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Querying Relational Databases without Explicit Joins

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Conceptual Modeling for New Information Systems Technologies (ER 2001)

Part of the book series: Lecture Notes in Computer Science ((LNCS,volume 2465))

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Abstract

Despite its benefits and wide-spread acceptance, SQL [5] is not a perfect query language. Although graphical tools for query construction mask some of the complexity, complex database schema challenge even experienced database users during query formulation because a user is responsible for mapping the semantics of their query to the structure of the database. In this work, we propose a semantic query language for graphically querying relational database systems that allows a user to query the database by semantics instead of structure. Database semantics are described using a global dictionary and semantic specifications that are combined to form an integrated, context view. Users query the semantic view by concept name, and the query processor translates semantic queries to SQL. This translation involves automatically determining attribute and relation mappings and join conditions.

This research is sponsored by NSERC Research Grant (RGP-0105566) and TRLabs.

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Author information

Authors and Affiliations

  1. University of Iowa, Iowa City, IA, USA

    Ramon Lawrence

  2. University of Calgary, Calgary, Alberta, Canada

    Ken Barker

Authors
  1. Ramon Lawrence
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  2. Ken Barker
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Editor information

Editors and Affiliations

  1. Graduate school of environment and information sciences, Yokohama National University, 79-7, Tokiwadai, Hodogaya-ku, yokohama, 240-8501, Japan

    Hiroshi Arisawa

  2. Department of Social Informatics, Graduate School of Informatics, Kyoto University, Yoshida, Sakyo, Kyoto, 606-8501, Japan

    Yahiko Kambayashi

  3. SICE Computer Networking, University of Missouri-Kansas City, 5100 Rockhill Road, Kansas City, MO, 64110, USA

    Vijay Kumar

  4. University of Klagenfurt, Universitätsstraße 65-67, 9020, Klagenfurt, Austria

    Heinrich C. Mayr

  5. VP Industry Services DAMA International, PO Box 5786, Bellevue, WA, 98006-5786, USA

    Ingrid Hunt

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© 2002 Springer-Verlag Berlin Heidelberg

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Lawrence, R., Barker, K. (2002). Querying Relational Databases without Explicit Joins. In: Arisawa, H., Kambayashi, Y., Kumar, V., Mayr, H.C., Hunt, I. (eds) Conceptual Modeling for New Information Systems Technologies. ER 2001. Lecture Notes in Computer Science, vol 2465. Springer, Berlin, Heidelberg. https://doi.org/10.1007/3-540-46140-X_22

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/3-540-46140-X_22

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  • Publisher Name: Springer, Berlin, Heidelberg

  • Print ISBN: 978-3-540-44122-9

  • Online ISBN: 978-3-540-46140-1

  • eBook Packages: Springer Book Archive

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