to carry out aspects
of the present invention.
[0093] The computer readable storage medium can be a tangible
device that can retain and store instructions for use by an
instruction execution device. The computer readable storage medium
may be, for example, but is not limited to, an electronic storage
device, a magnetic storage device, an optical storage device, an
electromagnetic storage device, a semiconductor storage device, or
any suitable combination of the foregoing. A non-exhaustive list of
more specific examples of the computer readable storage medium
includes the following: a portable computer diskette, a hard disk,
a random access memory (RAM), a read-only memory (ROM), an erasable
programmable read-only memory (EPROM or Flash memory), a static
random access memory (SRAM), a portable compact disc read-only
memory (CD-ROM), a digital versatile disk (DVD), a memory stick, a
floppy disk, a mechanically encoded device such as punch-cards or
raised structures in a groove having instructions recorded thereon,
and any suitable combination of the foregoing. A computer readable
storage medium, as used herein, is not to be construed as being
transitory signals per se, such as radio waves or other freely
propagating electromagnetic waves, electromagnetic waves
propagating through a waveguide or other transmission media (e.g.,
light pulses passing through a fiber-optic cable), or electrical
signals transmitted through a wire.
[0094] Computer readable program instructions described herein can
be downloaded to respective computing/processing devices from a
computer readable storage medium or to an external computer or
external storage device via a network, for example, the Internet, a
local area network, a wide area network and/or a wireless network.
The network may include copper transmission cables, optical
transmission fibers, wireless transmission, routers, firewalls,
switches, gateway computers and/or edge servers. A network adapter
card or network interface in each computing/processing device
receives computer readable program instructions from the network
and forwards the computer readable program instructions for storage
in a computer readable storage medium within the respective
computing/processing device.
[0095] Computer readable program instructions for carrying out
operations of the present invention may be assembler instructions,
instruction-set-architecture (ISA) instructions, machine
instructions, machine dependent instructions, microcode, firmware
instructions, state-setting data, configuration data for integrated
circuitry, or either source code or object code written in any
combination of one or more programming languages, including an
object oriented programming language such as Smalltalk, C++, or the
like, and procedural programming languages, such as the "C"
programming language or similar programming languages. The computer
readable program instructions may execute entirely on the user's
computer, partly on the user's computer, as a stand-alone software
package, partly on the user's computer and partly on a remote
computer or entirely on the remote computer or server. In the
latter scenario, the remote computer may be connected to the user's
computer through any type of network, including a local area
network (LAN) or a wide area network (WAN), or the connection may
be made to an external computer (for example, through the Internet
using an Internet Service Provider). In some embodiments,
electronic circuitry including, for example, programmable logic
circuitry, field-programmable gate arrays (FPGA), or programmable
logic arrays (PLA) may execute the computer readable program
instructions by utilizing state information of the computer
readable program instructions to personalize the electronic
circuitry, in order to perform aspects of the present
invention.
[0096] Aspects of the present invention are described herein with
reference to flowchart illustrations and/or block diagrams of
methods, apparatus (systems), and computer program products
according to embodiments of the invention. It will be understood
that each block of the flowchart illustrations and/or block
diagrams, and combinations of blocks in the flowchart illustrations
and/or block diagrams, can be implemented by computer readable
program instructions.
[0097] These computer readable program instructions may be provided
to a processor of a general purpose computer, special purpose
computer, or other programmable data processing apparatus to
produce a machine, such that the instructions, which execute via
the processor of the computer or other programmable data processing
apparatus, create means for implementing the functions/acts
specified in the flowchart and/or block diagram block or blocks.
These computer readable program instructions may also be stored in
a computer readable storage medium that can direct a computer, a
programmable data processing apparatus, and/or other devices to
function in a particular manner, such that the computer readable
storage medium having instructions stored therein includes an
article of manufacture including instructions which implement
aspects of the function/act specified in the flowchart and/or block
diagram block or blocks.
[0098] The computer readable program instructions may also be
loaded onto a computer, other programmable data processing
apparatus, or other device to cause a series of operational steps
to be performed on the computer, other programmable apparatus or
other device to produce a computer implemented process, such that
the instructions which execute on the computer, other programmable
apparatus, or other device implement the functions/acts specified
in the flowchart and/or block diagram block or blocks.
[0099] The flowchart and block diagrams in the Figures illustrate
the architecture, functionality, and operation of possible
implementations of systems, methods, and computer program products
according to various embodiments of the present invention. In this
regard, each block in the flowchart or block diagrams may represent
a module, segment, or portion of instructions, which includes one
or more executable instructions for implementing the specified
logical function(s). In some alternative implementations, the
functions noted in the blocks may occur out of the order noted in
the Figures. For example, two blocks shown in succession may, in
fact, be executed substantially concurrently, or the blocks may
sometimes be executed in the reverse order, depending upon the
functionality involved. It will also be noted that each block of
the block diagrams and/or flowchart illustration, and combinations
of blocks in the block diagrams and/or flowchart illustration, can
be implemented by special purpose hardware-based systems that
perform the specified functions or acts or carry out combinations
of special purpose hardware and computer instructions.
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