info.ephyra.questionanalysis
Class QuestionInterpretation

java.lang.Object
  info.ephyra.questionanalysis.QuestionInterpretation

All Implemented Interfaces:

java.io.Serializable, java.lang.Comparable<QuestionInterpretation>

public class QuestionInterpretation
extends java.lang.Object
implements java.lang.Comparable<QuestionInterpretation>, java.io.Serializable

A QuestionInterpretation is a data structure comprising the TARGET of a question, the CONTEXT and the PROPERTY the question asks for.

This class implements the interfaces Comparable and Serializable. Note: it has a natural ordering that is inconsistent with equals().

Version:

2008-01-29

Author:

Nico Schlaefer

See Also:

Serialized Form

Field Summary

private java.lang.String[]	context The CONTEXT objects of the question.
private int	length The LENGTH of this interpretation.
private java.lang.String	property The PROPERTY the question asks for.
private static long	serialVersionUID Version number used during deserialization.
private java.lang.String	target The TARGET object of the question.

Constructor Summary

QuestionInterpretation(java.lang.String target, java.lang.String[] context, java.lang.String property)
Creates a new QuestionInterpretation object and sets the TARGET, CONTEXT, PROPERTY and LENGTH fields.

Method Summary

private void	calculateLength() Calculates the LENGTH of the QuestionInterpretation, which is defined as the sum of the length of the TARGET object and all CONTEXT objects.
int	compareTo(QuestionInterpretation qi) Compares this QuestionInterpretation to another QuestionInterpretation object.
void	dropContext() Drops the CONTEXT without recalculating the length.
java.lang.String[]	getContext() Returns the CONTEXT of the question.
int	getLength() Returns the LENGTH of the interpretation.
java.lang.String	getProperty() Returns the PROPERTY that the question asks for.
java.lang.String	getTarget() Returns the TARGET of the question.
void	setContext(java.lang.String[] context) Sets the CONTEXT of the question.
void	setTarget(java.lang.String target) Sets the TARGET of the question.
java.lang.String	toString() Returns a string representation of the interpretation.

Methods inherited from class java.lang.Object

clone, equals, finalize, getClass, hashCode, notify, notifyAll, wait, wait, wait

Field Detail

serialVersionUID

private static final long serialVersionUID

Version number used during deserialization.

See Also:

Constant Field Values

target

private java.lang.String target

The TARGET object of the question.

context

private java.lang.String[] context

The CONTEXT objects of the question.

property

private java.lang.String property

The PROPERTY the question asks for.

length

private int length

The LENGTH of this interpretation.

Constructor Detail

QuestionInterpretation

public QuestionInterpretation(java.lang.String target,
                              java.lang.String[] context,
                              java.lang.String property)

Creates a new QuestionInterpretation object and sets the TARGET, CONTEXT, PROPERTY and LENGTH fields.

Parameters:

target - the TARGET of the question

context - the CONTEXT of the question

property - the PROPERTY that the question asks for

Method Detail

calculateLength

private void calculateLength()

Calculates the LENGTH of the QuestionInterpretation, which is defined as the sum of the length of the TARGET object and all CONTEXT objects.

The smaller the value, the more likely it is that the question was interpreted correctly. A smaller value also means a greater abstraction from the original formulation of the question and therefore the search will return more results.

On the other hand, a large value means - if the search does not fail - a high probability of a correct answer.

getTarget

public java.lang.String getTarget()

Returns the TARGET of the question.

Returns:

TARGET

getContext

public java.lang.String[] getContext()

Returns the CONTEXT of the question.

Returns:

CONTEXT

getProperty

public java.lang.String getProperty()

Returns the PROPERTY that the question asks for.

Returns:

PROPERTY

getLength

public int getLength()

Returns the LENGTH of the interpretation.

Returns:

LENGTH

setTarget

public void setTarget(java.lang.String target)

Sets the TARGET of the question.

Parameters:

target - the TARGET object

setContext

public void setContext(java.lang.String[] context)

Sets the CONTEXT of the question.

Parameters:

context - the CONTEXT objects

dropContext

public void dropContext()

Drops the CONTEXT without recalculating the length.

compareTo

public int compareTo(QuestionInterpretation qi)

Compares this QuestionInterpretation to another QuestionInterpretation object.

Specified by:

compareTo in interface java.lang.Comparable<QuestionInterpretation>

Parameters:

qi - the QuestionInterpretation to be compared

Returns:

a negative integer, zero, or a positive integer as this QuestionInterpretation is less than, equal to, or greater than the specified QuestionInterpretation

toString

public java.lang.String toString()

Returns a string representation of the interpretation.

Overrides:

toString in class java.lang.Object

Returns:

readable string