Method of determining the unique id of an object through analysis of

Abstract

Specified combinations of attribute input criteria may be utilized to determine the unique object identifier of an object in a database. The value of each attribute specified as input criteria is compared to the value of a corresponding attribute within an object attribute record. If the values are equivalent, a match weight associated with the attribute is added to a weight accumulator. If not, an executable rule associated with the attribute may be executed on the input criteria value and the result compared to the object attribute record value. If a match is determined after a rule is executed, a post-rule weight is added to the weight accumulator. If no match is determined, either before or after a rule is executed, a non-match weight is subtracted from the weight accumulator. When all attributes from the input criteria have been compared to the corresponding attributes from the object attribute record, the total computed match value from the weight accumulator is compared to a threshold value specified as indicative of a unique match. The input criteria are compared in similar fashion to all object attribute records for objects in the database. No matches, one match, or multiple matches may be found, although a determination of multiple matches will be considered an error condition.