31. The system of claim 30 , wherein, amongst the nodes, each of the nodes is separated from a root node by a number of edges that is commensurate with a number of terms included in the association rule.
30. The system of claim 27 , wherein performing the association rule analysis further includes: selecting the association rules from amongst multiple other association rules that are not evaluated, wherein the association rules are selected by using a graph search that incorporates a best-first metaheuristic, wherein the graph search involves representing association rules with nodes and connecting nodes that represent distinct association rules that include terms in common.