SYSTEM AND METHOD FOR CLASSIFYING AND RETRIEVING INFORMATION WITH VIRTUAL OBJECT HIERARCHY

Three-tier virtual classification model including search schemas, virtual object hierarchy, and databases to find existing components. A virtual object hierarchy is created with objects corresponding to different categories such as electrical or mechanical components. Each object category also has a plurality of associated categories such as a bolt or resistor. Each category has associated attributes such as length, width, cost, and color. Attributes are linked to tables columns in target databases. Search schemas are created by selecting objects and attributes from the object hierarchy. The search is carried out by accessing the database columns linked to the objects and attributes in the search schemas.