ShowTheBest

ShowTheBest is a server-based system and design tool that transforms static tables into interactive HTML forms using methods derived from Case-Based Reasoning (CBR). By pressing a button, visitors to a ShowTheBest web page can quickly see the best data records that match their requirements.

ShowTheBest applications include interactive search, scoring and prioritization and expert systems.

ShowTheBest works with both unstructured and structured data. Unstructured text and numbers representing values and weights are entered into input forms. Structured data models user preferences and choices. These values and weights are represented by selection dialogs.

Here are two ShowTheBest example applications that select restaurants from a database:

• this structured example application shows how extra information associated with a problem improves the application and makes the scores more meaningful. This example models geographical closeness: one neighborhood is closer than another neighborhood. It also models user preferences. For example, a user might specify a first choice of Indian Cuisine and a second choice of French Cuisine. This preference is combined in the overall case score.
• this unstructured example application shows how users can enter any numbers for weights and text for values (ShowTheBest implements various types of "wildcard matching" that are used in search engines).

Case-Based Reasoning (CBR) is a branch of Artificial Intelligence (AI) that models human problem-solving using a database of cases-- a representation of profiles and solutions. The answer to a problem is essentially the answer to the "most similar problem" that was archived in the case database. Case-based answers are adapted from the closest matching cases, ranked by case score, and displayed to users in a sorted prioritized list. This concern with modeling "similarity" is what makes CBR a good source of matching and scoring algorithms.

ShowTheBest is based on many of the CBR methods found in Induce-It. A case database is a table of records with fields. The current problem profile (or matching target) is another record called the Reference. Each case in the case database is compared field by field with the fields in the Reference. Each field has its own scoring and matching algorithm, specified by the ShowTheBest application developer.

By convention, field scores are normalized between 0 and 1, with 1 being a perfect field value match with the corresponding Reference field. Case field scores are computed by a weighted average of the field scores. The ShowTheBest case scores are normalized between 0 and 100, with 100 being a perfect match with the Reference.

The ShowTheBest Design tool creates structured and unstructured interactive table applications. You can add implicit information associated with the problem to improve field and case scoring. For example, you may want to model geographical closeness, ie, that one neighborhood is closer than another neighborhood or family relationships (hierarchies). You may also need to model preferences. For example, a user might specify a first choice of Indian Cuisine and a second choice of French Cuisine. A case database field listing Indian should score higher than a case database field listing French.

View the ShowTheBest Help and Documentation.

The ShowTheBest Design tool create these kinds of interactive table applications. Just post your problem to our server via HTML forms and get the answer immediately. No download or installation is needed. You do need an access license which allows you to pay-by-use as needed.

If you want to see a sample run of the ShowTheBest Design tool, click here .

(c) 2006 Inductive Solutions, Inc. All rights reserved.