Simplification of Integrity Constraints for Data Integration

When two or more databases are combined into a global one, integrity may be violated even when each database is consistent with its own local integrity constraints. Efficient methods for checking global integrity in data integration systems are called for: answers to queries can then be trusted, because either the global database is known to be consistent or suitable actions have been taken to provide consistent views. The present work generalizes simplification techniques for integrity checking in traditional databases to the combined case. Knowledge of local consistency is employed, perhaps together with given a priori constraints on the combination, so that only a minimal number of tuples needs to be considered. Combination from scratch, integration of a new source, and absorption of local updates are dealt with for both the local-as-view and global-as-view approaches to data integration.