Linear Logic for Taxonomical Networks and Database Updates

The aim of this paper is to propose a logical way to handle uncertain knowledge and change. Databases, diagnostic, planification, taxonomy are some of the domains concerned by this problem. This paper focuses on the means Linear Logic offers to represent taxonomical networks and to perform updates of databases containing incomplete information. The two problems are first expressed in graph theory: a taxonomical network is a structure for representing knowledge as a graph whose vertices are concepts, and edges are relations between concepts; a database is specified by facts, deduction rules, i.e. edges between literals, and update constraints. Their formalization in Linear Logic is performed in a very similar way. 1 Introduction The aim of this paper is to propose Linear Logic for the representation of uncertain knowledge and change: basically, some knowledge (inference or fact), legitimate in most of the situations, has to be cancelled or forgotten in some special cases. Databases, di..