Logic and Databases: The Roots of Relational TheoryLogic and databases are inextricably intertwined. The relational model in particular is essentially just elementary predicate logic, tailored to fit the needs of database management. Now, if you're a database professional, I'm sure this isn't news to you; but you still might not realize just how much everything we do in the database world is - or should be! - affected by predicate logic. Logic is everywhere. So if you're a database professional you really owe it to yourself to understand the basics of formal logic, and you really ought to be able to explain (and perhaps defend) the connections between formal logic and database management. And that's what this book is about. What it does is show, through a series of partly independent and partly interrelate essays, just how various crucial aspects of database technology-some of them very familiar, others maybe less so- are solidly grounded in formal logic. It is divided into five parts: There's also a lengthy appendix, containing a collection of frequently asked questions (and some answers) on various aspects of logic and database management. Overall, my goal is to help you realize the importance of logic in everything you do, and also- I hope- to help you see that logic can be fun. |
Contents
The Building Blocks of Logic | 3 |
Some Operators Are More Equal Than Others | 41 |
LOGIC AND DATABASE MANAGEMENT | 65 |
The Closed World Assumption | 95 |
Why Relational DBMSS Must Be Based on Logic | 119 |
LOGIC AND DATABASE DESIGN | 153 |
Normalization from Top to Bottom | 177 |
LOGIC AND ALGEBRA | 235 |
Semijoin and Semidifference | 275 |