Skip to main content
SpringerLink
Log in

Deontic database constraints, violation and recovery

  • Published:
Studia Logica Aims and scope Submit manuscript

Abstract

The paper discusses the potential value of a deontic approach to database specification. More specifically, some different types of integrity constraints are considered and a distinction is drawn between necessary (“hard”) and deontic (“soft”) constraints.

Databases are compared with other normative systems. A deontic logic for database specification is proposed and the problems of how to react to, and of how to correct, or repair, a situation which arises through norm violation are discussed in the context of this logic. The limitations of the proposed logic and possible modifications and extensions of it are analysed.

This is a preview of subscription content, log in via an institution to check access.

Access this article

Log in via an institution

Price excludes VAT (USA)
Tax calculation will be finalised during checkout.

Instant access to the full article PDF.

Institutional subscriptions

Similar content being viewed by others

References

  1. Bernstein, P., Hadzilacos, V. and Goodman, N., 1987, Concurrency Control and Recovery in Database Systems, Addison-Wesley.

  2. Brown, A. L. and Mantha, S., 1991, ‘Preferences as Normative Knowledge: Towards Declarative Obligations’, in: Meyer, J.-J. Ch. and Wieringa, R.J. (eds.), Proc. First International Workshop on Deontic Logic in Computer Science (DEON'91), 142–163.

  3. Carmo, J. and Sernadas, A., 1991, ‘Formal Techniques for Systems Specification and Verification’, Information Systems 16, 245–272.

    Google Scholar 

  4. Castilho, J. M. V., Casanova, M. A. and Furtado, A. L., 1982, ‘A Temporal Framework for Information Systems Specification’, Proc. 8th VLDB Conference, 280–291.

  5. Carmo, J. and Jones, A. J. I., 1994, ‘Deontic Database Constraints and the Characterisation of Recovery’, in Jones, A. J. I. and Sergot, M. (eds.) DEON'94: Second International Workshop on Deontic Logic in Computer Science, Tano Forlag, Oslo, Norway.

    Google Scholar 

  6. Carmo, J. and Jones, A. J. I., 1995, ‘Deontic Logic and Different Levels of Ideality’, research report RRDMIST1/95.

  7. Chisholm, R. M., 1963, ‘Contrary-to-duty Imperatives and Deontic Logic’, Analysis 24.

  8. Demolombe, R. and Jones, A. J. I., 1992, ‘Deriving Answers to Safety Queries’, in Cunningham, R.J. (ed.), ESPRIT Basic Research Action MEDLAR Report PPR3, Dept. of Computing, Imperial College of Science, Technology and Medicine, London.

    Google Scholar 

  9. Demolombe, R. and Jones, A. J. I, 1993, ‘Integrity Constraints Revisited (Preliminary Version)’, in Cunningham, R.J. (ed.), ESPRIT Basic Research Action MEDLAR II Report PPR1, Dept. of Computing, Imperial College of Science, Technology and Medicine, London.

    Google Scholar 

  10. Ehrich, H.-D., Sernadas, A. and Sernadas, C., 1988, ‘Abstract Object Types for Databases’, in: Dittrich (ed.). Advances in Object-Oriented Database Systems, Springer-Verlag, 144–149.

  11. Fiadeiro, J. and Maibaum, T. S. E., 1991, ‘Temporal Reasoning over Deontic Specifications’, Journal of Logic and Computation, 1.

  12. Fiadeiro, J. and Sernadas, A., 1988, ‘Specification and Verification of Database Dynamics’, Acta Informatica 25, 625–661.

    Google Scholar 

  13. Føllesdal, D. and Hilpinen, R., 1971, ‘Deontic Logic: An Introduction’, in: Hilpinen, R. (ed.), Deontic Logic: Introductory and Systematic Readings, D.Reidel, 1–35.

  14. Furtado, A. L. and Neuhold, E. J., 1986, Formal Technics for Data Base Design, Springer-Verlag Berlin Heidelberg.

    Google Scholar 

  15. Glasgow, J., MacEwen, G. and Panangaden, P., 1989, ‘Security by Permission in Databases’, in: Landwehr (ed.), Database Security II: Status and Prospects, North-Holland, 197–205.

  16. Jones, A. J. I., 1993, ‘Towards a Formal Theory of Defeasible Deontic Conditionals’, in: Meyer, J.-J. Ch. and Wieringa, R. J. (eds.), Deontic Logic in Computer Science: Annals of Mathematics and Artificial Intelligence 9.

  17. Jones, A. J. I. and Pörn, I., 1985, ‘Ideality, Sub-ideality and Deontic Logic’, Synthese 65, D.Reidel, 275–290.

  18. Jones, A. J. I. and Sergot, M. J., 1991, ‘On the Role of Deontic Logic in the Characterization of Normative Systems’, in: Meyer, J.-J. Ch. and Wieringa, R. J. (eds.), Proc. First International Workshop on Deontic Logic in Computer Science (DEON'91), 248–261.

  19. Jones, A. J. I. and Sergot, M. J., 1992, ‘Formal Specification of Security Requirements Using the Theory of Normative Positions’, in: Deswarte, Y. et al. (eds.), Computer Security-ESORICS 92: Springer Lecture Notes in Computer Science 648, Springer-Verlag, Berlin.

