On the Integration of Ir and Databases

Integration of information retrieval (IR) in database management systems (DBMSs) has proven difficult. Previous attempts to integration suffered from inherent performance problems, or lacked desirable separation between logical and physical data models. To overcome these problems, we discuss a database approach based on structural object-orientation. We implement IR techniques using extensions in an object algebra called MOA. MOA has been implemented on top of the database backend Monet, a state-of-the-art highperformance database kernel with a binary relational interface. Our prototype implementation of the inference network retrieval model using MOA and Monet demonstrates the feasibility of this approach. We conclude with a discussion of the advantages of our database design.