TITLE OF THE INVENTION
ANALYZING OPERATIONAL AND OTHER DATA FROM SEARCH SYSTEM OR
THE LIKE
TECHNICAL FIELD [0001] The present invention relates to a system and method for analyzing data including data compiled during operation of a system such as a system for responding to requests for searches More particularly the present invention relates to such a system and method that analyzes relatively large quantities of data for purposes including improving responses and maintaining system performance
BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION [0002] In connection with a system such as a typical search engine, a user accessing same requests a search by entering a search string or the like that contains one or more search terms, perhaps with Boolean operators In response, the search engine searches one or more databases based on the search string, generates a set of search results based thereon, and returns such
search results to the requesting user, perhaps in the form of a page of information or of Finks to information that the user may review In the latter case in particular the user may access one or more of the links to review content relating to particular search results, and if content associated with one or more links of the search results is acceptable to the user, such user typically proceeds to employ such acceptable content in whatever manner is deemed appropriate
[0003] However, it may instead be the case that the search results are not acceptable to the user in that none of the content thereof satisfies the requested search, at least from the point of view of such user In such case, the user may decide to enter a new search string or a modification of the previously entered search string and review the search results from the search engine based on such new or modified search stnng As should be appreciated, such process may iterate several times in the form of a search session until the user locates acceptable search results or gives up
[0004] Generally, in a high-quality system such as the aforementioned search engine, each query from a user as set forth in a search string should map accurately to search results that represent content that answers the query Such goal is essential to providing a good searching experience, and in fact meeting such goal can represent the difference between a happy, satisfied user that will return to the search engine with a new search session and an angry, dissatisfied user that will instead visit another search engine
[0005] In order to achieve such a goal, it has been recognized that the system itseff should be adjusted or 'tuned' to improve responses and maintain system performance As may be appreciated such adjustment may be done mainly although not exclusively based on operational and other data compiled dunng operation of the system However, if the system is especially large, has high traffic, or the like, the amount of such data that is available for analysis may be especially large and therefore unwieldy and otherwise difficult to work with Accordingly, a need exists for a system and method for analyzing large quantifies of data, and especially large quantities of data from a search system or the like
SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION
[0006] The aforementioned needs are satisfied at least in part by the present invention in which a system is provided for analyzing data from a search engine The search engine generates a set of Search Results based on a Query Stnng received from a requesting user, where the Query String and the Search Results collectively compnse a User Search The Search Results include at least one Result, where each Result references a particular item of content believed to be relevant to the Query String A series of related User Searches comprises a Session and the search engine stores each User Search and related information
[0007] In the system a User Search Bundler (USB) analyzes User Searches to find similar ones of such User Searches and group such similar User Searches into User Search Bundles and an Intent Processor (IP) produces Intents based on User Search Bundles from the USB Each Intent is a group of one or more Sessions that are believed to be related to each other
[0008] A Factor Generator (FG) considers User Searches and related information to produce Factors, where each Factor is with regard to a particular Result from a set of Search Results Each Factor relates to one or more Events, where each Event is a piece of information relating to an act that a querying user performed A Relevance Classifier (RC) receives the Factors as generated by the FG for each Result and operates based thereon to produce a Judgment for the Result, where the Judgment represents a determination of how the user judged the Result upon deciding to access same from the Search Results A Metric Generator (MG) produces Metncs based on the Factors as generated by the FG and the Judgments as produced by the RC, where each Metric is a measurement relating to a Result, a User Search, or a Session Finally, a data synthesizer (DS) extracts data generated by the USB, IP, FG RC and MG, formats the extracted data into one or more databases, and stores the databases in a library, whereby the data can be reviewed and aggregated to provide feedback or generate reports
BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS [0009] The foregoing summary, as well as the following detailed description of the embodiments of the present invention, will be better understood when read in conjunction with the appended drawings For the purpose of illustrating the invention there are shown in the drawings embodiments which are presently preferred As should be understood, however, the invention is not limited to the precise arrangements and instrumentalities shown In the drawings
[0010] Fig 1 is a block diagram representing a general purpose computer system in which aspects of the present invention and/or portions thereof may be incorporated, and
[0011] Fig 2 is a block diagram showing a data analysis pipeline for analyzing data from a large system such as a search engine in accordance with embodiments of the present invention
DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION
COMPUTER ENVIRONMENT
[0012] Fig 1 and the following discussion are intended to provide
a brief general description of a suitable computing environment in which the present invention and/or portions thereof may be implemented Although not required, the invention is described in the general context of computer-executable instructions, such as program modules, being executed by a computer, such as a client workstation or a server Generally, program modules include routines, programs, objects, components, data structures and the like that perform particular tasks or implement particular abstract data types Moreover, it should be appreciated that the invention and/or portions thereof may be practiced with other computer system configurations, including hand-held devices, multiprocessor systems, microprocessor-based or programmable consumer electronics network PCs, minicomputers mainframe computers and the like The invention may also be practiced in distributed computing environments where tasks are performed by remote processing devices that are linked through a
communications network In a distnbuted computing environment, program modules may be located in both local and remote memory storage devices
[0013] As shown in Fig 1, an exemplary general purpose computing system includes a conventional personal computer 120 or the like, including a processing unit 121 a system memory 122, and a system bus 123 that couples various system components including the system memory to the processing unit 121 The system bus 123 may be any of several types of bus structures including a memory bus or memory controller a peripheral bus, and a local bus using any of a variety of bus architectures The system memory includes read-only memory (ROM) 124 and random access memory (RAM) 125 A basic input/output system 126 (BIOS), containing the basic routines that help to transfer information between elements within the personal computer 120, such as dunng start-up is stored in ROM 124
