Datalog extension for nested relations

The nested relational model allows relations that are not in first normal form. This paper gives an extension of Datalog rules for nested relations. In our approach, nested Datalog is a natural extension of Datalog introduced for the relational data model. A nested Datalog program has a hierarchical structure of rules and subprograms to manipulate relation values of nested relations. We introduce a new category of predicate symbols, the variable predicate symbols to refer to tuples of subrelations. The notion of soundness, safety and consistency is defined to avoid undesirable nested Datalog programs. The evaluation of nested Datalog is given in terms of the nested relational algebra. Finally, we relate the expressive power of nonrecursive nested Datalog to the power of nested relational algebra and safe nested tuple relational calculus.     

Toward Practical Query Evaluation for Constraint Databases

Linear constraint databases (LCDBs) extend relational databases to include linear arithmetic constraints in both relations and queries. A LCDB can also be viewed as a powerful extension of linear programming (LP) where the system of constraints is generalized to a database containing constraints and the objective function is generalized to a relational query containing constraints. Our major concern is query optimization in LCDBs. Traditional database approaches are not adequate for combination with LP technology. Instead, we propose a new query optimization approach, based on statistical estimations and iterated trials of potentially better evaluation plans. The resulting algorithms are not only effective on LCDBs, but also applicable to existing query languages. A number of specific constraint algebra algorithms are also developed: select-project-join for two relations, constraint sort-join and constraint multi-join.     

Unacceptable components in fuzzy relational databases

The existence of unacceptable components, which consist of unacceptable tuples and elements in attribute values, is shown in fuzzy relational databases. The unacceptable components are created by update operations, insertion, deletion, and modification. An unacceptable tuple in a relation is a tuple such that the degree of its not belonging to that relation is greater than that of its belonging to. The unacceptable tuple can be easily eliminated from relations. There are three kinds of unacceptable elements. One case of unacceptable elements is a redundant element created by insertion and modification. Another is an element created by a possible tuple value not at all or partially satisfying integrity constraints in insertion and modification. The other is an element created by a possible tuple value completely or partially satisfying update conditions in deletion. The unacceptable elements can be eliminated from relations without loss of information. As a result, we can obtain fuzzy relational databases without unacceptable components by a reasonable way. © 1996 John Wiley & Sons, Inc.     

基于关系数据库的脆弱性水印算法研究

为了检测对关系数据库的恶意篡改,提出了一种脆弱性数字水印算法。该算法将数据库的元组划分到不同的分组中,在对每个分组内的元组进行秘密排序的基础上,生成由属性水印和元组水印构成的分组水印矩阵,因此可以将对数据库的篡改定位在分组范围内。利用单向哈希函数及关系数据动态生成水印,不但保证了水印信息的安全性,而且也实现了水印的盲检测。理论分析和实验结果表明,该方法能够有效探测攻击者对关系数据库进行元组添加、属性值修改、元组删除和属性变化四类操作,从而为关系数据的真实性认证提供依据。     

基于嵌套语义的约束代数

1 引言约束数据库近期被Kanellakis等提出作为处理空间数据的一般性框架。约束数据库用约束来建模和检索数据。在数据层,约束能用有限的形式来表示可能是无限的关系元组集。例如,约束x~2 y~2≤9表示中心在点(0,0)处,半径为3的圆。在查询语言层,约束通过允许数学计算而增强了简单关系语言的表达能力,同时约束查询语言保留了关系查询语言的所有特征,如封闭性和自底向上求值。关系代数能被扩充来处理约束关系,这个新的代数叫做约束代数CALG。     

关系型数据库中不确定性数据的Top-k查询研究

Top-k查询在传统的存储确定性数据的关系型数据库中得到了广泛的应用,但是对于存储不确定性数据的数据库,Top-k查询必须结合元组的分值和不确定性来处理.已有的Top-k查询没有很好地结合元组的分值和不确定性,因此,定义一种新的针对不确定性数据的Top-k查询语义,并且实现了查询算法,在新语义下,计算第i位排名时考虑了第i-1位元组,能够更好地权衡分值和不确定性.不同数据集上的实验显示,该算法是有效的.     

一种基于关系数据库的脆弱性水印算法

为了检测对关系数据库的恶意篡改,提出了一种脆弱性数字水印算法,该算法将数据库的元组划分到不同的分组中,在对分组内的所有元组进行秘密排序的基础上,生成由属性水印和元组水印构成的分组水印矩阵,从而可以将对数据库的篡改定位在分组范围内.理论分析和实验结果表明了该方法的有效性和可行性.     

