Time and Relational Theory: Temporal Databases in the Relational Model and SQL

Time and Relational Theory provides an in-depth description of temporal database systems, which provide special facilities for storing, querying, and updating historical and future data. Traditionally, database management systems provide little or no special support for temporal data at all. This situation is changing because:

• Cheap storage enables retention of large volumes of historical data in data warehouses
• Users are now faced with temporal data problems, and need solutions
• Temporal features have recently been incorporated into the SQL standard, and vendors have begun to add temporal support to their DBMS products

Based on the groundbreaking text Temporal Data & the Relational Model (Morgan Kaufmann, 2002) and new research led by the authors, Time and Relational Theory is the only book to offer a complete overview of the functionality of a temporal DBMS. Expert authors Nikos Lorentzos, Hugh Darwen, and Chris Date describe an approach to temporal database management that is firmly rooted in classical relational theory and will stand the test of time.

This book covers the SQL:2011 temporal extensions in depth and identifies and discusses the temporal functionality still missing from SQL.

• Understand how the relational model provides an ideal basis for taming the complexities of temporal databases
• Learn how to analyze and evaluate commercial temporal products with this timely and important information
• Be able to use sound principles in designing and using temporal databases
• Understand the temporal support recently added to SQL with coverage of the new SQL features in this unique, accurate, and authoritative reference
• Appreciate the benefits of a truly relational approach to the problem with this clear, user friendly presentation

C. J. Date has a unique stature in the database industry. Author or coauthor of well over 30 books on database management (including the bestselling An Introduction to Database Systems, currently in its 8th edition), he enjoys a reputation that’s second to none for his ability to explain complex technical issues in a clear and understandable fashion. He was inducted into the Computing Industry Hall of Fame in 2004.

Hugh Darwen was employed in IBM’s software development divisions from 1967 to 2004. In the early part of his career, he was involved in DBMS development; from 1978 to 1982, he was one of the chief architects of an IBM product called Business System 12, a product that faithfully embraced the principles of the relational model. He was an active participant in the development of the international standard for SQL (and related standards) from 1988 to 2004. Based in the UK, he currently teaches relational database theory at Warwick University and is a tutor and course development consultant for the Open University. He has written two books on database management as well as coauthoring several with C.J. Date. He has received honorary degrees from the University of Wolverhampton and the Open University.

Nikos A. Lorentzos is a Professor at the Agricultural University of Athens. He is mainly known for his research in temporal (and also in spatio-temporal) databases. He has participated in relevant European Union funded projects (prime researcher for the development of a Temporal DBMS). The temporal model he has proposed has been extensively evaluated by independent researchers with positive comments, it is decribed in books addressed to university students, it has been the basis of PhDs undertaken in Europe and it has attracted the interest of DBMS developers. He is co-editor of the book Spatiotemporal Databases: The Chorochronos Approach (spatio-temporal databases). He is active in Temporal, Spatial and Spatio-temporal Databases as well as in the development of DSSs and Expert Systems in the forestry and the agricultural domain.