Institute of Computer Science III
University of Bonn
Databases * Information Systems * Software Engineering *
Pattern Recognition * Image Processing * Artificial Intelligence * Robotics
First Specification of Phoenix, an Active Database Programming Language
This report aims at introducing the novel active database language
Phoenix which is currently under development at the computer science
department of the university of Bonn. Phoenix essentially integrates
three different concepts into one language: imperative programs,
declarative database queries, and active rules. Imperative programs
and declarative queries make up a database programming language that
enables the user to merge procedural and declarative features at
arbitrary granularity. Into this DBPL an active rule mechanism is
incorporated. Active rules, called trigger-reaction rules in Phoenix,
provide the possibility to locally specify adequate reactions which are
to be automatically performed when certain situations arise. A
situation is characterized by the occurrence of a particular event
(e.~g.~a database update or a procedure call) and by certain conditions
on the database state reached at the point in time when the event has
taken place.
Our major interest in developing Phoenix was to obtain a suitable tool
for investigating various applications of active rule processing. A
first prototypical implementation has just been finished, such that we
are able to gain practical experience as well.
Click here to obtain the full paper (PS, gzip, 212954 bytes, 70 pages)
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16.12.05