The Natural Language Interface allows SQL Server clients to call queries using natural language interrogatives or directives such as “Which salespeople met their quota in Q3” or “Display all married employees within 20 miles of Buffalo NY”. The most exciting aspect of the Natural Language Interface is that BECAUSE users can make query requests EXACTLY as they are formulated in the mind, there is no learning curve–all that should be needed is an appropriate knowledge of the business vocabulary and the ability to formulate information requisitions thereof in grammatical English. Consider:
What Problem does the software solve?
- For database administrators in charge of organizing access to database queries:
It eliminates the need for client-side data access application development. Once installed, the interface precludes any need for further client-side application development responsive to new query additions, business requirements or changes on the server back-end. Only the SQL Admin should care about such changes and then use our server-side toolkit to accommodate changes.
- For client-side users of the database:
English language interrogatives/statements are the most intuitive way to initiate a data requisition since they EXACTLY reflect the mind of the user and thus perfectly encapsulate the requisition intent. The Interface vastly simplifies client-side data access and also limits the query choice footprint. All that is needed for client-side data access is intuitive, natural English language and a competent grasp of the portions of the business model relevant to the data access requirement.
As long as the client-side user has a competent grasp of the business model, and can thus formulate business data requisitions in well formed English, a precise English-language interrogative requesting the data is all that is needed to use the interface.
“Who did David sell handlebars to?” “Which salespeople met their quota in 2022?” “How many RFPs are open and how many are in-progress?” “Did we close the Apple deal?” etc.
HOW this is accomplished is where the magic is, and of no significance to the client-side user. As we stated above, the ONLY person who needs to know how that sausage is made would be the SQL database administrator who has access to the SINGLE sever-side configuration toolkit. What we HAVE eliminated is the need for a client-side application development and maintenance. The Natural Language Interface, once installed, will never have to be revisited.
ADVANCED SQL SEARCH – Natural Language Filters
The Advanced SQL Search allows the user of the interface to build up complex SQL queries by entering a LIST of Natural Language Filters. For example, the requirement might be:
A List of Students in the DC Area
NLF-1: ‘Must be from either DC, Maryland or Virginia’
NLF-2: ‘Must live within 30 miles of the Lincoln Monument
NLF3: ‘Must be from a family with household income < 30,000
To run this search you would first select ‘Student’ as the primary search entity, and then enter these natural language filters exactly as they are thought up in English. And that’s it. A brief example is shown here:
One (1) copy of the Natural Language Interface comes with the Server-Side NLP Toolkit. More licenses can be purchased for that SINGLE Server-Side toolkit–as many as are necessary to address exigent business requirements