Repairing Inconsistent Databases: A Model-Theoretic Approach and Abductive Reasoning

TL;DR

This paper presents a model-theoretic analysis and an abductive reasoning approach for repairing inconsistent databases, aiming to restore data consistency through minimal modifications and formal logical methods.

Contribution

It introduces a formal model-theoretic framework and an abductive reasoning method for database repair, linking the two approaches with soundness and completeness results.

Findings

Characterizes database repair possibilities using models with minimal inconsistency

Develops an abductive solver (A-system) based on SLDNFA-resolution for data correction

Establishes soundness and completeness between the two repair approaches

Abstract

In this paper we consider two points of views to the problem of coherent integration of distributed data. First we give a pure model-theoretic analysis of the possible ways to `repair' a database. We do so by characterizing the possibilities to `recover' consistent data from an inconsistent database in terms of those models of the database that exhibit as minimal inconsistent information as reasonably possible. Then we introduce an abductive application to restore the consistency of a given database. This application is based on an abductive solver (A-system) that implements an SLDNFA-resolution procedure, and computes a list of data-facts that should be inserted to the database or retracted from it in order to keep the database consistent. The two approaches for coherent data integration are related by soundness and completeness results.