关联是两个或多个变量取值之间存在的一类重要的可被发现的某种规律性。关联分析目的是寻找给定数据记录集中数据项之间隐藏的关联关系，描述数据之间的密切度。(Association is a kind of important discoverable regularity between the values of two or more variables. The purpose of association analysis is to find hidden relationships among data items in a given data recordset and to describe the closeness of data.)