Interactive Query Formulation using Spider Queries

Abstract: Effective information disclosure in the context of databases with a large conceptual schema is known to be a non-trivial problem. In particular the formulation of ad-hoc queries is a major problem in such contexts. Existing approaches for tackling this problem include graphical query interfaces, query by navigation, query by construction, and point to point queries. In this article we propose the spider query mechanism as a final corner stone for an easy to use computer supported query formulation mechanism for InfoAssisant. The basic idea behind a spider query is to build a (partial) query of all information considered to be relevant with respect to a given object type. The result of this process is always a tree that fans out over existing conceptual schema (a spider). We also provide a brief discussion on the integration of the spider quer mechanism with the existing query by navigation, query by construction, and point to point query