Managing Constraints as Data

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Database has been a cornerstone in the data-driven digital age. Events and observations in the world generate large volumes of data which are safely stored in databases and efficiently analyzed by database queries. The results of the analysis further support decision making of a wide range of software systems, e.g. payroll and financial management, control systems, and operational research. These decisions must respect safety and correctness constraints. Examples of constraints are everywhere: payroll deadlines, maximal power capacity, server availability etc.. While the database technology excels at data storage and analytics, presently it fails to provide the same level of effectiveness for the management and verification of constraints. Currently, to fill this gap, application specific programs need to be manually developed by programmers. But such efforts are costly and highly error-prone. Constraint violations as the results of human errors and buggy software are frequently observed in different sectors of the industry and governments. This proposed research program is aimed to rectify the situation by extending the role of the database to include the management of constraints.