Query-By-Example: Operations on Piecewise Continuous Data (Extended Abstract)

In this paper, we extend the conventional concept of a database as a set of discrete relations to include a set of piecewise continuous functions. We extend the features of Query-by-Example to operations on this piecewise continuous data. Further, we include the concept of iteration in the language, which enhances its capabilities to that of a general programming language. These extensions are accomplished without loss of the simplicity that is usually attributed to Query-by-Example; furthermore, Queryby-Example retains its table-like view of data over these new piecewise continuous functions. We present formal notions of well-formedness and correctness of Query-by-Example programs.