Abstract Enhancing Database Correctness: A Statistical Approach

Abstract

In this paper, we introduce a new type of integrity con-straint, which we call a statistical constraint, and discuss its applicability to enhancing database correctness. Sta-tistical constraints manifest embedded relationships among current attribute values in the database and are characterized by their probabilistic nature. They can be used to detect potential errors not easily detected by the conventional constraints. Methods for extracting statisti-cal constraints from a relation and enforcement of such constraints are described. Preliminary performance eval-uation of enforcing statistical constraints on a real life database is also presented. 1