The term quote semantic query optimization quote (SQO) denotes a methodology whereby queries against databases are optimized using semantic information about the database objects being queried. The result of semantically optimizing a query is another query which is syntactically different to the original, but semantically equivalent and which may be answered more efficiently than the original. SQO is distinctly different from the work performed by the conventional SQL optimizer. The SQL optimizer generates a set of logically equivalent alternative execution paths based ultimately on the rules of relational algebra. However, only a small proportion of the readily available semantic information is utilised by current SQL optimizers. Researchers in SQO agree that SQO can be very effective. However, after some twenty years of research into SQO, there is still no commercial implementation. In this thesis we argue that we need to quantify the conditions for which SQO is worthwhile. We investigate what these conditions are and apply this knowledge to relational database management systems (RDBMS) with static schemas and infrequently updated data. Any semantic query optimizer requires the ability to reason using the semantic information available, in order to draw conclusions which ultimately facilitate the recasting of the original query into a form which can be answered more efficiently. This reasoning engine is currently not part of any commercial RDBMS implementation. We show how a practical semantic query optimizer may be built utilising readily available semantic information, much of it already captured by meta-data typically stored in commercial RDBMS. We develop cost models which predict an upper bound to the amount of optimization one can expect when queries are pre-processed by a semantic optimizer. We present a series of empirical results to confirm the effectiveness or otherwise of various types of SQO and demonstrate the circumstances under which SQO can be effective.

Temporal Action Logic is a well established logical formalism for reasoning about action and change that has long been used as a formal specification language. Its first-order characterization and explicit time representation makes it a suitable target for automated theorem proving and the application of temporal constraint solvers. We introduce a translation from a subset of Temporal Action Logic to constraint logic programs that takes advantage of these characteristics to make the logic applicable, not just as a formal specification language, but in solving practical reasoning problems. Extensions are introduced that enable the generation of action sequences, thus paving the road for interesting applications in deductive planning. The use of qualitative temporal constraints makes it possible to follow a least commitment strategy and construct partially ordered plans. Furthermore, the logical language and logic program translation is extended with the notion of composite actions that can be used to formulate and execute scripted plans with conditional actions, non-deterministic choices, and loops. The resulting planner and reasoner is integrated with a graphical user interface in our autonomous helicopter research system and applied to logistics problems. Solution plans are synthesized together with monitoring constraints that trigger the generation of recovery actions in cases of execution failures.

<p>Temporal Action Logic is a well established logical formalism for reasoning about action and change that has long been used as a formal specification language. Its first-order characterization and explicit time representation makes it a suitable target for automated theorem proving and the application of temporal constraint solvers. We introduce a translation from a subset of Temporal Action Logic to constraint logic programs that takes advantage of these characteristics to make the logic applicable, not just as a formal specification language, but in solving practical reasoning problems. Extensions are introduced that enable the generation of action sequences, thus paving the road for interesting applications in deductive planning. The use of qualitative temporal constraints makes it possible to follow a least commitment strategy and construct partially ordered plans. Furthermore, the logical language and logic program translation is extended with the notion of composite actions that can be used to formulate and execute scripted plans with conditional actions, non-deterministic choices, and loops. The resulting planner and reasoner is integrated with a graphical user interface in our autonomous helicopter research system and applied to logistics problems. Solution plans are synthesized together with monitoring constraints that trigger the generation of recovery actions in cases of execution failures.</p>

Cette thèse propose une méthodologie de pilotage d'organisations complexes, ens'intéressant à de nouvelles méthodes de planification collaborative et d'optimisation d'interventions en environnements soumis à des rayonnements ionisants. En nous basant sur l'étude d'installations scientifiques et technologiques complexes tels que celles du CERN à Genève (Suisse) et de la GSI à Darmstadt (Allemagne), nous y analysons les besoins et contraintes de planification imposés par les environnements à risques en général, et par lesrayonnements ionisants en particulier. Les implications liées à la collaboration sont ensuite détaillées, et un modèle ontologique d'intervention est proposé afin de sélectionner les méthodes les plus adaptées au problème étudié. La méthode proposée dans cette thèse repose sur des techniques éprouvées en planification de projets ainsi qu'en conception de produits comme la Design Structure Matrix (DSM). Elle introduit en revanche dans ces domaines des méthodes habituellement rencontrées en intelligence artificielle : les algèbres temporelles qualitatives et la propagation des contraintes temporelles, ainsi que la recherche de compromis en cas de conflit. Cette « DSM Collaborative » a été implémentée dans une application prototype testée sur des cas pratiques au CERN et à la GSI, dont le premier est décrit dans l'ultime chapitre de cette thèse. C'est une approche qui place la ressource(essentiellement humaine) et les contraintes temporelles au coeur du processus de planification. Elle met l'accent sur la collaboration entre les différents participants, ainsi que sur la simulation et la comparaison multicritère de multiples scenarii plutôt que sur la recherche d'un unique optimum souvent irréalisable sur le plan pratique. / This work proposes a methodology to handle complexity in organizations byfocusing on innovative and collaborative planning and scheduling methods dedicated to the optimization of interventions in environments emitting ionizing radiations. By taking as work environment highly complex and technological scientific facilities such as the ones of CERN in Geneva (Switzerland) and GSI in Darmstadt (Germany), we analyze the needs and requirements induced in intervention planning and scheduling by hazardous environments in general, and then more specifically by ionizing radiations. The implications of collaborative work are then scrutinized, and an ontological model for interventions is designed in order to select the methods best suited to our problem. The framework we present in this work relies on methods sucessfully used in project planning and scheduling and innovative product design like the Design Structure Matrix (DSM). It also introduces in these fields methods borrowed to artificial intelligence planning and scheduling such as the temporal qualitative algebras, constraint propagation, and the search of compromises in case of conflicts. This so called “Collaborative DSM” has been implemented in a prototype software application tested at CERN and GSI on practical applications. The very first one and its results are presented in the final chapter of this thesis. This framework aims at placing resources (mostly human resources) and temporal constraints at the heart of the planning and scheduling process. It focuses on collaboration between the different actors involved, from coordinators to technicians, and on simulation and multiple-criteria comparison of several scenarios, rather than searching for a unique optimum, which often tends to be non-practical, should one even be found.

In the master's thesis we are concerned with the logical perspective on business process model-ing. The logical perspective on business process modeling has several advantages. First, being a formal logical system, first-order logic let us thoroughly understand the foundations of process modeling. Second, after we understand the logical foundations of business process modeling, we are free to build a BPM language based entirely on logic, or map an existing language onto logic, which may be useful for artificial reasoning. Third, if the business process model is mapped to logic (or another declarative language) it can be easily stored in a declarative knowledge base. Forth, logic based process models can be used in companies as a basis for knowledge manage-ment. And fifth, the science of logic offers a number of various semantic enhancements, which can be used in favor of better business process modeling expressiveness. The first objective of the thesis is to perform a thorough review of the literature of both our fields -- the business process modeling and temporal logic. The related second objective is to study the ability of logic to represent processes and the notion of time in general, and to offer techniques for logical process representation. Subsequently, the examples should be provided in order to present that the selected techniques are capable of performing what is sketched in the first paragraph. The third objective is to propose improvements of the current business process modeling approach and provide relevant examples. Eventually, means of extending the tech-niques presented can be proposed, too. The major contribution of the thesis is that it constitutes a reasonable basis for further research in the chosen field. For novices or even experienced in the subject it represents a good stepping stone.