[0014] The personal computer 120 may further include a hard disk dnve 127 for reading from and writing to a hard disk (not shown), a magnetic disk dnve 128 for reading from or writing to a removable magnetic disk 129, and an optical disk dnve 130 for reading from or writing to a removable optical disk 131 such as a CD-ROM or other optical media The hard disk drive 127, magnetic disk dnve 128, and optical disk dnve 130 are connected to the system bus 123 by a hard disk drive interface 132, a magnetic disk drive interface 133, and an optical drive interface 134, respectively The dnves and their associated computer-readable media provide non-volatile storage of computer readable instructions, data structures, program modules and other data for the personal computer 120
[0015] Although the exemplary environment described herein employs a hard dtsk, a removable magnetic disk 129, and a removable optical disk 131, it should be appreciated that other types of computer readable media which can store data that is accessible by a computer may also be used in the exemplary operating environment Such other types of media include a magnetic cassette, a flash memory card, a digital video disk a Bernoulli cartndge, a random access memory (RAM), a read-only memory (ROM), and the like
[0016] A number of program modules may be stored on the hard disk, magnetic disk 129, optical disk 131, ROM 124 or RAM 125, including an operating system 135, one or more application programs 136 other program modules 137 and program data 138 A user may enter commands and information into the personal computer 120 through input devices such as a keyboard 140 and pointing device 142 Other input devices (not shown) may include a microphone joystick, game pad, satellite disk, scanner, or the like These and other input devices are often connected to the processing unit 121 through a serial port interface 146 that is coupled to the system bus, but may be connected by other interfaces, such as a parallel port, game port, or universal serial bus (USB) A monitor 147 or other type of display device is also connected to the system bus 123 via an interface, such as a video adapter 148 In addition to the monitor 147, a personal computer typically includes other peripheral output devices (not shown), such as speakers and printers The exemplary system of Fig 1 also includes a host adapter 155, a Small Computer System Interface (SCSI) bus 156, and an external storage device 162 connected to the SCSI bus 156
[0017] The personal computer 120 may operate in a networked environment using logical connections to one or more remote computers such as a remote computer 149 The remote computer 149 may be another personal computer, a server, a router, a network PC, a peer device or other common network node, and typically includes many or all of the elements described above relative to the personal computer 120 although only a memory storage device 150 has been illustrated in Fig 1 The logical connections depicted in Ftg 1 include a local area network (LAN) 151 and a wide area network (WAN) 152 Such networking environments are commonplace in offices, enterpnse-wide computer networks, intranets, and the Internet
[0018] When used in a LAN networking environment, the personal computer 120 is connected to the LAN 151 through a network interface or adapter 153 When used in a WAN networking environment, the personal computer 120 typically includes a modem 154 or other means for establishing communications
over the wide area network 152, such as the Internet The modem 154, which may be internal or external, is connected to the system bus 123 via the senal port interface 146 In a networked environment program modules depicted relative to the personal computer 120, or portions thereof, may be stored in the remote memory storage device It will be appreciated that the network connections shown are exemplary and other means of establishing a communications link between the computers may be used
DATA ANALYSIS PIPELINE
[0019] Preliminarily, and as a matter of terminology, it is to be
appreciated that in connection with a search engine such as that which may be
employed in connection with the present invention, each user accessing same
requests a search by entering a query comprising a search stnng with one or more
search terms, perhaps with Boolean operators In response, the search engine
generates a set of Search Results based thereon, presuming such Search Results
are in fact available, and returns such Search Results to the requesting user The
returned Search Results may include particular items of content or Results that
are believed to be relevant to the search request, although it is more likely that
each particular Result is instead accessed by way of a corresponding link in the
Search Results
[0020] Especially if the returned Search Results are not acceptable, the user may enter another Query Stnng with either a new search string or a modification of the previously entered search string, thereby generating another set of Search Results from the search engine based on the another query A series of related queries, then, compnses an overall search Session, and hopefully such Session ends when the user locates acceptable Results in Search Results
[0021] Dunng the course of the user entering Query Stnngs and reviewing Search Results the search engine or a related entity can and oftentimes does identify and store data related to such Session In particular, in
addrtion to identifying the Session, the search engine or a related entity {hereinafter, 'search analyzer) may identify and store each Query Stnng of the Session and the Search Results returned for each Query String, among other things Moreover, the search analyzer may identify and store for each link of each returned Result of the Search Results whether the user accessed the Result thereby, and how much time the user spent reviewing such Result among other things Thus and as should be appreciated, the search analyzer or another entity wrth such information may develop a qualitative if not quantitative measure of how satisfied or 'happy the user is with regard to each set of returned Search Results from the Session
[0022] Note that a search analyzer performing the aforementioned functions is known or should be apparent to the relevant public and therefore need not be set forth in any detail Accordingly, any appropriate search analyzer may be employed in connection with the present invention
[0023] As an example of groups of Query Stnngs that form Sessions, consider the following Query Stnngs "Cars Fords", 'Ford Edsel', "Cheap vacations", and "London tnp pnces" It should be appreciated that each Query String is the actual text that the user entered when searching In addition, each Query String generates a set of Search Results with links to Results, and may have associated therewith by the search analyzer related data such as whether each link was selected, dwell time spent on viewing the Result, scrolling and other actions taken with regard to the Result and other similar user behaviors
[0024] Based on all of the aforementioned information, it should be recognized that the first three Query Strings (i e , Cars", "Fords", "Ford Edsel") are part of a first Session, and that the last two Query Stnngs (i e , "Cheap vacations" "London trip prices") are part of a second Session for the reason that the user appeared to have two distinct intents That said, then, it should be appreciated that a Session is a group of Query Stnngs and their corresponding Search Results (i e , User Searches) with the same intent or purpose made consecutively in time by a single user
[0025] Turning now to Fig 2 it is seen that the present invention presumes a system such as a search engine 10 for performing requested searches from sear requestors and responding thereto with appropriate search results Such search engine 10 may of course be any appropnate search engine without departing from the spmt and scope of the present invention Operation of such search engine 10 is generally known or should be apparent to the relevant public and therefore need not be set forth herein in any detail except as otherwise set forth More generally, the system may be a system other than the search engine 10, again without departing from the spirit and scope of the present invention
[0026] As also seen in Fig 2, it is presumed that a data warehouse 12 is maintained in connection with the system / search engine 10 As may be appreciated, the data warehouse 12 stores data in connection with the operation of the search engine 10, perhaps including but not limited to the aforementioned data as produced by a search analyzer Such data as may be stored by the data warehouse 12 may of course be any other appropriate data without departing from the spmt and scope of the present invention, and the data warehouse 12 and organization thereof may likewise be any appropriate data warehouse and organization without departing from the spirit and scope of the present invention
[0027] As may be appreciated, the data within the data warehouse 12 may grow indefinitely or may be periodically expired and deleted Thus, in the present invention, a pipeline 14 is employed to analyze such data and as set forth in more detail below may analyze any portion of the data within the data warehouse 12, including all of the data or a sliding window of the data As will be seen such data analysis as performed by the pipeline 14 may include several components each of which takes a portion of the data from the warehouse and operates thereon In one embodiment of the present invention, the output of the pipeline 14 is placed in a library 16 with output data organized into a form such as a relational database, a multidimensional table or the like Thus, with appropnate
controls, a user at a web browser or the like can view such organized data and perhaps further analyze same
[0028] As may be appreciated, the processes performed by the pipeline 14 provide statistics on how the search engine 10 is being employed In addition, and in one embodiment of the present invention, such performed processes are employed to identify patterns in how the search engine 10 is being employed by users thereof, especially inasmuch as such patterns can provrde truly valuable information
[0029] Note that the data in the warehouse 12 may be highly normalized, especially inasmuch as it may be appreciated that normalizing such data allows new data to be added in an efficient manner However, such normalized data must be de-normalized pnor to analysis, and accordingly the data pipeline 14 may include as an input thereof a de-normalizer 18 Such a de-normalizer 18 may be any appropnate de-normalizer and may operate in any appropnate manner Operation of such de-normalizer 18 is known or should be apparent to the relevant public and therefore need not be set forth herein in any detail
[0030] The de-normalizer 18 as employed in the pipeline 14 of the present invention de-normalizes the data in the warehouse 12, and may also creates batches of the de-normalized data for later processing Batching may be performed according to any appropriate critena For example, a batch could be all data that has arrived since a prior batch of data, where a batch could be a day of data if the de-normalizer 18 is operated once per day Similarly, the de-normalizer 18 could be operated once per week but be set to generate a batch for each hour in the week
[0031] As seen, the batches output by the de-normalizer 18 are stored in a data store 20 for further processing by other components of the pipeline 14 Such data store 20 and the organization of the batches therein may be any appropriate store and organization without departing from the spint and scope of the present invention As shown in Fig 2, components that employ the batches of data in the data store 20 may include a User Search Bundler (USB), a
Relevance Processor (RP) an Intent Processor (IP), a Data Synthesizer (DS) and the like
[0032] The User Search Bundler (USB) of the data pipeline 14 analyzes User Searches, each of which is an instance of a user invoking a query on the search engine 10, and includes information regarding both the Query Stnng and the returned Search Results, among other things Two users invoking the same Query String produce two User Searches, and a single user invoking the same Query String twice also results in two User Searches In one embodiment of the present invention, the USB tnes to find User Searches that "look alike and thus are similar, and groups such similar User Searches into User Search Bundles The USB may operate in any appropnate manner without departing from the spirit and scope of the present invention Methods of operating a USB are known or should be apparent to the relevant public and therefore need not be set forth herein in any detail
[0033] For example, the USB may employ a "Look Alike" algonthm that analyzes Query Strings For example, if two users each invoke a search for Wilkes-Barre, PA , then those Query Stnngs look alike More interestingly if one user searches for "duck" and another searches for "ducks" (one plural, one singular) those two Query Strings "look alike" too inasmuch as the algorithm employs stemming, case normalization, and other similar query compression techniques
[0034] However, the USB is not limited to analyzing Query Stnngs for similarity Instead, and in one embodiment of the present invention, the USB may also employ a returned Search Results analysis algonthm For example, the USB may conclude based on the returned Search Results analysis algonthm that two User Searches are similar each produces a similar set of Search Results, even if the corresponding Query Strings are not at all similar In addition or in the alternative, the USB may conclude based on a content satisfaction analysis algonthm that two User Searches are similar if each produces a specific piece of content or Result that the user was determined to have been satisfied with, again even if the corresponding Query Stnngs are not at all similar Likewise, the USB
may conclude based on a content dissatisfaction analysis algonthm that two User Searches are similar if each produces a specific Result that the user was determined to have been unsatisfied with
[0035] The output of the USB may be stored in the library 16 as a database of bundled User Searches Alternatively, such output may be stored back in the data store 20 to be available to other components of the pipeline 14
[0036] The Relevance Processor (RP) of the present invention may be sub-divided into a Factor Generator (FG), a Relevance Classifier (RC), and a Metric Generator (MG) Note, though, that such sub-divided elements of the RP may instead be individually present in the pipeline 14 of the present invention without being grouped under the RP
[0037] The Factor Generator (FG) considers information relating to User Searches and produces Factors, where such Factor are applied as inputs to the Relevance Classifier (RC) Each Factor is with regard to a particular Result from a set of Search Results Factors are often but not always produced by considering several Events, where each Event typically is a piece of information relating to an act that a querying user performed For example, selecting a particular Result may be an Event, as may be the Result being displayed, closed, printed added to a particular list, re-opened, and the like Events may also include explicit user feedback if provided
[0038] In one embodiment of the present invention, then, the FG computes values based on Events For example, the FG may compute a' Dwell Time' as a Factor that represents the length of time a user viewed a Result and may do so based on the difference in time between when the user started and stopped looking at the Result, each as represented by a corresponding time-stamped Event Note, though that other Events may also be considered by the FG when generating a Dwell Time Factor, including whether the user may have interrupted viewing the Result, as represented by other appropnate time-stamped Events
[0039] Another Factor generated by the FG may be a Factor for whether the user added a Result to a particular list such as a Favorites list In
such case, it may be that such a "Favorite" Factor is set to a true value As may now be appreciated, types of Factors based on Events may be any appropriate Factors wrthout departing from the spirit and scope of the present invention Such Factors are known or should be apparent to the relevant public and therefore need not be set forth herein in any detail
