Re-looking at the View Update Problem

TL;DR

This paper revisits the longstanding view update problem in relational databases, leveraging overlooked theorems to propose simple solutions for updating views, which are traditionally read-only.

Contribution

It introduces new solutions for view updates by applying overlooked theorems, advancing understanding of how to update views in relational databases.

Findings

Identifies overlooked theorems relevant to view updates

Proposes simple solutions for common relational operators

Enhances the theoretical foundation for view update mechanisms

Abstract

Relational databases have always had a means for creating a pseudo-table, called a view, defined by a query. Views are like tables in most ways, except that they are read-only and cannot be updated. The problem of how to update views has attracted a lot of attention in the 1980s but is unsolved. The best approach from that time was by Bancilhon and Spyratos. I use one of their overlooked theorems and find a number of simple solutions for common relational operators.