2017Unpublished venueRequires access

The primitivity of operators in the algebra of binary relations under conjunctions of containments

Dimitri Surinx, Jan Van den Bussche, Dirk Van Gucht

Open publisher page 3 citations

Abstract

The algebra of binary relations provides union and composition as basic operators, with the empty set as neutral element for union and the identity relation as neutral element for composition. The basic algebra can be enriched with additional features. We consider the diversity relation, the full relation, intersection, set difference, projection, coprojection, converse, and transitive closure. It is customary to express boolean queries on binary relational structures as finite conjunctions of containments. We investigate which features are primitive in this setting, in the sense that omitting the feature would allow strictly less boolean queries to be expressible. Our main result is that, modulo a finite list of elementary interdependencies among the features, every feature is indeed primitive.

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What this paper is about

The algebra of binary relations provides union and composition as basic operators, with the empty set as neutral element for union and the identity relation as neutral element for composition. The basic algebra can be enriched with additional features. We consider the diversity relation, the full relation, intersection, set difference, projection, coprojection, converse, and transitive closure. It is customary to express boolean queries on binary relational structures as finite conjunctions of containments. We investigate which features are primitive in this setting, in the sense that omitting the feature would allow strictly less boolean queries to be expressible. Our main result is that, modulo a finite list of elementary interdependencies among the features, every feature is indeed primitive.

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Available abstract

The algebra of binary relations provides union and composition as basic operators, with the empty set as neutral element for union and the identity relation as neutral element for composition. The basic algebra can be enriched with additional features. We consider the diversity relation, the full relation, intersection, set difference, projection, coprojection, converse, and transitive closure. It is customary to express boolean queries on binary relational structures as finite conjunctions of containments. We investigate which features are primitive in this setting, in the sense that omitting the feature would allow strictly less boolean queries to be expressible. Our main result is that, modulo a finite list of elementary interdependencies among the features, every feature is indeed primitive.

Key concepts: Binary relation, Relation algebra, Converse, Relational algebra, Intersection (aeronautics), Transitive closure, Mathematics, Relation (database)

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