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SQL-Based Temporal Query Languages

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Encyclopedia of Database Systems

Definition

More than two dozen extensions to the relational data model have been proposed that support the storage and retrieval of time-referenced data. These models timestamp tuples or attribute values, and the timestamps used include time points, time periods, and finite unions of time periods, termed temporal elements.

A temporal query language is defined in the context of a specific data model. Most notably, it supports the specification of queries on the specific form of time-referenced data provided by its data model. More generally, it enables the management of time-referenced data.

Different approaches to the design of a temporal extension to the Structured Query Language (SQL) have emerged that yield temporal query languages with quite different design properties.

Historical Background

A number of past events and activities that included the temporal database community at large had a significant impact on the evolution of temporal query languages. The 1987 IFIP TC 8/WG 8.1...

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Recommended Reading

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Author information

Authors and Affiliations

  1. Free University of Bozen-Bolzano, Bolzano, Italy

    Michael Böhlen & Johann Gamper

  2. Aalborg University, Aalborg, Denmark

    Christian S. Jensen

  3. University of Arizona, Tucson, AZ, USA,  ,  

    Richard T. Snodgrass

Authors
  1. Michael Böhlen
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  2. Johann Gamper
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  3. Christian S. Jensen
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  4. Richard T. Snodgrass
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Editor information

Editors and Affiliations

  1. College of Computing, Georgia Institute of Technology, 266 Ferst Drive, 30332-0765, Atlanta, GA, USA

    LING LIU (Professor) (Professor)

  2. Database Research Group David R. Cheriton School of Computer Science, University of Waterloo, 200 University Avenue West, N2L 3G1, Waterloo, ON, Canada

    M. TAMER ÖZSU (Professor and Director, University Research Chair) (Professor and Director, University Research Chair)

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© 2009 Springer Science+Business Media, LLC

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Böhlen, M., Gamper, J., Jensen, C.S., Snodgrass, R.T. (2009). SQL-Based Temporal Query Languages. In: LIU, L., ÖZSU, M.T. (eds) Encyclopedia of Database Systems. Springer, Boston, MA. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-0-387-39940-9_1525

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