Re: [boost] [gsoc-2013] proposal for approximate string matching

Subject: Re: [boost] [gsoc-2013] proposal for approximate string matching
From: Erik Erlandson (eje_at_[hidden])
Date: 2013-04-30 11:16:39

> Now I also have much clear thought for Part B (similarity search).
> Several days ago you suggested me to make the "searcher" class behave like
> a container.
> Currently I think similarity search is very like exact search, where we
> usually use the "unordered_map".
> In fact, when we call the functions "find" or "operator[]" of an
> "unordered_map", exactly matched values are returned.
> Here, what I want to implement is just to return similar matched values. So
> here I'd like to make
> my searcher class like an "unordered_map". I 'll support as much as
> possible functions
> in the "unordered_map" as long as it's useful and compatible.
> 

Yes, I think what you have here is a new variation of Associative Container concept.   Maybe a subclass of Unique Associative Container, augmented with a distance-metric functor, and having new query methods augmented with a radius.   "Neighborhood Associative Container"?   "Metric Associative Container"?

I'm not familiar with how the similarity search container will want to work - whether it is a Simple Associative Container (like set<>), or a Paired Associative Container (like map<>).  Seems as though it has set-like behavior, where you're maintaining a set of objects, and then you query it for all the members that are with some radius of a given query-object.