The Free Termination Property of Queries Over Time
Conor Power, Paraschos Koutris, Joseph M Hellerstein

TL;DR
This paper investigates conditions under which distributed database nodes can unilaterally terminate queries without coordination, introducing a new semiautomata-based model linking relational transducers and algebraic models like CRDTs.
Contribution
It defines the free termination property for distributed queries and develops a semiautomata model connecting CALM transducers with algebraic frameworks.
Findings
Characterization of free termination conditions
Development of a semiautomata-based model
Bridging relational and algebraic models
Abstract
Building on prior work on distributed databases and the CALM Theorem, we define and study the question of free termination: in the absence of distributed coordination, what query properties allow nodes in a distributed (database) system to unilaterally terminate execution even though they may receive additional data or messages in the future? This completeness question is complementary to the soundness questions studied in the CALM literature. We also develop a new model based on semiautomata that allows us to bridge from the relational transducer model of the CALM papers to algebraic models that are popular among software engineers (e.g. CRDTs) and of increasing interest to database theory for datalog extensions and incremental view maintenance.
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Taxonomy
TopicsCryptography and Data Security · Distributed systems and fault tolerance · Advanced Database Systems and Queries
