Abstract
Dealing with missing information in databases, either because the information is unknown or inapplicable, is a widely addressed topic in research. Most of the time, null values are used to model this missing information. This paper deals with querying such null values, and more specifically null values representing inapplicable information, and tries to come up with semantically richer, but still correct, query answers in the presence of null values. The presented approach is based on the observation that, when used in the context of a query, an inapplicable value can be treated semantically equivalent to some other regular domain value, resulting in a query criteria satisfaction being either ‘true’, ‘false’ or ‘unknown’. So, the data itself can be inapplicable, but the criteria (and query) satisfaction is not inapplicable.
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Matthé, T., De Tré, G. (2010). The Bipolar Semantics of Querying Null Values in Regular and Fuzzy Databases. In: Hüllermeier, E., Kruse, R., Hoffmann, F. (eds) Information Processing and Management of Uncertainty in Knowledge-Based Systems. Applications. IPMU 2010. Communications in Computer and Information Science, vol 81. Springer, Berlin, Heidelberg. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-642-14058-7_14
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DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-642-14058-7_14
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