Skip to main content
SpringerLink
Log in

Cooperative Answering of Fuzzy Queries

  • Regular Paper
  • Published:
Journal of Computer Science and Technology Aims and scope Submit manuscript

Abstract

The majority of existing information systems deals with crisp data through crisp database systems. Traditional Database Management Systems (DBMS) have not taken into account imprecision so one can say there is some sort of lack of flexibility. The reason is that queries retrieve only elements which precisely match to the given Boolean query. That is, an element belongs to the result if the query is true for this element; otherwise, no answers are returned to the user. The aim of this paper is to present a cooperative approach to handling empty answers of fuzzy conjunctive queries by referring to the Formal Concept Analysis (FCA) theory and fuzzy logic. We present an architecture which combines FCA and databases. The processing of fuzzy queries allows detecting the minimal reasons of empty answers. We also use concept lattice in order to provide the user with the nearest answers in the case of a query failure.

This is a preview of subscription content, log in via an institution to check access.

Access this article

Log in via an institution

Price excludes VAT (USA)
Tax calculation will be finalised during checkout.

Instant access to the full article PDF.

Similar content being viewed by others

References

  1. Gaasterl T, Godfrey P, Minker J. An overview of cooperative answering. Journal of Intelligent Information Systems, 1992, 1(2): 123–157.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  2. Bosc P, HadjAli A, Pivert O. Towards a tolerance-based technique for cooperative answering of fuzzy queries against regular databases. In Proc. the 13th International Conference on Cooperative Information Systems (CoopIS), Agia Napa, Cyprus, Nov. 12–14, 2005, LNCS 3760, pp.256–273.

  3. Stumme G, Wille R, Wille U. Conceptual knowledge discovery in databases using formal concept analysis methods. In Proc. the 2nd European Symposium on Principles of Data Mining and Knowledge Discovery (PKDD'98), Nantes, France, 1998, LNCS 1510, pp.450–458.

  4. Ganter B, Wille R (eds.). Formal Concept Analysis. Mathematical Foundations, Springer Verlag, 1999.

  5. Lotfi Zadeh. Fuzzy sets. Information and Control, 1965, 8(3): 338–353.

    Article  MATH  MathSciNet  Google Scholar 

  6. Wille R. Restructuring Lattice Theory: An Approach Based on Hierarchies of Concepts. Ordered Sets, Rival I (ed.), Dordrecht-Boston: Reidel, 1982, pp.445–470.

    Google Scholar 

  7. Karl Erich Wolff. Concepts in fuzzy scaling theory: Order and granularity. Fuzzy Sets Systems, 2002, 132(1): 63–75.

    Article  MATH  MathSciNet  Google Scholar 

  8. Andreasen T, Pivert O. On the weakening of fuzzy relational queries. In Proc. the 8th International Symposium on Methodologies for Intelligent Systems, London, UK, LNCS 869, Springer-Verlag, Oct. 16–19, 1994, pp.144–153.

  9. Wanyinna Amenel Voglozin, Guillaume Raschia, Laurent Ughetto, Noureddine Mouaddib. Querying the SaintEtiQ summaries—Dealing with null answers. In Proc. the 14th IEEE International Conference on Fuzzy Systems (FUZZ-IEEE 05), Reno, Nevada, USA, May 2005, pp.585–590.

  10. De Calmèes M, Dubois D, Hullermeier E, Prade H, Sedes F. Flexibility and fuzzy case-based evaluation in querying: An illustration in an experimental setting. International Journal of Uncertainty, Fuzziness and Knowledge-Based Systems, 2003, 11(1): 43–66.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  11. Mohamed Ali Ben Hassine, Habib Ounelli. IDFQ: An interface for database flexible querying. In Proc. the 12th East-European Conference on Advances in Databases and Information Systems (ADBIS 2008), Pori, Finland, LNCS 5207, September 5–9, 2008, pp.112–126.

  12. Mohamed Ali Ben Hassine, Amel Grissa, Habib Ounelli, José Galindo. How to Achieve Fuzzy Relational Databases Managing Fuzzy Data and Metadata. Handbook on Fuzzy Information Processing in Databases, Galindo J (ed.), Information Science Reference, 2008, volume 2, pp.348–372.

  13. Godin R, Rokia M, Alaoui H. Incremental concept formation algorithms based on Galois (concept) lattices. Computational Intelligence, 1995, 11(2): 246–267.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  14. Hanene Chettaoui, Mohamed Ali Ben Hassine, Narjes Hachani, Habib Ounelli. Using FCA to answer fuzzy queries in cooperative systems. In Proc. the 5th International Conference on Fuzzy Systems and Knowledge Discovery (FSKD), Jinan, Shandong, China, Aug. 25–27, 2008, pp.14–20.

  15. Asuncion A, Newman D. UCI machine learning repository. Irvine, CA: University of California, School of Information and Computer Science, 2007, http://www.ics.uci.edu/~mlearn/MLRepository.html.

  16. StatLib: Data, Software and News from the Statistics Community. http://lib.stat.cmu.edu.

Download references

Author information

Authors and Affiliations

  1. Department of Computer Sciences, Faculty of Sciences of Tunis, University Campus, Tunis, 1060, Tunisia

    Narjes Hachani, Mohamed Ali Ben Hassine, Hanèene Chettaoui & Habib Ounelli

Authors
  1. Narjes Hachani
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

  2. Mohamed Ali Ben Hassine
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

  3. Hanèene Chettaoui
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

  4. Habib Ounelli
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

Corresponding author

Correspondence to Narjes Hachani.

Electronic Supplementary Material

Below is the link to the electronic supplementary material.

(PDF 136 kb)

Rights and permissions

Reprints and permissions

About this article

Cite this article

Hachani, N., Ben Hassine, M.A., Chettaoui, H. et al. Cooperative Answering of Fuzzy Queries. J. Comput. Sci. Technol. 24, 675–686 (2009). https://doi.org/10.1007/s11390-009-9252-1

Download citation

  • Received:

  • Revised:

  • Published:

  • Issue Date:

  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s11390-009-9252-1

Keywords

Search

Navigation