Constrained Query Answering

Traditional answering methods evaluate queries only against positive and definite knowledge expressed by means of facts and deduction rules. They do not make use of negative, disjunctive or existential information. Negative or indefinite knowledge is however often available in knowledge base systems, either as design requirements, or as observed properties. Such knowledge can serve to rule out unproductive subexpressions during query answering. In this article, we propose an approach for constraining any conventional query answering procedure with general, possibly negative or indefinite formulas, so as to discard impossible cases and to avoid redundant evaluations. This approach does not impose additional conditions on the positive and definite knowledge, nor does it assume any particular semantics for negation. It adopts that of the conventional query answering procedure it constrains. This is achieved by relying on meta-interpretation for specifying the constraining process. The soundness, completeness, and termination of the underlying query answering procedure are not compromised. Constrained query answering can be applied for answering queries more efficiently as well as for generating more informative, intensional answers

Coherent Integration of Databases by Abductive Logic Programming

We introduce an abductive method for a coherent integration of independent data-sources. The idea is to compute a list of data-facts that should be inserted to the amalgamated database or retracted from it in order to restore its consistency. This method is implemented by an abductive solver, called Asystem, that applies SLDNFA-resolution on a meta-theory that relates different, possibly contradicting, input databases. We also give a pure model-theoretic analysis of the possible ways to `recover' consistent data from an inconsistent database in terms of those models of the database that exhibit as minimal inconsistent information as reasonably possible. This allows us to characterize the `recovered databases' in terms of the `preferred' (i.e., most consistent) models of the theory. The outcome is an abductive-based application that is sound and complete with respect to a corresponding model-based, preferential semantics, and -- to the best of our knowledge -- is more expressive (thus more general) than any other implementation of coherent integration of databases

Programming in three-valued logic

AbstractThe aim of this paper is to propose a logical and algebraic theory which seems well-suited to logic programs with negation and deductive databases. This theory has similar properties to those of Prolog theory limited to programs with Horn clauses and thus can be considered as an extension of the usual theory. This parallel with logic programming without negation lies in the introduction of a third truth value (Indefinite) and of a new non-monotonic implication connective. Our proposition is different from the other ways of introducing a third truth value already used in Logic Programming and databases but it is somehow related to some of them, especially to Fitting's theory. We introduce a “consequence” operator associated with a logic program with negation which extends the operator of Apt and Van Emden. In the case of a consistent program, the post-fixpoints of this operator are the models of the program as they are usually. This operator is related to Fitting's one, the relation being obtained by completing the program. We finally give an operational semantics for a program with negation by the obtention of a three-valued interpreter from a bivalued one

Towards a Systematic Account of Different Semantics for Logic Programs

In [Hitzler and Wendt 2002, 2005], a new methodology has been proposed which allows to derive uniform characterizations of different declarative semantics for logic programs with negation. One result from this work is that the well-founded semantics can formally be understood as a stratified version of the Fitting (or Kripke-Kleene) semantics. The constructions leading to this result, however, show a certain asymmetry which is not readily understood. We will study this situation here with the result that we will obtain a coherent picture of relations between different semantics for normal logic programs.Comment: 20 page

A logic programming framework for modeling temporal objects

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