3rd CfP - Special Issue of TPLP - Logic Programming in Databases: from Datalog to Semantic Web Rules

CALL FOR PAPERS  [Apologies for cross-posting, please circulate!]

Special Issue of the journal Theory and Practice of Logic Programming
(TPLP) on

LOGIC PROGRAMMING IN DATABASES: FROM DATALOG TO SEMANTIC-WEB RULES

to appear in Spring 2010

TOPICS

Much has happened in database research since the introduction of the
relational model, in 1970, and its strong logical foundations influence
its advances ever since. Logic has been a common ground  where Database
and Artificial Intelligence research competed with each other and
collaborated  for a long time. The product of this joint effort has been
a set  of logic-based technologies, such as datalog, description logics,
ontologies  etc., capturing the data semantics in an explicit way and
enabling complex  reasoning tasks.

In particular, the rule-based paradigm has accompanied the relational
model for almost all its life: the coupling of logic programming with
databases;  the introduction of active database rules, whose semantics,
often defined in a procedural way, has also been investigated on a
logic-programming basis; and integrity constraint specification and
management, are just some examples.

More recently, with the advent of the Semantic Web and of ontologies,
the issue has been addressed of how ontologies and semantics can help
solving typical database problems, through a better understanding of
knowledge representation. However, while ontologies provide solid
grounds for representing the database at the schema level, the
application logic cannot be expressed, hence the opportunity to combine
ontologies with logical rules as it has been done with databases.

Throughout the history of the marriage of logic programming with
databases, very interesting semantic challenges  have thus come to the
stage. This special issue welcomes papers on all aspects that conjugate
databases and logic-based methods, with special emphasis on logic
programming and semantics.

Submissions

Submitted papers should be written in English, and formatted using the
LaTeX style files developed by Cambridge University Press for TPLP.
Revised and enhanced versions of papers published at conferences that
have not appeared in archival journals are eligible for
submission. Papers describing important past research in this area
which have not been published in archival journal papers are also
solicited.

For any doubt regarding the appropriateness of the topic of a paper
for this special issue please email tplpspring2010@easychair.org

Journal website:
http://journals.cambridge.org/jid_TLP

Submission website:
http://www.easychair.org/conferences?conf=tplpspring2010

To submit and for further information, please look at:
http://home.dei.polimi.it/tanca/Semantic_LP.html

Guest Editors: 

Letizia Tanca
http://tanca.dei.polimi.it/

Giorgio Orsi
http://home.dei.polimi.it/orsi/

Important Dates

      * Submission of abstracts (1/2 page long): 31 Oct 2008
      * Submission of papers: 10 Jan 2009
      * Notification of acceptance: 1-15 May 2009
      * Revised version of papers: 15 Sep 2009
      * Publication: Spring 2010