Abstract: A system, method and computer readable medium are disclosed. The method embodiment relates to a method of computing score of candidate answers to a database query. The method comprises receiving a database query, assigning a first score to a match to the query, the first score being associated with a relative importance of an individual keyword in a collection of documents based on all structural and content predicates in the query, assigning a second score to the match, the second score being associated with a relative importance of a keyword in an individual document and using the assigned first score and second score to compute an answer score for the query.

Abstract: A device and a method are provided. Approximate match operations are performed for each of a group of attributes for each of a group of tuples with respect to a query to create a respective ranking for each of the group of attributes. The rankings of the group of attributes are combined to provide a ranking score for each of the group of tuples. Data representing a ranking score of each of the group of tuples is generated according to a position of a respective ranking of each one of the group of tuples for a first k positions of the ranking. K of top ranked ones of the group of tuples are identified based at least in part on the generated data, wherein a number of the group of tuples is n and k<n.