A common framework for classifying and specifying deductive database updating problems

Abstract

Several problems may arise when updating a deductive database. Up to now, the general approach of the research related to deductive database updating problems has been to provide specific methods for solving particular problems. However, ali these methods are explicitly or implicitly based on a set of rules that define the changes that occur in a transition from an old state of a database to a new, updated state. Therefore, these rules provide the basis of a framework for classifying and specifying these problems. In this paper we propose to use the event rules [Oli91], which explicitly define the insertions and deletions induced by an update, for such a basis. We also define two interpretations of these rules which provide a common framework for classifying and specifying deductive database updating problems such as view updating, materialized view maintenance, integrity constraints checking, integrity constraints maintenance, repairing inconsistent databases, integrity constraints satisfiability or condition monitoring. Moreover, these interpretations allow us to identify and to specify sorne problems that have received little attention up to now like enforcing or preventing condition activation. By considering only a uniqu~ set of rules for specifying all these problems, we want to show that it is possible to provide general methods able to deal with all these problems as a whole.