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A theory of data dependencies over relational expressions

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Abstract

A class of integrity constraints for the relational model of data, called implicational dependencies over relational expressions (or, simply, IDEXs), is defined. The interest on IDEXs is justified by briefly indicating several logical database design problems where they naturally occur. To reason about IDEXs, a refutation procedure, which is a direct adaptation of first-order analytic tableaux, is introduced. Finally, the refutation procedure is shown to be a decision procedure for a restricted class of IDEXs.

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Research supported in part by FINEP and CNPq grant 402090/80 while the author was at the Catholic University of Rio de Janeiro.

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Casanova, M.A. A theory of data dependencies over relational expressions. International Journal of Computer and Information Sciences 12, 151–191 (1983). https://doi.org/10.1007/BF00995890

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