Abstract
The paper introduces a model of the Web as an infinite, semi-structured set of objects. We reconsider the classical notions of genericity and computability of queries in this new context and relate them to styles of computation prevalent on the Web, based on browsing and searching. We revisit several well-known declarative query languages (first-order logic, Datalog, and Datalog with negation) and consider their computational characteristics in terms the notions introduced in this paper. In particular, we are interested in languages or fragments thereof which can be implemented by browsing, or by browsing and searching combined. Surprisingly, stratified and well-founded semantics for negation turn out to have basic shortcomings in this context, while inflationary semantics emerges as an appealing alternative.
Work supported in part by the National Science Foundation under grant number IRI-9221268.
This author's permanent position is INRIA-Rocquencourt, France. His work was supported in part by the Air Force Wright Laboratory Aeronautical Systems Center under ARPA Contract F33615-93-1-1339, and by the Air Force Rome Laboratories under ARPA Contract F30602-95-C-0119
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Abiteboul, S., Vianu, V. (1996). Queries and computation on the Web. In: Afrati, F., Kolaitis, P. (eds) Database Theory — ICDT '97. ICDT 1997. Lecture Notes in Computer Science, vol 1186. Springer, Berlin, Heidelberg. https://doi.org/10.1007/3-540-62222-5_50
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DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/3-540-62222-5_50
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