区间约束及其代数查询语言

提出了区间约束和基于区间约束的代数查询语言。区间约束与密序约束相经,增加了简单的加减运算,具有更强的描述能力,同时区间约束元组有简洁,唯一的规范区间表示,文中给出了计算区间约束的规范区间表示的算法,针对区间约束关系,定义了基本代数操作的语法及语义,研究了代数查询语言,并证明代数约束查询语言满足封闭性,最后讨论了区间约束的实现与应用。     

The use of deleted tuples in database querying and updating

The traditional approach to database querying and updating treats insertions and deletions of tuples in an asymmetric manner: if a tuple is inserted then, intuitively, we think of as being true and we use this knowledge in query and update processing; in contrast, if a tuple is deleted then we think of as being false but we do not use this knowledge at all! In this paper, we present a new approach to database querying and updating in which insertions and deletions of tuples are treated in a symmetric manner. Contrary to the traditional approach, we use both inserted and deleted tuples in our derivation algorithms. Our approach works as follows: if the deletion of a tuple is requested, then we mark as being deleted without removing it from the database; if the insertion of a tuple is requested, then we simply place in the database and remove all its marked subtuples. Derivation of tuples is done using two derivation rules under one constraint: a tuple is derived only if has no marked subtuples in the database. The derivation rules reflect relational projection and relational join. The main contribution of our work is to provide a method which allows insertion or deletion of a tuple over any relation scheme in a deterministic way. Received: 12 June 1995 / 19 February 1997     

Interleaving solving and elicitation of constraint satisfaction problems based on expected cost

We consider Constraint Satisfaction Problems in which constraints can be initially incomplete, where it is unknown whether certain tuples satisfy the constraint or not. We assume that we can determine the satisfaction of such an unknown tuple, i.e., find out whether this tuple is in the constraint or not, but doing so incurs a known cost, which may vary between tuples. We also assume that we know the probability of an unknown tuple satisfying a constraint. We define algorithms for this problem, based on backtracking search. Specifically, we consider a simple iterative algorithm based on a cost limit on the unknowns that may be determined, and a more complex algorithm that delays determining an unknown in order to estimate better whether doing so is worthwhile. We show experimentally that the more sophisticated algorithms can greatly reduce the average cost.     

描述数据库的双层描述逻辑

为了表示元组和属性值的逻辑区别,引入了一个双层描述逻辑,其中概念分为两类:元组概念和属性值概念。给出双层描述逻辑的语言、语法和语义;然后定义从数据库中的关系到双层描述逻辑的知识库以及双层描述逻辑的模型的转换;最后扩展双层描述逻辑,使得其中的角色分为3类:元组之间的角色、元组与属性值之间的角色以及属性值之间的角色。     

A General Qualitative Framework for Temporal and Spatial Reasoning

To offer a generic framework which groups together several interval algebra generalizations, we simply define a generalized interval as a tuple of intervals. An atomic relation between two generalized intervals is a matrix of atomic relations of Interval Algebra. After introducing the generalized relations we focus on the consistency problem of generalized constraint networks and we present sets of generalized relations for which this problem is tractable, in particular the set of the strongly-preconvex relations.     

A constraint-based approach to shape management in multimedia databases

Shape management is an important functionality in multimedia databases. Shape information can be used in both image acquisition and image retrieval. Several approaches have been proposed to deal with shape representation and matching. Among them, the data-driven approach supports searches for shapes based on indexing techniques. Unfortunately, efficient data-driven approaches are often defined only for specific types of shape. This is not sufficient in contexts in which arbitrary shapes should be represented. Constraint databases use mathematical theories to finitely represent infinite sets of relational tuples. They have been proved to be very useful in modeling spatial objects. In this paper, we apply constraint-based data models to the problem of shape management in multimedia databases. We first present the constraint model and some constraint languages. Then, we show how constraints can be used to model general shapes. The use of a constraint language as an internal specification and execution language for querying shapes is also discussed. Finally, we show how a constraint database system can be used to efficiently retrieve shapes, retaining the advantages of the already defined approaches.     

线性序约束的规范表达

文中研究了约束数据库中线性序约束关系的规范表达。提出一种线性序约束元组的表结构规约形式,增加了线性冗余和变量可约减两条新的规约原则,并给线性序元组规约算法ＬＣＴＲＡ,探讨了绝对点语义和复杂对象语言下线性序约束关系的规范型。     