[0040] Note that Factors may also come from things other than Events For example, a Factor might be an identifier of the user that authored the Result Thus, a Factor may be a property of a Result Other Factors may include a locale of the query stnng (e g US-English, Canadian-English, Brazilian-Portuguese), and may be denved from information in a User Search More generally, a Factor may be produced by the FG or by another component from any piece of information available without departing from the spirit and scope of the present invention
[0041] The Factors as generated by the FG and perhaps elsewhere may be stored in the library 16 in an appropnate database Alternatively, such Factors may be stored back in the data store 20 to be available to other components of the pipeline 14, or may be delivered directly to such components
[0042] The Relevance Classifier (RC) of the Relevance Processor (RP) receives the Factors as generated by the FG and perhaps elsewhere The RC is a machine-generated decision tree which operates based on the received Factors as inputs thereto Upon being initiated by the RP the RC reads the Factors for a Result from the data store 20 or elsewhere and produces a Judgment for the Result Such Judgment, generally, is a determtnation of how the user judged the Result upon deciding to access same from a set of Search Results
[0043] The Judgment may be expressed according to any appropnate judging system without departing from the spirit and scope of the present invention For example, the Judgment may be a numerical or letter grade score, may be one of 'Accept" (i e , the user was satisfied with the Result), "Explore (i e, the user was neither satisfied nor dissatisfied with the Result), and
"Reject (i e, the user was dissatisfied with the Result), or the like In addition, the Judgment for a particular Result may also include a value indicative of a confidence for how likely the Judgment is correct, as determined by the RC
[0044] The Judgments as generated by the RC and perhaps elsewhere may be stored in the library 16 in an appropriate database Alternatively, such Factors may be stored back in the data store 20 to be available to other components of the pipeline 14, or may be delivered directly to such components
[0045] To machine-generate the decision tree of the RC, it may be the case that the RP considers each Result that has an Explicit Judgment Factors An Explicit Judgment is a type of Factor that represents explicit feedback from a user regarding a Result By taking each Result that has an Explicit Judgment Factor and analyzing other available Factors for that Result, a Relevance Classifier Trainer (RCT) of the RP or elsewhere is able to "learn" what Factors imply which Judgments and based thereon construct the RC Learning what the Factors imply and constructing the RC therefrom may be done in any appropriate manner without departing from the spint and scope of the present invention Doing so is known or should be apparent to the relevant public and therefore need not be set forth herein in any detail
[0046] The Metnc Generator (MG) of the RP produces Metncs, where a Metnc is a measurement about a Result, a User Search, a Session, or the like Generally, the MG produces such Metncs based on the Factors as generated by the FG and perhaps elsewhere, the Judgments as produced by the RC, and other related information available Generating such Metncs may be done in any appropriate manner without departing from the spirit and scope of the present invention Doing so is known or should be apparent to the relevant public from information disclosed below and therefore need not be set forth herein in any detail
[0047] The MG may produce the following Metrics with regard to a Result
Accept, Explore, Reject Each is derived from a Judgment for the Result and may include a confidence
Mis-ranked Result A measure of how 'far the Result was from where same should have been, based on how the Result was positioned within the Search Results and how the user was judged to have ranked the Result
Position How the user was judged to have ranked the Result
Relevance Position How the Result was positioned within the Search Results
[0048] The MG may produce the following Metncs with regard to a User Search
Result Set Ranking Score Similar to the Mis-ranked Result metnc produced for each Result, but with regard to the all Results of a User Search Such value attempts to reflect how far apart a result set is from what should have been
Accept, Explore, Reject Summanzed Summaries of all Accept, Explore, and Reject metncs, respectively, for each Result in the User Search
[0049] The MG may produce the following Metrics with regard to a Session
Content Quantity Whether the Session shows a lack of available information for what the user is searching for
Intent Determination Whether the Session shows an inability to determine what the user is searching for
The Metrics as generated by the MG and perhaps elsewhere may be stored in the library 16 in an appropriate database Alternatively such Metncs may be stored back in the data store 20 to be available to other components of the pipeline 14, or may be delivered directly to such components
[0050] The Intent Processor (IP) of the pipeline 14 produces Intents, where each Intent is a group of one or more Sessions that are believed to
be related to each other because the user is looking for the same Search Results in each instance That is, an Intent is a group of Sessions shanng a common purpose
[0051] The IP produces Intents by considenng each Session, each User Search of each Session, and each Result of each User Search In one embodiment of the present invention, and bearing in mind that Sessions with common Results are likely to be related, only Results with a Judgment of Accept are investigated However, Results with other Judgments may also be employed without departing from the spirit and scope of the present invention
[0052] GeneraWy, the iP determines a relationship vafue between Sessions by locating common Results across Sessions and common Query Terms across Sessions based on reviewed User Search Bundles and ascertaining a Strength of Commonality when found Such Strengths represent how likely two Sessions are to be related to each other by having a common purpose Session pairs having a Strength above some determined threshold, then may be bundled by the IP into an Intent
[0053] The Intents as generated by the IP and perhaps elsewhere may be stored in the library 16 in an appropriate database Alternatively, such Intents may be stored back in the data store 20 to be available to other components of the pipeline 14, or may be delivered directly to such components
[0054] Finally, with all the data produced thus far, the pipeline 14 includes a data synthesizer (DS) that extracts such data from the data store 12 library 20, or elsewhere and formats such data into one or more databases that are to be stored in the library 20 Such formatting is necessary especially if different components wrote data to different tables, databases, or the like For example, the USB may have added data about each User Search into a User Search Bundled table, and the MG might have added data into a Metncs table Thus the DS join such tables and others as appropnate into a meaningful form from which such data may be searched, aggregated presented, or the like
[0055] Note that the DS may be programmed to format only portions of the data as appropriate For example, the DS may omit some of the
stored data if such data is deemed to be not useful Alternatively, the DS may copy the same data to multiple tables or split data into multiple tables More generally, the DS may be programmed to format the data from the pipeline 14 into any appropriate format without departing from the spirit and scope of the present invention
