Skip to main content
SpringerLink
Log in

Highly Expressive Query Languages for Unordered Data Trees

  • Published:
Theory of Computing Systems Aims and scope Submit manuscript

Abstract

We study highly expressive query languages for unordered data trees, using as formal vehicles Active XML and extensions of languages in the while family. All languages may be seen as adding some form of control on top of a set of basic pattern queries. The results highlight the impact and interplay of different factors: the expressive power of basic queries, the embedding of computation into data (as in Active XML), and the use of deterministic vs. nondeterministic control. All languages are Turing complete, but not necessarily query complete in the sense of Chandra and Harel. Indeed, we show that some combinations of features yield serious limitations, analogous to FOk definability in the relational context. On the other hand, the limitations come with benefits such as the existence of powerful normal forms providing opportunities for optimization. Other languages are “almost” complete, but fall short because of subtle limitations reminiscent of the copy elimination problem in object databases.

This is a preview of subscription content, log in via an institution to check access.

Access this article

Log in via an institution

Price excludes VAT (USA)
Tax calculation will be finalised during checkout.

Instant access to the full article PDF.

Institutional subscriptions

Fig. 1
Fig. 2
Fig. 3
Fig. 4
Fig. 5
Fig. 6
Fig. 7
Fig. 8
Fig. 9
Fig. 10
Fig. 11
Fig. 12
Fig. 13
Fig. 14
Fig. 15

Similar content being viewed by others

Notes

  1. Alternatively, we could use automata on unordered trees.

References

  1. Abiteboul, S., Benjelloun, O., Milo, T.: The active XML project: an overview. VLDB J. 17(5) (2008)

  2. Abiteboul, S., Bourhis, P., Vianu, V.: Comparing workflow specification languages: a matter of views. ACM Trans. Database Syst. 37(2) (2012). Also ICDT 2011

  3. Abiteboul, S., Compton, K.J., Vianu, V.: Queries are easier than you thought (probably). In PODS (1992)

  4. Abiteboul, S., Hull, R., Vianu, V.: Foundations of Databases. Addison Wesley, Reading, MA (1995)

    MATH  Google Scholar 

  5. Abiteboul, S., Kanellakis, P.: Object identity as a query language primitive. J. Assoc. Comput. Mach. (JACM) 45(5) (1998)

  6. Abiteboul, S., Segoufin, L., Vianu, V.: Static analysis of active XML systems. ACM Trans. Database Syst. 34(4) (2009). Also PODS 2008

  7. Abiteboul, S., Vianu, V.: Generic computation and its complexity. In STOC, pp. 209–219 (1991)

  8. Abiteboul, S., Vianu, V.: Computing with first-order logic. J. Comput. Syst. Sci. 50(2) (1995)

  9. Benedikt, M., Koch, C.: From XQuery to relational logics. ACM Trans. Database Syst. 34(4) (2009)

  10. Bojanczyk, M.: Automata for data words and data trees. In RTA, pp. 1–4 (2010)

  11. Calvanese, D., Giacomo, G.D., Hull, R., Su, J.: Artifact-centric workflow dominance. In ICSOC/ServiceWave (2009)

  12. Hidders, J., Marrara, S., Paredaens, J., Vercammen, R.: On the expressive power of XQuery fragments. In DBPL (2005)

  13. Hidders, J., Paredaens, J., Vercammen, R., Demeyer, S.: A light but formal introduction to XQuery. In XSym (2004)

  14. Janssen, W., Korlyukov, A., den Bussche, J.V.: On the tree-transformation power of XSLT. Acta Inf. 43(6) (2007)

  15. Koch, C.: On the complexity of nonrecursive XQuery and functional query languages on complex values. ACM Trans. Database Syst. 31(4) (2006)

  16. Libkin, L.: Elements of Finite Model Theory. Springer, Berlin (2004)

    Book  MATH  Google Scholar 

  17. Neven, F.: Automata, logic, and XML. In Computer Science Logic (2002)

  18. Schwentick, T.: Automata for XML - a survey. J. Comput. Syst. Sci. 73(3) (2007)

  19. Segoufin, L.: Automata and logics for words and trees over an infinite alphabet. In Computer Science Logic, pp. 41–57 (2006)

  20. Segoufin, L.: Static analysis of XML processing with data values. SIGMOD Record 36(1), 31–38 (2007)

    Article  Google Scholar 

Download references

Acknowledgments

This work has been partially funded by the European Re-search Council under the European Community’s Seventh Framework Programme (FP7/2007-2013) / ERC grant Webdam, agreement 226513. http://webdam.inria.fr

V. Vianu was supported in part by the NSF under award IIS-1422375. Work done in part while visiting INRIA and ENS-Cachan.

Author information

Authors and Affiliations

  1. INRIA & ENS Cachan, 94235, CACHAN Cedex, France

    Serge Abiteboul

  2. CNRS LIFL & Université Lille 1 & INRIA Lille, 59650, Villeneuve d’Ascq, France

    Pierre Bourhis

  3. U. C. San Diego & INRIA-Saclay, La Jolla, CA, 92093, USA

    Victor Vianu

Authors
  1. Serge Abiteboul
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

  2. Pierre Bourhis
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

  3. Victor Vianu
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

Corresponding author

Correspondence to Victor Vianu.

Rights and permissions

Reprints and permissions

About this article

Check for updates. Verify currency and authenticity via CrossMark

Cite this article

Abiteboul, S., Bourhis, P. & Vianu, V. Highly Expressive Query Languages for Unordered Data Trees. Theory Comput Syst 57, 927–966 (2015). https://doi.org/10.1007/s00224-015-9617-5

Download citation

  • Published:

  • Issue Date:

  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s00224-015-9617-5

Keywords

Search

Navigation