Foundations of Knowledge Systems

1. Front Matter

   Pages i-xxix

   PDF

2. Tables and Objects

   1. Front Matter

      Pages 1-1

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   2. Conceptual Modeling of Knowledge Bases

      • Gerd Wagner

      Pages 3-18

   3. The Fundamental Case: Relational Databases

      • Gerd Wagner

      Pages 19-70

   4. Object-Relational Databases

      • Gerd Wagner

      Pages 71-83

3. Adding Rules

   1. Front Matter

      Pages 85-85

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   2. Reaction Rules

      • Gerd Wagner

      Pages 87-102

   3. Deduction Rules

      • Gerd Wagner

      Pages 103-123

4. Positive Knowledge Systems: Concepts, Properties and Examples

   1. Front Matter

      Pages 125-125

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   2. Principles of Positive Knowledge Systems

      • Gerd Wagner

      Pages 127-138

   3. Temporal Databases

      • Gerd Wagner

      Pages 139-149

   4. Fuzzy Databases

      • Gerd Wagner

      Pages 151-163

   5. Further Examples of Positive Knowledge Systems

      • Gerd Wagner

      Pages 165-176

5. Admitting Negative Information: From Tables to Bitables

   1. Front Matter

      Pages 177-177

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   2. Principles of Non-Positive Knowledge Systems

      • Gerd Wagner

      Pages 179-185

   3. Relational Factbases

      • Gerd Wagner

      Pages 187-194

   4. Possibilistic Databases

      • Gerd Wagner

      Pages 195-203

   5. Further Examples of Non-Positive Knowledge Systems

      • Gerd Wagner

      Pages 205-215

6. More on Reaction and Deduction Rules

   1. Front Matter

      Pages 217-217

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   2. Communication and Cooperation

      • Gerd Wagner

      Pages 219-235

One of the main uses of computer systems is the management of large amounts of symbolic information representing the state of some application domain, such as information about all the people I communicate with in my personal address database, or relevant parts of the outer space in the knowledge base of a NASA space mission. While database management systems offer only the basic services of information storage and retrieval, more powerful knowledge systems offer, in addition, a number of advanced services such as deductive and abductive reasoning for the purpose of finding explanations and diagnoses, or generating plans.
In order to design and understand database and knowledge-based applications it is important to build upon well-established conceptual and mathematical foundations. What are the principles behind database and knowledge systems? What are their major components? Which are the important cases of knowledge systems? What are their limitations? Addressing these questions, and discussing the fundamental issues of information update, knowledge assimilation, integrity maintenance, and inference-based query answering, is the purpose of this book.
Foundations of Databases and Knowledge Systems covers both basic and advanced topics. It may be used as the textbook of a course offering a broad introduction to databases and knowledge bases, or it may be used as an additional textbook in a course on databases or Artificial Intelligence. Professionals and researchers interested in learning about new developments will benefit from the encyclopedic character of the book, which provides organized access to many advanced concepts in the theory of databases and knowledge bases.

• Fuzzy
• Information
• Symbol
• abductive reasoning
• artificial intelligence
• communication
• database
• intelligence
• knowledge base
• learning
• relational database

`...recommend the book to all people from database and knowledge communities who want to move their research and practice to more advanced innovative systems.'
Zentralblatt MATH, 910 (1999)

• University of Leipzig, Germany

  Gerd Wagner

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