[0056] In one embodiment of the present invention, the DS formats the data into a relational database such as an SQL database or the like As such, the data may be represented in a 'star* form with fact tables in the center and dimension tables surrounding same As may be appreciated, by doing so, the fact and dimension tables can then be built into a data cube such as an OLAP cube or the like that allows an administrator of the search engine 10 or the like to efficiently aggregate the data based on different cntena For example, such administrator or the like can ask the cube to find the average of the Intent Determination Metric for every Session existing in a certain date range aggregating same by Intent Likewise, reports may be run against the cube and results therefrom may then be forwarded to such administrator or the like Of course, such administrator or the like may also posit most any other appropnate query against such a cube or receive any other report as run against such a cube
CONCLUSION
[0057] The present invention may be practiced with regard to
analyzing data from most any appropnate system including a search engine 10 or
otherwise As should now be appreciated, with the present invention as set forth
herein, data representative of the system may be analyzed for any purpose,
including adjusting or 'tuning' the system to improve responses, maintain system
performance, and otherwise ensure that the system is operating satisfactory
[0058] The programming necessary to effectuate the processes
performed in connection with the present invention is relatively straight-forward
and should be apparent to the relevant programming public Accordingly, such
programming is not attached hereto Any particular programming, then, may be
employed to effectuate the present invention without departing from the spint and scope thereof
[0059] In the foregoing descnption it can be seen that the present invention compnses a new and useful apparatus that analyzes large quantifies of data, and especially large quantities of data from a search engine 10 or the like Such apparatus is especially useful when the search engine 10 is especially large has high traffic or the like, and the amount of such data that is available for analysis is especially large and therefore unwieldy and otherwise difficult to work with
[0060] It should be appreciated that changes could be made to the embodiments described above without departing from the inventive concepts thereof In general then, it should be understood, therefore, that this invention is not limited to the particular embodiments disclosed, but it is intended to cover modifications within the spint and scope of the present invention as defined by the appended claims

WE CLAIM:
1. A polymerization process for forming a polymer comprising the steps of contacting one or more monomer(s), one or more Lewis acid(s), one or more initiator(s), and a diluent in a reactor under conditions of reaction pressure from 1 to 14,000 kPa, and at a temperature to polymerize the one or more monomer(s), forming a polymer, and, optionally, the step of removing the polymer from the reactor, the process being characterized by the diluent comprising 1 to 100 volume % of one or more hydrofluorocarbon(s) represented by the formula: CxHyFz wherein x is an integer from 1 to 40 and y and z are integers of one or more, wherein, optionally, the diluent has a dielectric constant greater than 10 at -85° C and the resulting polymer optionally has a diluent mass uptake of less then 4 wt%, and wherein:
the one or more monomer(s) is independently selected from the group consisting of olefins, alpha-olefins, disubstituted olefins, isoolefins, conjugated dienes, non-conjugated dienes, styrenics, substituted styrenics, and vinyl ethers; the one or more Lewis acid(s) is represented by any one of the following formulas:
a) MX4: wherein M is a Group 4, 5, or 14 metal, and each X is a halogen;
b) MRnX4-n: wherein M is Group 4, 5, or 14 metal, each R is a monovalent C1 to C12 hydrocarbon radical independently selected from the group consisting of an alkyl, aryl, arylalkyl, alkylaryl and cycloalkyl radicals, n is an integer from 0 to 4; and each X is a halogen;
c) M(RO)nR'mX4-(m+n): wherein M is Group 4, 5, or 14 metal, each RO is a monovalent C1 to C30 hydrocarboxy radical independently selected from the group consisting of an alkoxy, aryloxy, arylalkoxy, alkylaryloxy radicals, each R' is a monovalent C1 to C12 hydrocarbon radical independently selected from the group consisting of an alkyl, aryl, arylalkyl, alkylaryl and cycloalkyl radicals, n is an integer from 0 to 4, m is an integer from 0 to 4, wherein the sum of n and m is not more than 4, and each X is a halogen;
d) M(RC=OO)nRmX4 -(m+n): wherein M is Group 4, 5, or 14 metal, each RC=OO is a monovalent C2 to C30 hydrocarbacyl radical independently selected from the group consisting of an alkacyloxy, arylacyloxy, arylalkylacyloxy, alkylarylacyloxy radicals, each R' is a monovalent C1 to C12 hydrocarbon radical independently selected from the group consisting of an alkyl, aryl, arylalkyl, alkylaryl and cycloalkyl radicals, n is an integer from 0 to 4, m is an

integer from 0 to 4, wherein the sum of n and m is not more than 4, and each X is a halogen;
e) MOX3: wherein M is a Group 5 metal and each X is a halogen;
f) MX3: wherein M is a Group 13 metal and each X is a halogen;
g) MRnX3-n: wherein M is a Group 13 metal, each R is a monovalent C1 to C12 hydrocarbon radical independently selected from the group consisting of an alkyl, aryl, arylalkyl, alkylaryl and cycloalkyl radicals, n is an integer from 1 to 3 and each X is a halogen;
h) M(RO)nR'mX3-(m+n): wherein M is a Group 13 metal, each RO is a monovalent Ci to C30 hydrocarboxy radical independently selected from the group consisting of an alkoxy, aryloxy, arylalkoxy, alkylaryloxy radicals, each R' is a monovalent C1 to C12 hydrocarbon radical independently selected from the group consisting of an alkyl, aryl, arylalkyl, alkylaryl and cycloalkyl radicals, n is an integer from 0 to 3, m is an integer from 0 to 3, wherein the sum of n and m is 1 to 3, and each X is a halogen;
i) M(RC=OO)nR'mX3-(m+n): wherein M is a Group 13 metal, each RC=OO is a monovalent hydrocarbacyl radical independently selected from the group independently selected from the C2 to C30 group consisting of an alkacyloxy, arylacyloxy, arylalkylacyloxy, alkylarylacyloxy radicals, each R' is a monovalent C1 to C12 hydrocarbon radical independently selected from the group consisting of an alkyl, aryl, arylalkyl, alkylaryl and cycloalkyl radicals, n is an integer from 0 to 3, m is an integer from 0 to 3, wherein the sum of n and m is from 1 to 3, and each X is a halogen;
j) MXy: wherein M is a Group 15 metal, each X is a halogen, and y is 3,4, or 5;
k) MRnXy-n: wherein M is a Group 15 metal, each R is a monovalent C1 to C12 hydrocarbon radical independently selected from the group consisting of an alkyl, aryl, arylalkyl, alkylaryl and cycloalkyl radicals, n is an integer from 0 to 4, y is 3,4, or 5, wherein n is less than y, and each X is a halogen;
1) M(RO)nR'mXy.(m+n): wherein M is a Group 15 metal, each RO is a monovalent C1 to C30 hydrocarboxy radical independently selected from the group consisting of an alkoxy, aryloxy, arylalkoxy, alkylaryloxy radicals, each R' is a monovalent C1 to C12 hydrocarbon radical independently selected from the group consisting of an alkyl, aryl, arylalkyl, alkylaryl and cycloalkyl radicals, n is an integer from 0 to 4, m is an integer from 0 to 4, y is 3, 4, or 5, wherein the sum of n and m is less than y, and each X is a halogen; and

m) M(RC=OO)nR'mXy.(m+n): wherein M is a Group 15 metal, each RC=OO is a
monovalent C2 to C30 hydrocarbacyloxy radical independently selected from
the group consisting of an alkacyloxy, arylacyloxy, arylalkylacyloxy,
alkylarylacyloxy radicals, each R' is a monovalent C1 to C12 hydrocarbon
radical independently selected from the group consisting of an alkyl, aryl,
arylalkyl, alkylaryl and cycloalkyl radicals, n is an integer from 0 to 4, m is an
integer from 0 to 4, y is 3, 4, or 5, wherein the sum of n and m is less than y,
and each X is a halogen;
the one or more initiator(s) comprise water, a hydrogen halide, a carboxylic acid, a
carboxylic acid halide, a sulfonic acid, an alcohol, a phenol, a polymeric halide, a
tertiary alkyl halide, a tertiary aralkyl halide, a tertiary alkyl ester, a tertiary
aralkyl ester, a tertiary alkyl ether, a tertiary aralkyl ether, an alkyl halide, an aryl
halide, an alkylaryl halide or an arylalkylacid halide.
