Semantics of Database Transformations

Database transformations arise in many di erent settings including database integration, evolution of database systems, and implementing user views and data-entry tools. This paper surveys approaches that have been taken to problems in these settings, assesses their strengths and weaknesses, and develops requirements on a formal model for specifying and implementing database transformations. We also consider the problem of insuring the correctness of database transformations. In particular, we demonstrate that the usefulness of correctness conditions such as information preservation is hindered by the interactions of transformations and database constraints, and the limited expressive power of established database constraint languages. We conclude that more general notions of correctness are required, and that there is a need for a uniform formalism for expressing both database transformations and constraints, and reasoning about their interactions. Finally we introduce WOL, a declarat...

• Type: Conference
• Year: 1995
• Where: SDB
• Authors: Peter Buneman, Susan B. Davidson, Anthony Kosky
• Keywords: Correctness, Database, Database Constraint, Database Transformations, SDB 1995