Thesis (M.Phil.)--Hong Kong University of Science and Technology, 2005. / Includes bibliographical references (leaves 47-50). Also available in electronic version.

Thesis (M.Sc.)--York University, 2005. Graduate Programme in Computer Science. / Typescript. Includes bibliographical references (leaves 123-126). Also available on the Internet. MODE OF ACCESS via web browser by entering the following URL: http://gateway.proquest.com/openurl?url%5Fver=Z39.88-2004&res%5Fdat=xri:pqdiss &rft_val_fmt=info:ofi/fmt:kev:mtx:dissertation&rft_dat=xri:pqdiss:MR11872

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published_or_final_version / abstract / Computer Science / Master / Master of Philosophy

by Yip Suen-man. / Appendixes in Chinese and English. / Thesis (M.Phil.)--Chinese University of Hong Kong, 1997. / Includes bibliographical references. / Acknowledgment --- p.1 / Abstract --- p.2 / Table of Contents --- p.3 / List of Tables --- p.5 / List of Figures --- p.6 / Chapter Chapter 1 --- Introduction --- p.7 / Chapter 1.1 --- Objectives --- p.9 / Chapter 1.2 --- Chapter Summary --- p.10 / Chapter Chapter 2 --- Related Work --- p.11 / Chapter 2.1 --- Relational Query Language --- p.11 / Chapter 2.1.1 --- Relational Algebra Vs Relational Calculus --- p.11 / Chapter 2.1.2 --- Procedural Vs Nonprocedural --- p.13 / Chapter 2.1.3 --- Natural Language (NL) Vs Restricted Natural Language (RNL) --- p.13 / Chapter 2.2 --- Existing Relational Query Language --- p.14 / Chapter 2.3 --- Chinese Related Work --- p.16 / Chapter 2.4 --- Chapter Summary --- p.17 / Chapter Chapter 3 --- Chinese Database Query Language : Chiql --- p.19 / Chapter 3.1 --- Naturalness --- p.19 / Chapter 3.2 --- Simplicity --- p.20 / Chapter 3.3 --- Procedural and Multi-statements Query Style --- p.21 / Chapter 3.4 --- Functional Completeness --- p.22 / Chapter 3.5 --- Chapter Summary --- p.25 / Chapter Chapter 4 --- Query Processing --- p.26 / Chapter 4.1 --- Query Optimization --- p.27 / Chapter 4.1.1 --- Query Representation --- p.27 / Chapter 4.1.2 --- Standardization --- p.28 / Chapter 4.1.3 --- Simplification --- p.29 / Chapter 4.1.4 --- Amelioration --- p.29 / Chapter 4.2 --- Query Translation of SQL --- p.29 / Chapter 4.3 --- Query Processing in Chiql --- p.33 / Chapter 4.3.1 --- Overview of the Query Processing --- p.33 / Chapter 4.3.2 --- Inter-Statement Dependency --- p.34 / Chapter 4.3.3 --- Translation flow of Chiql-to-SQL --- p.36 / Chapter 4.3.4 --- An Introductory Example --- p.37 / Chapter 4.4 --- Chapter Summary --- p.40 / Chapter Chapter 5 --- Statement Merging Algorithm (SMA) --- p.41 / Chapter 5.1 --- Problems --- p.41 / Chapter 5.2 --- Definitions --- p.42 / Chapter 5.3 --- Linear Merging Algorithm (LMA) --- p.43 / Chapter 5.4 --- Tree Merging Algorithm (TMA) --- p.47 / Chapter 5.5 --- Statement Merging Algorithm (SMA) --- p.50 / Chapter 5.6 --- Improvement --- p.56 / Chapter 5.7 --- Chapter Summary --- p.57 / Chapter Chapter 6 --- Pattern Mapping Algorithm (PMA) --- p.58 / Chapter 6.1 --- Problem --- p.58 / Chapter 6.2 --- Type of Patterns --- p.61 / Chapter 6.3 --- Pre-requisite of Pattern Mapping --- p.65 / Chapter 6.4 --- Pattern Mapping Algorithm (PMA) --- p.65 / Chapter 6.5 --- An Illustration Example --- p.68 / Chapter 6.6 --- Chapter Summary --- p.72 / Chapter Chapter 7 --- Evaluation --- p.73 / Chapter 7.1 --- Testing the Correctness --- p.73 / Chapter 7.2 --- Comparison in Translation Power With Other Translator --- p.76 / Chapter 7.3 --- Chapter Summary --- p.78 / Chapter Chapter 8 --- Conclusion --- p.79 / Reference --- p.82 / Appendix --- p.86