2. The process as claimed in 1, wherein x is from 1 to 10.
3. The process as claimed in 1, wherein x is from 1 to 6.
4. The process as claimed in 1, wherein x is from 1 to 3.
5. The process as claimed in 1, wherein the one or more hydrofluorocarbon(s) is independently selected from the group consisting of fluoromethane; difluoromethane; trifluoromethane; fluoroethane; 1,1-difluoroethane; 1,2-difluoroethane; 1,1,1-trifluoroethane; 1,1,2-trifluoroethane; 1,1,1,2-tetrafluoroethane; 1,1,2,2-tetrafluoroethane; 1,1,1,2,2-pentafluoroethane; 1-fluoropropane; 2-fluoropropane; 1,1-difluoropropane; 1,2-difluoropropane; 1,3-difluoropropane; 2,2-difluoropropane; 1,1,1-trifluoropropane; 1,1,2-trifluoropropane; 1,1,3-trifluoropropane; 1,2,2-trifiuoropropane; 1,2,3-trifluoropropane; 1,1,1,2-tetrafluoropropane; 1,1,1,3-tetrafluoropropane; 1,1,2,2-tetrafluoropropane; 1,1,2,3-tetrafluoropropane; 1,1,3,3-tetrafluoropropane; 1,2,2,3-tetrafluoropropane; 1,1,1,2,2-pentafluoropropane; 1,1,1,2,3-pentafluoropropane; 1,1,1,3,3-pentafluoropropane; 1,1,2,2,3-pentafluoropropane; 1,1,2,3,3 -pentafluoropropane; 1,1,1,2,2,3 -hexafluoropropane; 1,1,1,2,3,3-hexafluoropropane; 1,1,1,3,3,3-hexafluoropropane; 1,1,1,2,2,3,3-heptafluoropropane; 1,1,1,2,3,3,3-heptafluoropropane; 1-fluorobutane; 2-fluorobutane; 1,1-difluorobutane; 1,2-difluorobutane; 1,3-difluorobutane; 1,4-

difluorobutane; 2,2-difluorobutane; 2,3-difluorobutane; 1,1,1-trifluorobutane; 1,1,2-
trifluorobutane; 1,1,3-trifluorobutane; 1,1,4-trifluorobutane; 1,2,2-trifluorobutane;
1,2,3-trifluorobutane; 1,3,3-trifluorobutane; 2,2,3-trifluorobutane; 1,1,1,2-
tetrafluorobutane; 1,1,1,3-tetrafluorobutane; 1,1,1,4-tetrafluorobutane; 1,1,2,2-
tetrafluorobutane; 1,1,2,3-tetrafluorobutane; 1,1,2,4-tetrafluorobutane; 1,1,3,3-
tetrafluorobutane; 1,1,3,4-tetrafluorobutane; 1,1,4,4-tetrafluorobutane; 1,2,2,3-
tetrafluorobutane; 1,2,2,4-tetrafluorobutane; 1,2,3,3-tetrafluorobutane; 1,2,3,4-
tetrafluorobutane; 2,2,3,3-tetrafluorobutane; 1,1,1,2,2-pentafluorobutane; 1,1,1,2,3-
pentafluorobutane; 1,1,1,2,4-pentafluorobutane; 1,1,1,3,3-pentafluorobutane;
1,1,1,3,4-pentafluorobutane; 1,1,1,4,4-pentafluorobutane; 1,1,2,2,3-
pentafluorobutane; 1,1,2,2,4-pentafluorobutane; 1,1,2,3,3-pentafluorobutane;
1,1,2,4,4-pentafluorobutane; 1,1,3,3,4-pentafluorobutane; 1,2,2,3,3-
pentafluorobutane; 1,2,2,3,4-pentafluorobutane; 1,1,1,2,2,3-hexafluorobutane;
1,1,1,2,2,4-hexafluorobutane; 1,1,1,2,3,3-hexafluorobutane, 1,1,1,2,3,4-
hexafluorobutane; 1,1,1,2,4,4-hexafluorobutane; 1,1,1,3,3,4-hexafluorobutane;
1,1,1,3,4,4-hexafluorobutane; 1,1,1,4,4,4-hexafluorobutane; 1,1,2,2,3,3-
hexafluorobutane; 1,1,2,2,3,4-hexafluorobutane; 1,1,2,2,4,4-hexafluorobutane;
1,1,2,3,3,4-hexafluorobutane; 1,1,2,3,4,4-hexafluorobutane; 1,2,2,3,3,4-
hexafluorobutane; 1,1,1,2,2,3,3 -heptafluorobutane; 1,1,1,2,2,4,4-heptafluorobutane;
1,1,1,2,2,3,4-heptafluorobutane; 1,1,1,2,3,3,4-heptafluorobutane; 1,1,1,2,3,4,4-
heptafluorobutane; 1,1,1,2,4,4,4-heptafluorobutane; 1,1,1,3,3,4,4-heptafluorobutane;
1,1,1,2,2,3,3,4-octafluorobutane; 1,1,1,2,2,3,4,4-octafluorobutane; 1,1,1,2,3,3,4,4-
octafluorobutane; 1,1,1,2,2,4,4,4-octafluorobutane; 1,1,1,2,3,4,4,4-octafluorobutane;
1,1,1,2,2,3,3,4,4-nonafluorobutane; 1,1,1,2,2,3,4,4,4-nonafluorobutane; 1 -fluoro-2-
methylpropane; l,l-difluoro-2-methylpropane; l,3-difluoro-2-methylpropane; 1,1,1-
trifluoro-2-methylpropane; 1,1,3 -trifluoro-2-methylpropane; 1,3 -difluoro-2-
(fluoromethyl)propane; 1,1,1,3 -tetrafluoro-2-methylpropane; 1,1,3,3 -tetrafluoro-2-
methylpropane; 1,1,3-trifluoro-2-(fluoromethyl)propane; 1,1,1,3,3-pentafluoro-2-
methylpropane; 1,1,3,3 -tetrafluoro-2-(fluoromethyl)propane; 1,1,1,3-tetrafluoro-2-
(fluoromethyl)propane; fluorocyclobutane; 1,1-difluorocyclobutane; 1,2-
difluorocyclobutane; 1,3-difluorocyclobutane; 1,1,2-trifluorocyclobutane; 1,1,3-
trifluorocyclobutane; 1,2,3 -trifluorocyclobutane; 1,1,2,2-tetrafluorocyclobutane;
1,1,3,3-tetrafluorocyclobutane; 1,1,2,2,3-pentafluorocyclobutane; 1,1,2,3,3-
pentafluorocyclobutane; 1,1,2,2,3,3-hexafluorocyclobutane; 1,1,2,2,3,4-
hexafluorocyclobutane; 1,1,2,3,3,4-hexafluorocyclobutane; 1,1,2,2,3,3,4-

heptafluorocyclobutane; vinyl fluoride; 1,1-difluoroethene; 1,2-difluoroethene; 1,1,2-
trifluoroethene; 1-fluoropropene, 1,1-difluoropropene; 1,2-difluoropropene; 1,3-
difluoropropene; 2,3-difluoropropene; 3,3-difluoropropene; 1,1,2-trifluoropropene;
1,1,3-trifluoropropene; 1,2,3-trifluoropropene; 1,3,3-trifluoropropene; 2,3,3-
trifluoropropene; 3,3,3-trifluoropropene; 1-fluoro-l-butene; 2-fluoro-l-butene; 3-
fluoro-1-butene; 4-fluoro-l-butene; 1,1-difluoro-l-butene; 1,2-difluoro-l-butene; 1,3-
difluoropropene; 1,4-difluoro-l-butene; 2,3-difluoro-l-butene; 2,4-difluoro-l-butene;
3,3-difluoro-l-butene; 3,4-difluoro-l-butene; 4,4-difluoro-l-butene; 1,1,2-trifluoro-l-
butene; 1,1,3-trifluoro-l-butene; 1,1,4-trifluoro-l-butene; 1,2,3-trifluoro-l-butene;
1,2,4-trifluoro-l-butene; 1,3,3-trifluoro-l-butene; 1,3,4-trifluoro-l-butene; 1,4,4-
trifluoro-1-butene; 2,3,3-trifluoro-l-butene; 2,3,4-trifluoro-l-butene; 2,4,4-trifluoro-l-
butene; 3,3,4-trifluoro-l-butene; 3,4,4-trifluoro-l-butene; 4,4,4-trifluoro-l-butene;
1,1,2,3 -tetrafluoro-1 -butene; 1,1,2,4-tetrafluoro-1 -butene; 1,1,3,3 -tetrafluoro-1 -
butene; 1,1,3,4-tetrafluoro-l -butene; 1,1,4,4-tetrafluoro-l-butene; 1,2,3,3-tetrafluoro-
