Filtering search: A new approach to query-answering

We introduce a new technique for solving problems of the following form: preprocess a set of objects so that those satisfying a given property with respect to a query object can be listed very effectively. Among well-known problems to fall into this category we find range query, point enclosure, intersection, near-neighbor problems, etc. The approach which we take is very general and rests on a new concept called fitering search. We show on a number of examples how it can be used to improve the complexity of known algorithms and simplify their implementations as well. In particular, filtering search allows us to improve on the worst-case complexity of the best algorithms known so far for solving the problems mentioned above.