It is common to see documents with explicit structure marked up in languages such as XML. Queries, on the other hand, typically have no structure. There is a clear mismatch, although documents contain structure it is typically not used in information retrieval. An efficient index structure for document-centric searching is proposed and its efficiency is discussed. It is shown to be at worst linear with respect to the number of occurrences of a given search term. The algorithm is then extended to accommodate element-centric information retrieval. Ranking algorithms for structured documents are examined. Genetic Algorithms are used to learn different weights for each structure present in a document. Applying these weights as part of a function is shown to yield significant precision improvements in some functions. Genetic Programming is then used to learn an entire ranking function. This function is shown to be portable between document collections. A query language for structured information retrieval is proposed. Use of this language in the 2004 INEX workshop resulted in a large decrease in query errors. Structured information retrieval is now a viable alternative to its unstructured counterpart. A successful query language, efficient indexing structures, and improved ranking functions are all presented.

XML is a very versatile data format that has been used to represent many different kinds of data, including web pages, books, business and accounting data, programming interfaces, vector graphics, system logs, and games. In a short span of time, it has gained wide acceptance as the document and data standard on the web. As more and more XML data gets generated everyday, a lot of research focus has been on query languages for XML. The World-Wide Web Consortium (W3C) has chosen XQuery as the standard language for querying XML. From an end-user point of view, XQuery sacrifices usability for expressiveness. We introduce FoXQ, a visual language that enables end users to query XML. FoXQ brings a lot of the functionality of XQuery within the reach of the end users without getting them embroiled in the intricacies of XQuery syntax. The query interface is form-based and the query model is based on a document metaphor in which the users formulate queries by filling out forms. / Graduation date: 2004

Scientists in the biological sciences need to retrieve information from a variety of data collections, traditionally maintained in SQL databases, in order to conduct research. Because current assistant tools are designed primarily for business and financial users, scientists have been forced to use the notoriously difficult command-line SQL interface, supplied as standard by most database vendors. The goal of our research has been to establish the requirements of scientific researchers and develop specialized query assistance tools to help them query data collections across the Internet. This thesis describes our work in developing HyperSQL, a Web-to-database scripting language, and most importantly, Query Designer, a user-oriented tool for designing query interfaces directly on Web browsers. Current browsers (i.e., Netscape, Internet Explorer) do not easily interoperate with databases without extensive "CGI" (Common Gateway Interface) programming. HyperSQL is a scripting language that enables database administrators to construct forms-based query interfaces intended for end-users who are not proficient with SQL. Query results are formatted as hypertext-clickable links which can be used to browse the database for related information, bring up Web pages, or access remote search engines. HyperSQL query interfaces are independent of the database computer, making it possible to construct different interfaces targeting distinct groups of users. Capitalizing on our experience with HyperSQL, we developed Query Designer, a user-oriented tool for building query interfaces directly on Web browsers. No experience in SQL and HTML programming is necessary. After choosing a target database, the user can build a personalized query interface by making menu selections and filling out forms--the tool automatically establishes network connections, and composes HTML and SQL code. The automatically generated query form can be used immediately to issue a query, customized, or saved for later use. Results returned from the database are dynamically formatted into hypertext for navigating related information in the database. / Graduation date: 1997

Thesis (M.Sc.)--York University, 2007. Graduate Programme in Computer Science. / Typescript. Includes bibliographical references (leaves 120-123). Also available on the Internet. MODE OF ACCESS via web browser by entering the following URL: http://gateway.proquest.com/openurl?url_ver=Z39.88-2004&res_dat=xri:pqdiss&rft_val_fmt=info:ofi/fmt:kev:mtx:dissertation&rft_dat=xri:pqdiss:MR29315

Thesis (Ph. D.)--Worcester Polytechnic Institute. / Keywords: Meta modeling; schema change; frameworks; integration; schema heterogeniety; schema modeling. Includes bibliographical references (p. 381-395).