Attribute–value system


An attribute–value system is a basic knowledge representation framework comprising a table with columns designating "attributes" and "rows" designating "objects". Each table cell therefore designates the value of a particular attribute of a particular object.

Example of attribute–value system

Below is a sample attribute–value system. It represents 10 objects and five features. In this example, the table contains only integer values. In general, an attribute–value system may contain any kind of data, numeric or otherwise. An attribute–value system is distinguished from a simple "feature list" representation in that each feature in an attribute–value system may possess a range of values, rather than simply being present or absent.

Other terms used for "attribute–value system"

Attribute–value systems are pervasive throughout many different literatures, and have been discussed under many different names: