Customer Reviews

Text Databases: One Database Model and Several Retrieval Languages (Language and Computers)

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Doedens' PhD thesis is a worthy read. The MdF model, which is the theoretical foundation for the book, is mathematically clean, elegant, and simple, yet very profound in its insight into what a text database is. The QL query language, whose formal treatment in the form of a CFG syntax and a denotational semantics makes for the bulk of the book, provides good insight into what is necessary for querying a text database.

I have found in my own work that the MdF model is especially well suited to storing and querying linguistic information in corpus linguistics. Its treatment of the text as objects that can overlap is crucial to the effective treatment of some linguistic phenomena.

The three main highlights of the book, in my opinion, are:

- Listing demands on a text database model.

- Describing the MdF model.

- Describing QL, a query language to go with the MdF model.

I have annotated the table of contents for better evaluation:

- Preface - An introduction for the reader.

- Chapter 1 - Introduction - Short introduction to the book and its structure.

- Chapter 2 - On models for text databases - Introduction to the topic. Demands on a text database model. Evaluation of four database models: Gonnet and Tompa's Grammar-based model; Tague, Salminen and McClellan's Grammar/Hypergraph model; Burkowski's containment model; and SGML.

- Chapter 3 - A static text database model: MdF - The MdF model is described in its beautiful, mathematical cleanness and simplicity.

- Chapter 4 - The ECA database - The roots of the MdF model were in the ECA database project, a project of the Werkgroep Informatica at the Vrije Universiteit in Amsterdam, Holland, led by Prof. Dr. Eep Talstra. This chapter gives credit where credit is due, as well as recasting the ECA database into an MdF framework, thus giving an example of an MdF database.

- Chapter 5 - Topographic languages - This chapter introduces the concept of topographicity, which basically means that there must be an isomorphism between the graphs representing the expression in a language and the graphs representing the object denoted by the expression.

- Chapter 6 - A topographic retrieval language: QL - This is the bulk of the thesis, and gives the motivation for, syntax of, and denotational semantics of QL. It also introduces a novel concept for what query languages for text databases should retrieve, namely the sheaf.

- Chapter 7 - A logical retrieval language: LL - This is a short chapter introducing LL, a logical language for querying MdF databases.

- Chapter 8 - The translation from LL to QL - Translating LL to QL.

- Chapter 9 - Proposal for a software architecture applying MdF, QL and LL - MdF and its query languages should be part of a larger system if they are to be of any use. This chapter proposes an architecture for such a system, including a database manager, query interfaces, and output interfaces.

- Chapter 10 - Epilogue - This chapter wraps up the text by offering thoughts on the essential line of thought through the book, main messages of the book, and pointers to further research.

- Appendix 1 - The ECA project - Short, concise information on the ECA project.

- Appendix 2 - QL syntax rules - The BNF syntax rules of QL gathered together for easy reference.

- Appendix 3 - QL tokenising conventions - Tokenization conventions for QL gathered together for easy refereqnce.

- Appendix 4 - LL: Formal description - Gives the formal syntax and semantics of LL.

- Appendix 5 - Formalisation of translation rules - Sketches a formalization of two kinds of transformation rules that can be used to translate LL to QL.

- References - Bibliography

- Index editorial - A description of the devices used in the Index.

- Index - A very thorough index.

I highly recommend the book to anyone interested in text databases, or storage and retrieval of linguistic/textual information.