FRX Grid

Displays an edit distance matrix showing how Fuzzy Match Weightings have been applied to a specific match result.

Remarks

The FRX Grid control provides a visual, interactive matrix for analyzing how a fuzzy regular expression (FRX) matches a document's text. It is designed to help users troubleshoot fuzzy matching, understand the cost of each match operation, and tune Fuzzy Match Weightings for optimal extraction accuracy. The grid displays the edit distance matrix for a specific result and permutation, with axes representing the pattern and document character positions, and cells showing the cost of matching at each position.

Purpose and Functionality

• Edit Distance Visualization:
  Presents a two-dimensional matrix where the Y axis represents each character in the regular expression pattern, and the X axis represents each character in the document text.
• Cost Analysis:
  Each cell displays the cost of matching the pattern character to the document character at that position. A value of 0 in the bottom row indicates an exact match ending at that location; higher values indicate partial or inexact matches. This can help when troubleshooting Fuzzy Match Weightings and understanding how they affect matching behavior.
• Match Path Highlighting:
  The optimal match path (backtrace) for the selected result is highlighted, visually showing the sequence of insert, swap, and delete operations required to achieve the match.
• Cell Details and Status:
  Hovering over a cell reveals detailed information, such as document and pattern indices, cost value, and any special attributes (e.g., "Excluded", "Immutable", "Required").
• Keyboard Navigation:
  When the grid has input focus, users can navigate from cell to cell using the arrow keys (←, →, ↑, ↓), supporting efficient review and analysis.
• Dynamic Highlighting:
  The highlighted span and match path update automatically as the user selects different results or permutations in the parent visualizer.

UI Components

• Matrix Grid:
  • Rows represent pattern characters; columns represent document characters.
  • Each cell shows the cost of matching at that position, with special formatting for excluded or highlighted cells.
  • The optimal match path is visually distinguished for easy analysis.
• Headers:
  • Row and column headers display the corresponding pattern and document characters (or * for the start position).
• Cell Tooltips:
  • Hovering over a cell displays a tooltip with detailed information about that cell's indices, value, and attributes.

Example

The following diagram illustrates the layout of the FRX Grid:

┌───────────────────────────── FRX Grid ──────────────────┐
│       0   1   2   3   4   5   6   7   8   9   10        │
│   * ┌───┬───┬───┬───┬───┬───┬───┬───┬───┬───┬───┐       │
│   P │ 0 │ 1 │ 2 │ 3 │ 4 │ 5 │ 6 │ 7 │ 8 │ 9 │10 │ ...   │
│   A ├───┼───┼───┼───┼───┼───┼───┼───┼───┼───┼───┤       │
│   T │   │   │   │   │   │   │   │   │   │   │   │       │
│   T ├───┼───┼───┼───┼───┼───┼───┼───┼───┼───┼───┤       │
│   E │   │   │   │   │   │   │   │   │   │   │   │       │
│   R ├───┼───┼───┼───┼───┼───┼───┼───┼───┼───┼───┤       │
│   N │   │   │   │   │   │   │   │   │   │   │   │       │
│   * └───┴───┴───┴───┴───┴───┴───┴───┴───┴───┴───┘       │
│   (Highlighted path shows the optimal match sequence)   │
└─────────────────────────────────────────────────────────┘

• The Y axis (rows) represents the regular expression pattern.
• The X axis (columns) represents the document text.
• Each cell shows the cost of matching at that position; the highlighted path shows the optimal match.

Usage Tips

• Use the FRX Grid to visually analyze how fuzzy matching is performed for a specific result and permutation.
• Hover over cells to see detailed information about match costs and attributes.
• Use the arrow keys to navigate the grid for in-depth review.
• Adjust Fuzzy Match Weightings in your extractor configuration and use the grid to validate the impact on matching behavior.

The FRX Grid is an essential tool for troubleshooting and optimizing fuzzy regular expressions in Grooper, providing deep insight into the mechanics of pattern matching and the effects of weighting adjustments.

Used By

FRX Visualizer