A Quantum Interpretation of the View-Update Problem

Flender, C.

The ANSI-SPARC architecture was proposed as a hierarchical model for the implementation of Database Management Systems (DBMS). A separation of external user views and shared base relations (conceptual schema) constitutes their logical independence, i.e., external views are immune to changes of the conceptual schema. Moreover, users can customize their views independent of the conceptual schema. However, all updates to a base relation should be immediately reflected in all views that reference the base relation. Vice versa, if a view is updated, then the underlying base relation should reflect the change. Keeping views and base relations in sync came to be known as the view-update problem. This paper argues that view updates require the user to cause a change. Prior to a view update user and view are entangled. Entangled states cannot be reduced to factual states of user and base relation. It will be shown that the view-update problem arises due to a view update (causation) being irreducible to a functional mapping between base relation and view (causality).

Cite as: Flender, C. (2010). A Quantum Interpretation of the View-Update Problem. In Proc. 21st Australasian Database Conference (ADC 2010) Brisbane, Australia. CRPIT, 104. Shen H.T. and Bouguettaya, A. Eds., ACS. 67-74

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