Querying and Manipulating Temporal Databases

TL;DR

This paper introduces new SQL3 syntax and keywords to simplify the querying and manipulation of temporal databases by integrating time natively into the language, demonstrated through real-world examples.

Contribution

It proposes a novel extension to SQL3 with new keywords and syntax for easier handling of temporal data, enhancing expressiveness and usability.

Findings

New SQL3 syntax enables straightforward temporal queries

Enhanced relational operators support temporal versions

Practical examples demonstrate effectiveness

Abstract

Many works have focused, for over twenty five years, on the integration of the time dimension in databases (DB). However, the standard SQL3 does not yet allow easy definition, manipulation and querying of temporal DBs. In this paper, we study how we can simplify querying and manipulating temporal facts in SQL3, using a model that integrates time in a native manner. To do this, we propose new keywords and syntax to define different temporal versions for many relational operators and functions used in SQL. It then becomes possible to perform various queries and updates appropriate to temporal facts. We illustrate the use of these proposals on many examples from a real application.