High-Level Interaction with Relational Databases in Logic Programming

Abstract

Most real-world applications have come to rely on the mature technology of relational databases for persistent storage, interacting through SQL embedded in the host programming language. Using logic programming we present a higher-level alternative to SQL, close in spirit to natural language, yielding much more concise expressions that are easier to understand and promote better code maintenance. This is achieved using the flexible operator syntax and the deductive capabilities, first to compile a clausal representation of the database scheme from a high-level description, and then to interpret queries and commands, through the compiled scheme, into SQL statements.