Abstract
We describe a formal design for a logical query language using psi-terms as data structures to interact effectively and efficiently with a relational database. The structure of psi-terms provides an adequate representation for so-called complex objects. They generalize conventional terms used in logic programming: they are sorted attributed structures, ordered thanks to a subsort ordering. Unification of psi-terms is an effective means for integrating multiple inheritance and partial information into a deduction process. We define a compact database representation for psi-terms, representing part of the subsorting relation in the database as well.
We describe a retrieval algorithm based on an abstract interpretation of the psi-term unification process and prove its formal correctness. This algorithm is efficient in that it incrementally retrieves only additional facts that are actually needed by a query, and never retrieves the same fact twice.
| Original language | Undefined |
|---|---|
| Title of host publication | Proceedings of the 11th International Conference on Logic Programming (ICLP 1994) |
| Place of Publication | Cambridge, MA, USA |
| Publisher | MIT Press |
| Pages | 437-455 |
| Number of pages | 19 |
| ISBN (Print) | 0-262-72022-1 |
| Publication status | Published - Jun 1994 |
Publication series
| Name | |
|---|---|
| Publisher | MIT Press |
Keywords
- IR-66446
- EWI-7259
- METIS-119760
- DB-OODB: OBJECT-ORIENTED DATABASES
- DB-DDB: DEDUCTIVE DATABASES
Cite this
Holsheimer, M., de By, R. A., de By, R. A., & Ait-Kaci, H. (1994). A Database Interface for Complex Objects. In Proceedings of the 11th International Conference on Logic Programming (ICLP 1994) (pp. 437-455). Cambridge, MA, USA: MIT Press.