The concepts of binary constraint satisfaction problems can be naturally generalized to the relation algebras of Tarski. The concept of path-consistency plays a central role. Algorithms for path-consistency can be implemented on matrices of relations and on matrices of elements from a relation algebra. We give an example of a 4-by-4 matrix of infinite relations on which no iterative local path-consistency algorithm terminates. We give a class of examples over a fixed finite algebra on which all iterative local algorithms, whether parallel or sequential, must take quadratic time. Specific relation algebras arising from interval constraint problems are also studied: the Interval Algebra, the Point Algebra, and the Containment Algebra. 1 Introduction The logical study of binary relations is classical [8], [9], [51], [52], [56], [53], [54]. Following this tradition, Tarski formulated the theory of binary relations as an algebraic theory called relation algebra [59] 1 . Constraint satis...

The formalization of the “part – of ” relationship goes back to the mereology of S. Le´sniewski, subsequently taken up by Leonard & Goodman (1940), and Clarke (1981). In this paper we investigate relation algebras obtained from different notions of “part–of”, respectively, “connectedness” in various domains. We obtain minimal models for the relational part of mereology in a general setting, and when the underlying set is an atomless Boolean algebra. 1

Contact relations have been studied in the context of qualitative geometry and physics since the early 1920s, and have recently received attention in qualitative spatial reasoning. In this paper, we present a sound and complete proof system in the style of Rasiowa & Sikorski (1963) for relation algebras generated by a contact relation. 1 Introduction Contact relations arise in the context of qualitative geometry and spatial reasoning, going back to the work of de Laguna (1922), Nicod (1924), Whitehead (1929), and, more recently, of Clarke (1981), Cohn et al. (1997), Pratt & Schoop (1998, 1999) and others. They are a generalisation of the "overlap relation" , obtained from a "part of" relation, which for the first time was formalised by Lesniewski (1916), (see also Lesniewski, 1983). One of Lesniewski's main concerns was to build a paradox--free foundation of Mathematics, one pillar of which was mereology 1 or, as it was originally called, the general theory of manifolds or colle...

A program derivation is said to be polytypic if some of its parameters are data types. Often these data types are container types, whose elements store data. Polytypic program derivations necessitate a general, non-inductive definition of `container (data) type'. Here we propose such a definition: a container type is a relator that has membership. It is shown how this definition implies various other properties that are shared by all container types. In particular, all container types have a unique strength, and all natural transformations between container types are strong. Capsule Review Progress in a scientific dicipline is readily equated with an increase in the volume of knowledge, but the true milestones are formed by the introduction of solid, precise and usable definitions. Here you will find the first generic (`polytypic') definition of the notion of `container type', a definition that is remarkably simple and suitable for formal generic proofs (as is amply illustrated in t...

The main contribution of this thesis is a study of the dynamic programming and greedy strategies for solving combinatorial optimization problems. The study is carried out in the context of a calculus of relations, and generalises previous work by using a loop operator in the imperative programming style for generating feasible solutions, rather than the fold and unfold operators of the functional programming style. The relationship between fold operators and loop operators is explored, and it is shown how to convert from the former to the latter. This fresh approach provides additional insights into the relationship between dynamic programming and greedy algorithms, and helps to unify previously distinct approaches to solving combinatorial optimization problems. Some of the solutions discovered are new and solve problems which had previously proved difficult. The material is illustrated with a selection of problems and solutions that is a mixture of old and new. Another contribution is the invention of a new calculus, called the graph calculus, which is a useful tool for reasoning in the relational calculus and other non-relational calculi. The graph

This paper presents a brief introduction to relation algebras, including some examples motivated by work in computer science, namely, the ‘interval algebras’, relation algebras that arose from James Allen’s work on temporal reasoning, and by ‘compass algebras’, which are designed for similar reasoning about space. One kind of reasoning problem, called a ‘constraint satisfaction problem’, can be defined for arbitrary relation algebras. It will be shown here that the constraint satisfiability problem is NP-complete for almost all compass and interval algebras.

Combining different knowledge representation languages is one of the main topics in Qualitative Spatial Reasoning (QSR). This allows the combined languages to compensate each other's representational de ciencies, and is seen as an asnwer to the emerging demand from real applications, such as Geographical Information Systems (GIS), robot navigation, or shape description, for the representation of more speci c knowledge than is allowed by each of the languages taken separately. Knowledge expressed in such a combined language decomposes then into parts, or components, each expressed in one of the combined languages. Reasoning internally within each component of such knowledge involves only the language the component is expressed in, which is not new. The challenging question is to come with methods for the interaction of the different components of such knowledge. With these considerations in mind, we propose a calculus, cCOA, combining, thus more expressive than each of, two calculi well-known in QSR: Frank's cardinal direction calculus, CDA,...

Abstract. Boolean contact algebras are the abstract counterpart of region–based theories of space, which date back to the early 1920s. In this paper, we survey the development of these algebras and relevant construction and representation theorems. 1

In this paper, we explore the precise connection between dependencies in relational databases and variants of cylindric algebras, and apply recent algebraic results to problems of axiomatizing dependencies. We will consider project-join dependencies and the corresponding class of cylindric semilattices. We will also look at Cosmadakis (1987) who introduces cylindric dependencies, and makes several claims regarding the structural properties of these dependencies. However, recent algebraic investigations provide counterexamples to the main theorems.