Temporal relational data model

This paper incorporates a temporal dimension to nested relations. It combines research in temporal databases and nested relations for managing the temporal data in nontraditional database applications. A temporal data value is represented as a temporal atom; a temporal atom consists of two parts: a temporal set and a value. The temporal atom asserts that the value is valid over the time duration represented by its temporal set. The data model allows relations with arbitrary levels of nesting and can represent the histories of objects and their relationships. Temporal relational algebra and calculus languages are formulated and their equivalence is proved. Temporal relational algebra includes operations to manipulate temporal data and to restructure nested temporal relations. Additionally, we define operations to generate a power set of a relation, a set membership test, and a set inclusion test, which are all derived from the other operations of temporal relational algebra. To obtain a concise representation of temporal data (temporal reduction), collapsed versions of the set-theoretic operations are defined. Procedures to express collapsed operations by the regular operations of temporal relational algebra are included. The paper also develops procedures to completely flatten a nested temporal relation into an equivalent 1 NF relation and back to its original form, thus providing a basis for the semantics of the collapsed operations by the traditional operations on 1 NF relations     

Watermarking Relational Databases Using Optimization-Based Techniques

Proving ownership rights on outsourced relational databases is a crucial issue in today's internet-based application environments and in many content distribution applications. In this paper, we present a mechanism for proof of ownership based on the secure embedding of a robust imperceptible watermark in relational data. We formulate the watermarking of relational databases as a constrained optimization problem and discuss efficient techniques to solve the optimization problem and to handle the constraints. Our watermarking technique is resilient to watermark synchronization errors because it uses a partitioning approach that does not require marker tuples. Our approach overcomes a major weakness in previously proposed watermarking techniques. Watermark decoding is based on a threshold-based technique characterized by an optimal threshold that minimizes the probability of decoding errors. We implemented a proof of concept implementation of our watermarking technique and showed by experimental results that our technique is resilient to tuple deletion, alteration, and insertion attacks.     

An associative accelerator for large databases

The RAPID-1 (relational access processor for intelligent data), an associative accelerator that recognizes tuples and logical formulas, is presented. It evaluates logical formulas instantiated by the current tuple, or record, and operates on whole relations or on hashing buckets. RAPID- 1 uses a reduced instruction set and hardwired control and executes all comparisons in a bit-parallel mode. It speeds up the database by a significant factor and will adapt to future generations of microprocessors. The principal design issues, data structures, instruction set, architecture, environments and performance are discussed     

The expressive power of temporal relational query languages

The authors consider the representation of temporal data based on tuple and attribute timestamping. They identify the requirements in modeling temporal data and elaborate on their implications in the expressive power of temporal query languages. They introduce a temporal relational data model where N1NF relations and attribute timestamping are used and one level of nesting is allowed. For this model, a nested relational tuple calculus (NTC) is defined. They follow a comparative approach in evaluating the expressive power of temporal query languages, using NTC as a metric and comparing it with the existing temporal query languages. They prove that NTC subsumes the expressive power of these query languages. They also demonstrate how various temporal relational models can be obtained from the temporal relations by NTC and give equivalent NTC expressions for their languages. Furthermore, they show the equivalence of intervals and temporal elements (sets) as timestamps in their model     

Ranked Relations: Query Languages and Query Processing Methods for Multimedia

In this paper, we describe the notion of a ranked relation that incorporates to the relational data model the notion of rank, i.e. ordering among tuples or objects. The ordering of tuples may be based on a single rank information, or multiple ranks combined together. We show that such relations arise naturally in many applications, especially in applications that query outside sources and return ranked relations as answers to content based queries. We introduce an algebra for querying ranked relations and give examples of its use for various applications. We then prove various properties of the algebra with special emphasis on the preservation of the coherence property, which shows when different rank columns are guaranteed to induce the same ordering among tuples. We show how these properties can be used to produce approximate early returns. Finally, we give experimental results based on Internet search engines for our early returns method and show that our method provides meaningful and fast answers to the user.     

Probabilistic query answering over inconsistent databases

This paper presents a framework for querying inconsistent databases in the presence of functional dependencies. Most of the works dealing with the problem of extracting reliable information from inconsistent databases are based on the notion of repair, a minimal set of tuple insertions and deletions which leads the database to a consistent state (called repaired database), and the notion of consistent query answer, a query answer that can be obtained from every repaired database. In this work, both the notion of repair and query answer differ from the original ones. In the presence of functional dependencies, tuple deletions are the only operations that are performed in order to restore the consistency of an inconsistent database. However, deleting a tuple to remove an integrity violation potentially eliminates useful information in that tuple. In order to cope with this problem, we adopt a notion of repair, based on tuple updates, which allows us to better preserve information in the source database. A drawback of the notion of consistent query answer is that it does not allow us to discriminate among non-consistent answers, namely answers which can be obtained from a non-empty proper subset of the repaired databases. To obtain more informative query answers, we propose the notion of probabilistic query answer, that is query answers are tuples associated with probabilities. This new semantics of query answering over inconsistent databases allows us to give a measure of uncertainty to query answers. We show that the problem of computing probabilistic query answers is FP ^#P -complete. We also propose a technique for computing probabilistic answers to arbitrary relational algebra queries.