System and method for the transformation and canonicalization of semantically structured data

1. A computer-implemented method for generating grammatical sentences, comprising the steps of:

obtaining, using a processor, data from a network of computers;

applying text patterns to the obtained data and placing the data in a first data file;

transforming, using a processor, the data in the first data file into a uniform and semantically structured data structure format that is compatible with a plurality of interfaces;

providing a second data file containing said text patterns in the transformed uniform and semantically structured data structure format;

selecting, from a plurality of rules, a first rule associated with a specific canonical interface; and

generating, using a processor, grammatical sentences from the text patterns in said second data file based on the selected rule, wherein the grammatical sentences are compatible with the specific canonical interface and are generated by transforming the uniform and semantically structured text patterns into an interface specific format.

2. The method of claim 1 , wherein the step of providing a second data file comprises applying a lexical entry transformation table to transform the obtained data into a common semantic form.

3. The method of claim 2 , wherein the step of providing a second data file comprises applying attribute phrase grammars to the obtained data.

4. The method of claim 2 , wherein the step of providing a second data file comprises applying term arrangement rules.

5. The method of claim 2 , wherein the step of providing a second data file comprises applying a second lexical entry transformation table to transform data to a normalized and tagged format.

6. The method of claim 1 , further comprising storing the second data file in a uniform database.

7. The method of claim 1 , wherein the uniform format comprises a normalized and tagged format.

8. The method of claim 1 , wherein the step of generating grammatical sentences comprises applying attribute phrase grammars to the data in the second data file to create a parsed form of the data.

9. The method of claim 8 , wherein the step of generating grammatical sentences comprises applying lexical entry transformation tables to the parsed form of the data to create a term substituted form of the data.

10. The method of claim 9 , wherein the step of generating grammatical sentences comprises applying term rearrangement rules to the term substituted form of the data according to a specific interface to create a rearranged form of the data.

11. The method of claim 10 , wherein the step of generating grammatical sentences comprises applying phrase generation grammars to the rearranged form of the data to create interface specific sentences.

12. The method of claim 1 , further comprising providing voice output corresponding to the interface specific sentences.

13. The method of claim 12 , further comprising communicating the voice output to a telephone.

14. A system for generating grammatical sentences, the system comprising:

means for obtaining data from a network of computers;

means for applying text patterns to the obtained data and placing the data in a first data file;

means for transforming the data in the first data file into a uniform and semantically structured data structure format that is compatible with a plurality of interfaces;

means for providing a second data file containing at least a portion of said text patterns in the transformed uniform and semantically structured data structure format;

means for selecting, from a plurality of rules, a first rule associated with a specific canonical interface; and

means for generating grammatical sentences from the portion of text patterns in said second data file based on the selected rule, wherein the grammatical sentences are compatible with the specific canonical interface and are generated by transforming the uniform and semantically structured text patterns into an interface specific format.

15. The system of claim 14 , further comprising means for storing the second data file in a uniform database.

16. The system of claim 14 , further comprising means for providing voice output corresponding to the interface specific sentences.

17. The system of claim 16 , further comprising means for communicating the voice output to a telephone.

18. The system of claim 14 , wherein the means for providing a second data file comprises means for applying a lexical entry transformation table to transform the obtained data into a common semantic form.

19. The system of claim 14 , wherein the means for generating grammatical sentences comprises means for applying various generation grammars to create interface specific sentences.

20. A computer-readable medium including program instructions for performing, when executed by a processor, a method comprising:

obtaining data from a network of computers;

applying text patterns to the obtained data and placing the data in a first data file;

transforming the data in the first data file into a uniform and semantically structured data structure format that is compatible with a plurality of interfaces;

providing a second data file containing said text patterns in the transformed uniform and semantically structured data structure format;

selecting, from a plurality of rules, a first rule associated with a specific canonical interface; and

generating grammatical sentences from the text patterns in said second data file based on the selected rule, wherein the grammatical sentences are compatible with the specific canonical interface and are generated by transforming the uniform and semantically structured text patterns into an interface specific format.

21. A computer-implemented method comprising:

obtaining, using a processor, data from a network of computers;

applying text patterns to the obtained data and placing the data in a first data file;

transforming, using a processor, the data in the first data file into a uniform and semantically structured data structure format that is compatible with a plurality of interfaces;

providing a second data file containing said text patterns in the transformed uniform and semantically structured data structure format;

selecting, from a plurality of rules, a first rule associated with a specific canonical interface;

generating, using a processor, grammatical sentences from the text patterns in said second data file based on the selected rule, wherein the grammatical sentences are compatible with the specific canonical interface and are generated by transforming the uniform and semantically structured text patterns into an interface specific format;

comparing an attribute of the text patterns with an attribute of an existing data structure; and

determining whether to use the text patterns to update the existing data structure based on a result of the comparison.

22. The method of claim 21 , wherein providing a second data file comprises applying at least one of a lexical entry transformation table, attribute phrase grammars, term arrangement rules, and a normalized lexical entry transformation table.

23. The method of claim 21 , further comprising updating the existing data structure when the result of the comparison indicates a match between the attribute of the text patterns and the attribute of the existing data structure.

24. The method of claim 21 , further comprising updating the existing data structure when the result of the comparison indicates an acceptable degree of match between the attribute of the text patterns and the attribute of the existing data structure.

25. The method of claim 21 , wherein the existing data structure is not updated when the result of the comparison indicates a mismatch between the attribute of the text patterns and the attribute of the existing data structure.

26. The method of claim 21 , wherein generating grammatical sentences comprises applying attribute phrase grammars to the data in the second data file to create a parsed form of the data.

27. The method of claim 26 , wherein generating grammatical sentences comprises applying lexical entry transformation tables to the parsed form of the data to create a term substituted form of the data.