1-butene; 1,2,3,4-tetrafluoro-l -butene; 1,2,4,4-tetrafluoro-l-butene; 1,3,3,4-
tetrafluoro-1 -butene; 1,3,4,4-tetrafluoro-1 -butene; 1,4,4,4-tetrafluoro-1 -butene;
2,3,3,4-tetrafluoro-1 -butene; 2,3,4,4-tetrafluoro-1 -butene; 2,4,4,4-tetrafluoro-1 -
butene; 3,3,4,4-tetrafluoro-l-butene; 3,4,4,4-tetrafluoro-1 -butene; 1,1,2,3,3-
pentafluoro-1 -butene; 1,1,2,3,4-pentafluoro-1 -butene; 1,1,2,4,4-pentafluoro-1 -butene;
1,1,3,3,4-pentafluoro-1 -butene; 1,1,3,4,4-pentafluoro-1 -butene; 1,1,4,4,4-pentafluoro-
1-butene; 1,2,3,3,4-pentafluoro-1 -butene; 1,2,3,4,4-pentafluoro-l-butene; 1,2,4,4,4-
pentafluoro-1 -butene; 2,3,3,4,4-pentafluoro-1 -butene; 2,3,4,4,4-pentafluoro-1 -butene;
3,3,4,4,4-pentafluoro-1 -butene; 1,1,2,3,3,4-hexafluoro-1 -butene; 1,1,2,3,4,4-
hexafluoro-1 -butene; 1,1,2,4,4,4-hexafluoro-1 -butene; 1,2,3,3,4,4-hexafluoro-1 -
butene; 1,2,3,4,4,4-hexafluoro-1 -butene; 2,3,3,4,4,4-hexafluoro-1 -butene;
1,1,2,3,3,4,4-heptafluoro-l -butene; 1,1,2,3,4,4,4-heptafluoro-l -butene; 1,1,3,3,4,4,4-
heptafluoro-1-butene; 1,2,3,3,4,4,4-heptafluoro-l-butene; l-fluoro-2-butene; 2-fluoro-
2-butene; l,l-difluoro-2-butene; l,2-difluoro-2-butene; l,3-difluoro-2-butene; 1,4-
difluoro-2-butene; 2,3-difluro-2-butene; l,l,l-trifluoro-2-butene; l,l,2-trifluoro-2-
butene; l,l,3-trifluoro-2-butene; l,l,4-trifluoro-2-butene; l,2,3-trifluoro-2-butene;
1,2,4-trifluoro-2-butene; 1,1,1,2-tetrafluoro-2-butene; 1,1,1,3-tetrafluoro-2-butene;
1,1,1,4-tetrafluoro-2-butene; 1,1,2,3 -tetrafluoro-2-butene; 1,1,2,4-tetrafluoro-2-
butene; l,2,3,4-tetrafluoro-2-butene; 1,1,1,2,3-pentafluoro-2-butene; 1,1,1,2,4-
pentafluoro-2-butene; 1,1,1,3,4-pentafluoro-2-butene; 1,1,1,4,4-pentafluoro-2-butene;
l,l,2,3,4-pentafluoro-2-butene; l,l,2,4,4-pentafluoro-2-butene; 1,1,1,2,3,4-

hexafluoro-2-butene; 1,1,1,2,4,4-hexafluoro-2-butene; 1,1,1,3,4,4-hexafluoro-2-
butene; 1,1,1,4,4,4-hexafluoro-2-butene; 1,1,2,3,4,4-hexafluoro-2-butene;
1,1,1,2,3,4,4-heptafluoro-2-butene; l,l,l,2,4,4,4-heptafluoro-2-butene; and mixtures thereof.
6. The process as claimed in claim 1, wherein the one or more hydrofluorocarbon(s) is independently selected from the group consisting of fluoromethane, difluoromethane, trifluoromethane, 1,1-difluoroethane, 1,1,1-trifluoroethane, 1,1,1,2-tetrafluoroethane, and mixtures thereof.
7. The process as claimed in any of claims 1 to 6, wherein the diluent comprises from 15 to 100 volume % HFC based upon the total volume of the diluent.
8. The process as claimed in claim 7, wherein the diluent comprises from 20 to 100 volume % HFC based upon the total volume of the diluent.
9. The process as claimed in claim 8, wherein the diluent comprises from 25 to 100 volume % HFC based upon the total volume of the diluent.
10. The process as claimed in any of claims 1 to 9, wherein the diluent optionally comprises a hydrocarbon, a non-reactive olefin, and/or an inert gas.
11. The process as claimed in claim 10, wherein the hydrocarbon is a halogenated hydrocarbon other than an HFC.
12. The process as claimed in claim 11, wherein the halogenated hydrocarbon is methyl chloride.
13. The process as claimed in any of claims 1 to 12, wherein the one or more Lewis acid(s) is independently selected from the group consisting of titanium tetrachloride, titanium tetrabromide, vanadium tetrachloride, tin tetrachloride, zirconium tetrachloride, titanium bromide trichloride, titanium dibromide dichloride, vanadium bromide trichloride, tin chloride trifluoride, benzyltitanium trichloride, dibenzyltitanium dichloride, benzylzirconium trichloride, dibenzylzirconium dibromide, methyltitanium trichloride, dimethyltitanium difluoride, dimethyltin

dichloride, phenylvanadium trichloride, methoxytitanium trichloride, n-
butoxytitanium trichloride, di(isopropoxy)titanium dichloride, phenoxytitanium
tribromide, phenylmethoxyzirconium trifluoride, methyl methoxytitanium dichloride,
methyl methoxytin dichloride, benzyl isopropoxyvanadium dichloride,
acetoxytitanium trichloride, benzoylzirconium tribromide, benzoyloxytitanium
trifluoride, isopropoyloxytin trichloride, methyl acetoxytitanium dichloride, benzyl
benzoyloxyvanadium chloride, vanadium oxytrichloride, aluminum trichloride, boron
trifluoride, gallium trichloride, indium trifluoride, ethylaluminum dichloride,
methylaluminum dichloride, benzylaluminum dichloride, isobutylgallium dichloride,
diethylaluminum chloride, dimethylaluminum chloride, ethylaluminum
sesquichloride, methylaluminum sesquichloride , trimethylaluminum,
triethylaluminum, methoxyaluminum dichloride, ethoxyaluminum dichloride, 2,6-di-
tert-butylphenoxyaluminum dichloride, methoxy methylaluminum chloride, 2,6-di-
tert-butylphenoxy methylaluminum chloride, isopropoxygallium dichloride, phenoxy
methylindium fluoride, acetoxyaluminum dichloride, benzoyloxyaluminum
dibromide, benzoyloxygallium difluoride, methyl acetoxyaluminum chloride,
isopropoyloxyindium trichloride, antimony hexachloride, antimony hexafluoride,
arsenic pentafluoride, antimony chloride pentafluoride, arsenic trifluoride, bismuth
trichloride arsenic fluoride tetrachloride, tetraphenylantimony chloride,
triphenylantimony dichloride, tetrachloromethoxyantimony,
dimethoxytrichloroantimony, dichloromethoxyarsine, chlorodimethoxyarsine, difluoromethoxyarsine, acetatotetrachloroantimony, (benzoato) tetrachloroantimony, and bismuth acetate chloride.
