Defining the XML schema matching problem for a personal schema based query answering system

In this report, we analyze the problem of personal schema matching. We define the ingredients of the XML schema matching problem using constraint logic programming. This allows us to thourougly investigate specific matching problems. We do not have the ambition to provide for a formalism that covers all kinds of schema matching problems. The target is specifically personal schema matching using XML. The report is organized as follows. Chapter 2 provides a detailed description of our research domain - the Personal Schema Query Answering System. In chapter 3, we introduce a framework for defining the XML schema matching problem. The XML schema matching problem is defined using this framework in chapter 4. An important component of the XML schema matching problem is the objective function, which is investigated in chapter 5. Chapter 6 presents the related research, with conclusions and further research being discussed in chapter 7. Throughout the report, we use expressions like 'schema matching', 'XML schema matching' and 'semantic XML schema matching'. Unless explicitly stated otherwise or strongly suggested by the context of the story, those expressions all refer to the same thing: semantic matching of XML schemas as used in personal schema querying. Furthermore, basic knowledge of the XML-schema language is assumed.