Predicate-Oriented Database Search Algorithms.
Abstract
The principal application of this thesis will be in the area of automatic programming. The purpose of that branch of computer science has been to discover how automatic algorithms can be developed which do much of the programming that has traditionally been assigned to human beings. Such automatic algorithms have been advocated by many computer scientists because these procedures would dramatically reduce the cost of writing computer programs. The combined work of the cited authors have shown that; (i) the cost of developing computer software may greatly exceed hardware costs in the 1980's (Boehm has estimated that computer programmer labor costs will constitute 90 percent of all the Air Force's 1985 computer-related expenditures), (ii) and that the health of the computer industry requires lower software development costs (even if this is done in the context of a trade-off that modestly increases the hardware costs). The importance of automatic database search algorithms was further confirmed in a recent panel discussion. The members of that panel concluded that such automatic search algorithms would be extremely useful if these algorithms could be made to be moderately efficient. This thesis will lay the foundations of the theory that should be used in the development of automatic predicate searching algorithms.
Document Details
- Document Type
- Technical Report
- Publication Date
- May 01, 1978
- Accession Number
- ADA110139
Entities
People
- Dan E. Willard
Organizations
- Harvard University