Atelic Data

Synonyms

Point-based temporal data; Snapshot data

Definition

Atelic data is temporal data describing facts that do not involve a goal or culmination. In ancient Greek, telos means “goal,” and α is used as prefix to denote negation. In the context of temporal databases, atelic data is that data for which both upward and downward (temporal) inheritance hold. Specifically,

• Downward inheritance. The downward inheritance property implies that one can infer from temporal data d that holds at valid time t (where t is a time period) and that d holds in any subperiod (and sub-point) of t.

• Upward inheritance. The upward inheritance property implies that one can infer from temporal data d that holds at two consecutive or overlapping time periods t₁ and t₂ and that d holds in the union time period t₁  ∪  t₂.

Atelic data is differentiated from telic data, in which neither upward nor downward inheritance holds.

Key Points

Starting from Aristotle [1], researchers in areas such as philosophy,...