Algebraic optimization of recursive queries

Over the past few years, much attention has been paid to deductive databases. They offer a logic-based interface, and allow formulation of complex recursive queries. However, they do not offer appropriate update facilities, and do not support existing applications. To overcome these problems an SQL-like interface is required besides a logic-based interface.\ud \ud In the PRISMA project we have developed a tightly-coupled distributed database, on a multiprocessor machine, with two user interfaces: SQL and PRISMAlog. Query optimization is localized in one component: the relational query optimizer. Therefore, we have defined an eXtended Relational Algebra that allows recursive query formulation and can also be used for expressing executable schedules, and we have developed algebraic optimization strategies for recursive queries. In this paper we describe an optimization strategy that rewrites regular (in the context of formal grammars) mutually recursive queries into standard Relational Algebra and transitive closure operations. We also describe how to push selections into the resulting transitive closure operations.\ud \ud The reason we focus on algebraic optimization is that, in our opinion, the new generation of advanced database systems will be built starting from existing state-of-the-art relational technology, instead of building a completely new class of systems

A Generic Module System forWeb Rule Languages: Divide and Rule

An essential feature in practically usable programming languages is the ability to encapsulate functionality in reusable modules. Modules make large scale projects tractable by humans. For Web and Semantic Web programming, many rule-based languages, e.g. XSLT, CSS, Xcerpt, SWRL, SPARQL, and RIF Core, have evolved or are currently evolving. Rules are easy to comprehend and specify, even for non-technical users, e.g. business managers, hence easing the contributions to the Web. Unfortunately, those contributions are arguably doomed to exist in isolation as most rule languages are conceived without modularity, hence without an easy mechanism for integration and reuse. In this paper a generic module system applicable to many rule languages is presented. We demonstrate and apply our generic module system to a Datalog-like rule language, close in spirit to RIF Core. The language is gently introduced along the EU-Rent use case. Using the Reuseware Composition Framework, the module system for a concrete language can be achieved almost for free, if it adheres to the formal notions introduced in this paper

Interactive Simplifier Tracing and Debugging in Isabelle

The Isabelle proof assistant comes equipped with a very powerful tactic for term simplification. While tremendously useful, the results of simplifying a term do not always match the user's expectation: sometimes, the resulting term is not in the form the user expected, or the simplifier fails to apply a rule. We describe a new, interactive tracing facility which offers insight into the hierarchical structure of the simplification with user-defined filtering, memoization and search. The new simplifier trace is integrated into the Isabelle/jEdit Prover IDE.Comment: Conferences on Intelligent Computer Mathematics, 201

Classes of Terminating Logic Programs

Termination of logic programs depends critically on the selection rule, i.e. the rule that determines which atom is selected in each resolution step. In this article, we classify programs (and queries) according to the selection rules for which they terminate. This is a survey and unified view on different approaches in the literature. For each class, we present a sufficient, for most classes even necessary, criterion for determining that a program is in that class. We study six classes: a program strongly terminates if it terminates for all selection rules; a program input terminates if it terminates for selection rules which only select atoms that are sufficiently instantiated in their input positions, so that these arguments do not get instantiated any further by the unification; a program local delay terminates if it terminates for local selection rules which only select atoms that are bounded w.r.t. an appropriate level mapping; a program left-terminates if it terminates for the usual left-to-right selection rule; a program exists-terminates if there exists a selection rule for which it terminates; finally, a program has bounded nondeterminism if it only has finitely many refutations. We propose a semantics-preserving transformation from programs with bounded nondeterminism into strongly terminating programs. Moreover, by unifying different formalisms and making appropriate assumptions, we are able to establish a formal hierarchy between the different classes.Comment: 50 pages. The following mistake was corrected: In figure 5, the first clause for insert was insert([],X,[X]