    Google Scholar 

  20. Jones, A. J. I. and Sergot, M. J., 1993, ‘Ou the Characterisation of Law and Computer Systems: The Normative Systems Perspective’, ch. 12 in J.-J. Ch. Meyer and R. J. Wieringa, ed., Deontic Logic in Computer Science: Normative System Specification, John Wiley and Sons, Chichester.

    Google Scholar 

  21. Khosla, S. and Maibaum, T. S. E., 1987, ‘The Prescription and Description of State Based Systems’, in: Banieqbal, B., Barringer, H. and Pnueli, A. (eds.), Temporal Logic in Specification, Springer (Lecture Notes in Computer Science 398), 243–294.

  22. Khosla, S., 1988, System Specification: A Deontic Approach, PhD Thesis, Dept. of Computing, Imperial College of Science, Technology and Medicine, London.

    Google Scholar 

  23. Korth, H., Levy, E. and Silberschatz, A., 1990, ‘A Formal Approach to Recovery by Compensating Transactions’, Proc. Int. Conf. Very Large Databases.

  24. Kung, C., 1984, A Temporal Framework for Information Systems Specification and Verification, Ph. D. thesis, Norwegian Institute of Technology.

  25. Kwast, K. L., 1991, ‘A Deontic Operator for Database Integrity’, in: Meyer, J.-J. Ch. and Wieringa, R.J. (eds.), Proc. First International Workshop on Deontic Logic in Computer Science (DEON'91), 262–280.

  26. Lipeck, U. W., Ehrich, H. D. and Gogolla, M., 1985, ‘Specifying Admissibility of Dynamic Database Behaviour Using Temporal Logic’, in: Sernadas, A., Bubenko, J. and Olive, A. (eds.), Theoretical and Formal Aspects of Information Systems 1985, North-Holland, 145–157.

  27. McCarty, L. T., 1986, ‘Permissions and Obligations: An Informal Introduction’, in: Martino, A.A. and Cocci, F. (eds.), Automated Analysis of Legal Texts, Noth-Holland, Amsterdam, 307–337.

    Google Scholar 

  28. Meyer, J.-J. Ch., 1988, ‘A Different Approach to Deontic Logic: Deontic Logic Viewed as a Variant of Dynamic Logic’, Notre Dame Journal of Formal Logic 29, 109–136.

    Google Scholar 

  29. 1991, ‘Normatics: The Characterization of Computer Systems and Complex Organizations as Normative Systems’, ESPRIT III BRA proposal.

  30. Sergot, M. J., 1982, ‘Prospects for Representing the Law as Logic Programs’, in: Clark, K.L. and Tarnlund, S.-A. (eds.), Logic Programming, Academic Press, London.

    Google Scholar 

  31. Sernadas, A. and Sernadas, C., 1985, ‘Capturing Knowledge About the Organization Dynamics’, in: Methlie, L.B. and Sprague, R. (eds.), Knowledge Representation for DDS, North-Holland, 225–267.

  32. Sernadas, A., Sernadas, C. and Ehrich, H.-D., 1987, ‘Object-Oriented Specification of Databases: An Algebraic Approach’, in: Hammersley, P. (ed.), Proc. of the 13th VLDB Conference, Morgan Kaufmann, 107–116.

  33. Snograss, R., 1990, ‘Temporal Databases: Status and Research Directions’, SIG-MOD Record 19, 83–89.

    Google Scholar 

  34. Snograss, R. and Ahn, I., 1986, ‘Temporal Databases’, Computer 19, 35–42.

    Google Scholar 

  35. Wieringa, R. J. and Meyer, J.-J. Ch., 1991, ‘Applications of Deontic Logic in Computer Science: A Concise Overview’, in: Meyer, J.-J. Ch. and Wieringa, R. J. (eds.), Proc. First International Workshop on Deontic Logic in Computer Science (DEON'91), 15–41.

  36. Wieringa, R. J., Meyer, J.-J. Ch. and Weigand, H., 1989, ‘Specifying Dynamic and Deontic Integrity Constraints’, Data and Knowledge Engineering 4, 157–189.

    Google Scholar 

  37. Wieringa, R. J., Weigand, H., Meyer, J.-J. Ch. and Dignum, F., 1991, ‘The Inheritance of Dynamic and Deontic Integrity Constraints’, Annals of Mathematics and Artificial Intelligence 3, 393–428.

    Google Scholar 

Download references

Author information

Authors and Affiliations

  1. Dept. of Mathematics, Instituto Superior Técnico, Av. Rovisco Pais, 1096, Lisboa Codex, Portugal

    José Carmo

  2. Dept. of Philosophy, University of Oslo, Blindern, P.O.Box 1024, N-0315, Oslo, Norway

    Andrew J. I. Jones

Authors
  1. José Carmo
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

  2. Andrew J. I. Jones
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

Rights and permissions

Reprints and permissions

About this article

Cite this article

Carmo, J., Jones, A.J.I. Deontic database constraints, violation and recovery. Stud Logica 57, 139–165 (1996). https://doi.org/10.1007/BF00370673

Download citation

  • Issue Date:

  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/BF00370673

Key words

Search

Navigation