2006/02/03 by Christoph Koch, Christoph T. Koch, Koch, Christoph
Computer Science · #Advanced Database Systems and Queries #Data Management and Algorithms #Semantic Web and Ontologies #cs.DB #cs.HC
paper · pdf · doi:10.48550/arxiv.cs/0602006
12 pages, 6 figures, 1 table
arxiv created 2006/02/03 · arxiv updated 2009/12/01
In this paper, a visual language, VCP, for queries on complex-value databases is proposed. The main strength of the new language is that it is purely visual: (i) It has no notion of variable, quantification, partiality, join, pattern matching, regular expression, recursion, or any other construct proper to logical, functional, or other database query languages and (ii) has a very natural, strong, and intuitive design metaphor. The main operation is that of copying and pasting in a schema tree. We show that despite its simplicity, VCP precisely captures complex-value algebra without powerset, or equivalently, monad algebra with union and difference. Thus, its expressive power is precisely that of the language that is usually considered to play the role of relational algebra for complex-value databases.