THE KNOWLEDGE-BASED OBJECT-ORIENTED PICQUERY+ LANGUAGE

The high-level domain-independent query language PICQUERY+ for pictorial and alphanumeric database management is introduced. The PICQUERY+ language and its underlying stacked image data model is enhanced with major advances introduced herein including: 1) convenient specification of the data domain space among a multimedia database federation, 2) visualization of underlying data models, knowledge-based hierarchies, and domain rules, 3) understanding of high-level abstract data types, 4) ability to perform data object matches based on imprecise or fuzzy descriptors, imprecise relational correlators, and temporal and object evolutionary events, 5) specification of alphanumeric and image processing algorithms on data, and 6) specification of alphanumeric and image visualization methods for user presentation. The power of PICQUERY+ is presented and illustrated using examples drawn from the medical imaging domain. A graphical menu-driven user interface is demonstrated for this domain as an example of the menu interface capabilities of PICQUERY+.