Foundations of Rule-Based Query Answering

Bry, François; Eisinger, Norbert; Eiter, Thomas; Furche, Tim; Gottlob, Georg; Ley, Clemens; Linse, Benedikt; Pichler, Reinhard and Wei, Fang (2007): Foundations of Rule-Based Query Answering. Reasoning Web 2007 - Third International Summer School, Dresden, Germany, 3. - 7. September 2007. Antoniou, Grigoris (ed.) : In: Reasoning Web : Third International Summer School 2007, Dresden, Germany, September 3-7, 2007, Tutorial Lectures, Berlin u.a.: Springer. pp. 1-153

Abstract

This survey article introduces into the essential concepts and methods underlying rule-based query languages. It covers four complementary areas: declarative semantics based on adaptations of mathematical logic, operational semantics, complexity and expressive power, and optimisation of query evaluation.

The treatment of these areas is foundation-oriented, the foundations having resulted from over four decades of research in the logic programming and database communities on combinations of query languages and rules. These results have later formed the basis for conceiving, improving, and implementing several Web and Semantic Web technologies, in particular query languages such as XQuery or SPARQL for querying relational, XML, and RDF data, and rule languages like the “Rule Interchange Framework (RIF)” currently being developed in a working group of the W3C.

Coverage of the article is deliberately limited to declarative languages in a classical setting: issues such as query answering in F-Logic or in description logics, or the relationship of query answering to reactive rules and events, are not addressed.

• Item Type: Conference or Workshop Item (Paper)
• Form of publication: Postprint
• Faculties: Mathematics, Computer Science and Statistics > Computer Science
• Subjects: 000 Computer science, information and general works > 004 Data processing computer science
• Place of Publication: Berlin u.a.
• Annotation: Forschungsbericht/Research Report PMS-FB-2007-7, June 2007. The final publication is available at link.springer.com
• Language: English