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Inferring multivalued dependencies from functional and join dependencies

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Summary

We describe an algorithm to test whether a multivalued dependency is implied by a set of functional and join dependencies. The worst case running time of the algorithm is O(nm), where n is the length of the input and m is the number of the attributes in the universe. We also apply the algorithm to test implication of embedded multivalued dependencies, lossless join dependencies, acyclic join dependencies, first order hierarchical decompositions, and functional dependencies. The worst case running time of the algorithm for all these problems is still polynomial in the length of the input.

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Vardi, M.Y. Inferring multivalued dependencies from functional and join dependencies. Acta Informatica 19, 305–324 (1983). https://doi.org/10.1007/BF00290729

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