Associative information processing: algorithms and system

Associative systems provide a flexibility ranging far beyond the scope of a conventional associative memory which simply provides a parallel search within a large amount of keywords to retrieve associated information. This paper presents several approaches to associative data processing. Algorithms are discussed that can easily be implemented or supported on an array computer. By means of dedicated VLSI chips a prototype array computer was implemented at Darmstadt University of Darmstadt. Together with simulations on conventional sequential computers, this array computer serves to prove the validity of developed algorithms on a running system.<>