Path constraints in semistructured databases

AbstractWe investigate a class of path constraints that is of interest in connection with both semistructured and structured data. In standard database systems, constraints are typically expressed as part of the schema, but in semistructured data there is no explicit schema and path constraints provide a natural alternative. As with structured data, path constraints on semistructured data express integrity constraints associated with the semantics of data and are important in query optimization. We show that in semistructured databases, despite the simple syntax of the constraints, their associated implication problem is r.e. complete and finite implication problem is co-r.e. complete. However, we establish the decidability of the implication and finite implication problems for several fragments of the path constraint language and demonstrate that these fragments suffice to express important semantic information such as extent constraints, inverse relationships, and local database constraints commonly found in object-oriented databases

Path Constraints on Semistructured and Structured Data

We present a class of path constraints of interest in connection with both structured and semistructured databases, and investigate their associated implication problems. These path constraints are capable of expressing natural integrity constraints that are not only a fundamental part of the semantics of the data, but are also important in query optimization. We show that in semistructured databases, despite the simple syntax of the constraints, their associated implication problem is r.e. complete and finite implication problem is co-r.e. complete. However, we establish the decidability of the implication problems for several fragments of the path constraint language, and demonstrate that these fragments suffice to express important semantic information such as inverse relationships and local database constraints commonly found in object-oriented databases. We also show that in the presence of types, the analysis of path constraint implication becomes more delicate. We demonst..

Constraints for Semistructured Data and XML

Integrity constraints play a fundamental role in database design. We review initial work on the expression of integrity constraints for semistructured data and XML

An introduction to Graph Data Management

A graph database is a database where the data structures for the schema and/or instances are modeled as a (labeled)(directed) graph or generalizations of it, and where querying is expressed by graph-oriented operations and type constructors. In this article we present the basic notions of graph databases, give an historical overview of its main development, and study the main current systems that implement them

An Entailment Relation for Reasoning on the Web

Reasoning on the Web is receiving an increasing attention because of emerging fields such as Web adaption and Semantic Web. Indeed, the advanced functionalities striven for in these fields call for reasoning capabilities. Reasoning on the Web, however, is usually done using existing techniques rarely fitting the Web. As a consequence, additional data processing like data conversion from Web formats (e.g. XML or HTML) into some other formats (e.g. classical logic terms and formulas) is often needed and aspects of the Web (e.g. its inherent inconsistency) are neglected. This article first gives requirements for an entailment tuned to reasoning on the Web. Then, it describes how classical logic’s entailment can be modified so as to enforce these requirements. Finally, it discusses how the proposed entailment can be used in applying logic programming to reasoning on the Web

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

State-of-the-art on evolution and reactivity

This report starts by, in Chapter 1, outlining aspects of querying and updating resources on the Web and on the Semantic Web, including the development of query and update languages to be carried out within the Rewerse project. From this outline, it becomes clear that several existing research areas and topics are of interest for this work in Rewerse. In the remainder of this report we further present state of the art surveys in a selection of such areas and topics. More precisely: in Chapter 2 we give an overview of logics for reasoning about state change and updates; Chapter 3 is devoted to briefly describing existing update languages for the Web, and also for updating logic programs; in Chapter 4 event-condition-action rules, both in the context of active database systems and in the context of semistructured data, are surveyed; in Chapter 5 we give an overview of some relevant rule-based agents frameworks

The Decidability of Some Restricted Implication Problems for Path Constraints

In [10], we introduced a path constraint language and established the undecidability of its associated implication problems. In this paper, we identify several fragments of the language, and establish the decidability of the implication and finite implication problems for each of these fragments in the context of semistructured databases. In addition, we demonstrate that these fragments suffice to express important semantic information such as extent constraint, inverse relationships and local database constraints commonly found in object-oriented databases. We also show that these fragments are useful for, among other things, query optimization