Skip to main content
Log in

A formal semantics for an active functional DBPL

  • Published:
Journal of Intelligent Information Systems Aims and scope Submit manuscript

Abstract

We describe how the functional database programming language PFL is extended with an active component without compromising either its declarative semantics or its syntax. We give a formal specification of the active component using PFL itself, including event specification and detection, parameter-binding, reaction scheduling and abort handling. We describe how a user-specified function can be cast as a primitive event, and discuss the expressiveness of events and the optimisation of event detection.

This is a preview of subscription content, log in via an institution to check access.

Access this article

Price excludes VAT (USA)
Tax calculation will be finalised during checkout.

Instant access to the full article PDF.

Institutional subscriptions

Similar content being viewed by others

References

  • Baralis, E., Ceri, S. and Paraboschi, S. (1995). “Improved Rule Analysis by Means of Triggering and Activation Graphs”, in Proc. 2nd Int. Workshop on Rules in Database Systems, Athens, Greece, pp. 165–181.

  • Branding, H., Buchmann, A., Kudrass, T. and Zimmerman, J. (1993). Rules in an open system: the REACH rule system. In (Paton, et al. 1993a), pp. 111–126.

  • Buchmann, A., Özsu, M.T., Hornick, M., Georgakopoulos, D. and Manola, F.A. (1992). A transaction model for active distributed object systems. In A.K.Elmagarmid (Ed.), Database Transaction Models for Advanced Applications. Morgan Kaufman, San Mateo, CA.

    Google Scholar 

  • Burstall, R. (1969). “Proving properties of programs by structural induction”, The Computer Journal, 12, pp. 41–48.

    Google Scholar 

  • Chakravarthy, S., Krishnaprasad, V., Anwar E. and Kim, S.-.K. (1994). “Composite Events for Active Databases: Semantics, Contexts and Detection”, in Proc. 20th VLDB Conf., Santiago, Chile, pp. 606–617.

  • Clack, C. and Peyton-Jones, S.L. (1985). Strictness Analysis-A Practical Approach. In J.P.Jouannaud (Ed.), Functional Programming Languages and Computer Architecture, LNCS 201. Springer-Verlag, Heidelberg, Germany.

    Google Scholar 

  • Dayal, U., Blaustein, B., Buchmann, A.P., Chakravarthy, S., Goldhirsch, D., Hsu, M., Ladin, R., McCarthy, D. and Rosenthal, A. (1988). “The HiPAC project: combining active databases and timing constraints”, Sigmod record, Vol. 17–1, pp. 51–70.

    Google Scholar 

  • Dittrich, K.R., Gatziu, S. and Geppert, A. (1995). “The Active Database Management System Manifesto: A Rulebase of ADBMS Features”, in Proc. 2nd Int. Workshop on Rules in Database Systems, Athens, Greece, pp. 3–17.

  • Gatziu, S. and Dittrich, K.R. (1992). “SAMOS: an Active Object-Oriented Database System”, IEEE Bulletin of the TC on Data Engineering: Special Issue on Active Databases, Vol. 15, pp. 1–4

    Google Scholar 

  • Gatziu, S. and Dittrich K.R. (1993). Events in an Active Object-Oriented Database System. In (Paton, et al. 1993a), pp. 23–39.

  • Gehani, N.H. and Jagadish, H.V. (1991). “Ode as an Active Database: Constraints and Triggers”, in Proc 17th VLDB Conf., Barcelona, Spain, pp. 327–336.

  • Gehani, N.H., Jagadish, H.V. and Schmueli, O. (1992). “Composite Event Specification in Active Databases: Model & Implementation”, in Proc. 18th VLDB Conf., Vancouver, Canada, pp. 327–338.

  • Paton, N.W. and Williams, M.H. (Eds.) (1993a). Rules in Database Systems, Edinburgh 1993. Springer-Verlag, Heidelberg, Germany.

    Google Scholar 

  • Paton, N.W., Diaz, O., Williams, M.H., Campin, J., Dinn, A. and Jaime, A. (1993). Dimensions of active behaviour. In (Paton, et al. 1993a), pp. 40–57.

  • Paton, N.W., Campin, J., Fernandes, A.A.A. and Williams, M.H. (1995). “Formal Specification of Active Database Functionality: A Survey”, in Proc. 2nd Int. Workshop on Rules in Database Systems, Athens, Greece, pp. 21–35.

  • Paulson, L.C. (1987). Logic and computation: Interactive proof with Cambridge LCF, Cambridge University Press, Cambridge, U.K..

    Google Scholar 

  • Peterson, J.L. (1977). Petri Nets, ACM Computing Surveys, Vol. 9–3, pp. 223–252.

    Google Scholar 

  • Peyton-Jones, S.L. (1987). The implementation of functional programming languages, Prentice-Hall, New York, NY.

    Google Scholar 

  • Poulovassilis, A. and Small, C. (1991). “A functional approach to deductive databases”, in Proc. 17th VLDB Conf., Barcelona, Spain, pp. 491–500.

  • Poulovassilis, A. and Small, C. (1994). “Investigation of algebraic query optimisation in database programming languages”, in Proc. 20th VLDB Conf., Santiago, Chile, pp. 415–426.

  • Poulovassilis, A. and Small, C. (1996). “Algebraic query optimisation in database programming languages”, VLDB Journal, Vol. 5–2, pp. 119–132.

    Google Scholar 

  • Reddi, S. (1993). “Integrity enforcement in the functional database language PFL”, in Proc. 11th British National Conf. on Databases, Keele, U.K., pp. 238–257.

  • Reddi, S. Poulovassilis, A. and Small, C. (1995). “Extending a Functional DBPL with ECA-rules”, in Proc. 2nd Int. Workshop on Rules in Database Systems, Athens, Greece, pp. 101–115.

  • Simon, E., Kiernan, J. and de Maindreville, C. (1992). “Implementing high level active rules on top of a relational DBMS”, in Proc. 18th VLDB Conference, Vancouver, Canada, pp. 315–326.

  • Small, C. and Poulovassilis, A. (1991). “An overview of PFL”, in Proc. DBPL-3, Nauplion, Greece, pp. 96–110.

  • Sutton, D. and Small, C. (1995). “Extending functional database languages to update completeness”, in Proc. 13th British National Conf. on Databases, Manchester, U.K., pp. 47–63.

  • Widom, J., Cochrane, R.J. and Lindsay, B.G. (1991). “Implementing set-oriented production rules as an extension to Starburst”, in Proc. 17th VLDB Conf., Barcelona, Spain, pp. 275–285.

Download references

Author information

Authors and Affiliations

Authors

Rights and permissions

Reprints and permissions

About this article

Cite this article

Poulovassilis, A., Reddi, S. & Small, C. A formal semantics for an active functional DBPL. J Intell Inf Syst 7, 151–172 (1996). https://doi.org/10.1007/BF00127780

Download citation

  • Issue Date:

  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/BF00127780

Keywords

Navigation