21,717 research outputs found
Combining Relational Algebra, SQL, Constraint Modelling, and Local Search
The goal of this paper is to provide a strong integration between constraint
modelling and relational DBMSs. To this end we propose extensions of standard
query languages such as relational algebra and SQL, by adding constraint
modelling capabilities to them. In particular, we propose non-deterministic
extensions of both languages, which are specially suited for combinatorial
problems. Non-determinism is introduced by means of a guessing operator, which
declares a set of relations to have an arbitrary extension. This new operator
results in languages with higher expressive power, able to express all problems
in the complexity class NP. Some syntactical restrictions which make data
complexity polynomial are shown. The effectiveness of both extensions is
demonstrated by means of several examples. The current implementation, written
in Java using local search techniques, is described. To appear in Theory and
Practice of Logic Programming (TPLP)Comment: 30 pages, 5 figure
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
Logic Programming Applications: What Are the Abstractions and Implementations?
This article presents an overview of applications of logic programming,
classifying them based on the abstractions and implementations of logic
languages that support the applications. The three key abstractions are join,
recursion, and constraint. Their essential implementations are for-loops, fixed
points, and backtracking, respectively. The corresponding kinds of applications
are database queries, inductive analysis, and combinatorial search,
respectively. We also discuss language extensions and programming paradigms,
summarize example application problems by application areas, and touch on
example systems that support variants of the abstractions with different
implementations
The XML Query Language Xcerpt: Design Principles, Examples, and Semantics
Most query and transformation languages developed since the mid 90es for XML and semistructured dataâe.g. XQuery [1], the precursors of XQuery [2], and XSLT [3]âbuild upon a path-oriented node selection: A node in a data item is specified in terms of a root-to-node path in the manner of the file selection languages of operating systems. Constructs inspired from the regular expression constructs , +, ?, and âwildcardsâ give rise to a flexible node retrieval from incompletely specified data items.
This paper further introduces into Xcerpt, a query and transformation language further developing an alternative approach to querying XML and semistructured data first introduced with the language UnQL [4]. A metaphor for this approach views queries as patterns, answers as data items matching the queries. Formally, an answer to a query is defined as a simulation [5] of an instance of the query in a data item
Compiling ER Specifications into Declarative Programs
This paper proposes an environment to support high-level database programming
in a declarative programming language. In order to ensure safe database
updates, all access and update operations related to the database are generated
from high-level descriptions in the entity- relationship (ER) model. We propose
a representation of ER diagrams in the declarative language Curry so that they
can be constructed by various tools and then translated into this
representation. Furthermore, we have implemented a compiler from this
representation into a Curry program that provides access and update operations
based on a high-level API for database programming.Comment: Paper presented at the 17th Workshop on Logic-based Methods in
Programming Environments (WLPE2007
A contribution to the Semantics of Xcerpt, a Web Query and Transformation Language
Xcerpt [1] is a declarative and pattern-based query and transformation languag
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