14. The process as claimed in any of claims 1 to 12, wherein the one or more Lewis acid(s) is independently selected from the group consisting of aluminum trichloride, aluminum tribromide, ethylaluminum dichloride, ethylaluminum sesquichloride, diethylaluminum chloride, methylaluminum dichloride, methylaluminum sesquichloride, dimethylaluminum chloride, boron trifluoride, and titanium tetrachloride.
15. The process as claimed in any of claims 1 to 14, wherein the one or more initiator(s) is independently selected from the group consisting of HC1, methanol, (CH3)3CC1, C6H5C(CH3)2C1, (2-Chloro-2,4,4-trimethylpentane) and 2-chloro-2-methylpropane.

16. The process as claimed in any of claims 1 to 14, wherein the one or more initiator(s) is independently selected from the group consisting of hydrogen chloride, hydrogen bromide, hydrogen iodide, acetic acid, propanoic acid, butanoic acid; cinnamic acid, benzoic acid, 1-chloroacetic acid, dichloroacetic acid, trichloroacetic acid, trifluoroacetic acid, p-chlorobenzoic acid, p-fluorobenzoic acid, acetyl chloride, acetyl bromide, cinnamyl chloride, benzoyl chloride, benzoyl bromide, trichloroacetylchloride, trifluoroacetylchloride, p-fluorobenzoylchloride, methanesulfonic acid, trifluoromethanesulfonic acid, trichloromethanesulfonic acid, p-toluenesulfonic acid, methanesulfonyl chloride, methanesulfonyl bromide, trichloromethanesulfonyl chloride, trifiuoromethanesulfonyl chloride, p-toluenesulfonyl chloride, methanol, ethanol, propanol, 2-propanol, 2-methylpropan-2-ol, cyclohexanol, benzyl alcohol, phenol, 2-methylphenol, 2,6-dimethylphenol, p-chlorophenol, p-fluorophenol, 2,3,4,5,6-pentafluorophenol, and 2-hydroxynaphthalene.
17. The process as claimed in any of claims 1 to 14, wherein the one or more initiator(s) is independently selected from the group consisting of 2-chloro-2,4,4-trimethylpentane; 2-bromo-2,4,4-trimethylpentane; 2-chloro-2-methylpropane; 2-bromo-2-methylpropane; 2-chloro-2,4,4,6,6-pentamethylheptane; 2-bromo-2,4,4,6,6-pentamethylheptane; 1-chloro-l-methylethylbenzene; 1-chloroadamantane; 1-chloroethylbenzene; 1, 4-bis(l-chloro-l-methylethyl) benzene; 5-tert-butyl-l,3-bis(l-chloro-1-methylethyl) benzene; 2-acetoxy-2,4,4-trimethylpentane; 2-benzoyloxy-2,4,4-trimethylpentane; 2-acetoxy-2-methylpropane; 2-benzoyloxy-2-methylpropane; 2-acetoxy-2,4,4,6,6-pentamethylheptane; 2-benzoyl-2,4,4,6,6-pentamethylheptane; 1 -acetoxy-1 -methyl ethylbenzene; 1 -aceotxyadamantane; 1 -benzoyloxyethylbenzene; 1,4-bis( 1 -acetoxy-1 -methylethyl) benzene; 5-tert-butyl-1,3 -bis( 1 -acetoxy-1 -methylethyl) benzene; 2-methoxy-2,4,4-trimethylpentane; 2-isopropoxy-2,4,4-trimethylpentane; 2-methoxy-2-methylpropane; 2-benzyloxy-2-methylpropane; 2-methoxy-2,4,4,6,6-pentamethylheptane; 2-isopropoxy-2,4,4,6,6-pentamethylheptane; 1-methoxy-l-methylethylbenzene; 1-methoxyadamantane; 1-methoxyethylbenzene; 1,4-bis(1-methoxy-1 -methylethyl) benzene; 5-tert-butyl-1,3 -bis(1-methoxy-1 -methylethyl) benzene, and 1,3,5-tris(l-chloro-l-methylethyl) benzene.
18. The process as claimed in any of claims 1 to 14, wherein the one or more initiator(s) optionally comprises a weakly-coordinating anion.

19. The process as claimed in any of claims 1 to 14, wherein the one or more initiator(s) has less than 30 ppm water (based upon weight).
20. The process as claimed in any of claims 1 to 14, wherein the one or more initiator(s) comprise greater than 30 ppm water (based upon weight).
21. The process as claimed in any of claims 1 to 20, wherein the one or more monomer(s) is independently selected from the group consisting of styrene, para-alkylstyrene, para-methylstyrene, alpha-methyl styrene, divinylbenzene, diisopropenylbenzene, isobutylene, 2-methyl-1-butene, 3-methyl-l-butene, 2-methyl-2-pentene, isoprene, butadiene, 2,3-dimethyl-l,3-butadiene, 6-pinene, myrcene, 6,6-dimethyl-fulvene, hexadiene, cyclopentadiene, methyl cyclopentadiene, piperylene, methyl vinyl ether, ethyl vinyl ether, and isobutyl vinyl ether.
22. The process as claimed in any of claims 1 to 21, wherein the reactor is independently selected from the group consisting of a continuous flow stirred tank reactor, a plug flow reactor, a moving belt or drum reactor, a jet or nozzle reactor, a tubular reactor, a batch reactor, and an autorefrigerated boiling-pool reactor.
23. The polymerization process as claimed in any of claims 1, 7 to 9 or 13 to 22 the diluent comprising methyl chloride and one or more hydrofluorocarbon(s) independently selected from the group consisting of difluoromethane, 1,1-difluoroethane, and 1,1,1,2-tetrafluoroethane.
24. The polymerization process as claimed in any of claims 1 to 23 in which the contacting steps creates a slurry in which the monomer is polymerized.