Supporting Valid Time: An Historical Algebra.
Abstract
The authors define an historical algebra for historical relations. This historical algebra, a straightforward extension of the conventional relational algebra, supports valid time, the time when an object or relationship in the enterprise being modeled is valid. Historical versions of the five relational operators union, difference, cartesian product, selection, and projection are defined and a new operator, historical derivation, is introduced. The algebra includes aggregates and is shown to have the expressive power of the temporal query language TQuel. The algebra is consistent with the user-oriented model of historical relations as space-filling objects and satisfies all but one of the associative, commutative, and distributive tautologies involving union, difference, and cartesian product. Keywords: Data base management systems.
Document Details
- Document Type
- Technical Report
- Publication Date
- Aug 01, 1987
- Accession Number
- ADA187740
Entities
People
- Edwin Mckenzie
- Richard Snodgrass
Organizations
- University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill