Visual data mining of log files

Abstract

Data mining is based on a simple analogy. The growth of data warehousing has created mountains of data. The mountains represent a valuable resource to the enterprise. But to extract value from these mountains, we must "mine" for the gold in data warehouses and data marts. Everywhere that there are data warehouses, data mines are also constructed. Data visualization has the ability to present a great deal of information in a user friendly format. It is well known that humans comprehend visual information much quicker and more efficiently than verbal information. "A picture is worth a thousand words." Successful visualizations can reduce the time it takes to get the information, make sense out of it, and enhance creative thinking. Great strides have been made in the area of computer generated data visualizations in recent years. This paper discusses visual data mining techniques for analyzing real forensic data. © 2007 Springer.