Logical Approaches to Incomplete Information: A Survey

The observation that it is frequently impossible to obtain complete information in the context of database applications has motivated a substantial literature seeking to extend the relational model. The paper surveys the literature on the modelling and processing of incomplete information (also known as indefinite information) using tools derived from classical logic and modal logic. The focus of the paper is on models in which query processing is decidable. Theories dealing with the quantification of indefiniteness, such as probabilistic or fuzzy models of uncertainty, are not discussed.

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