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We study the expressive power of the Lara language – a recently proposed unified model for expressing relational and linear algebra operations – both in terms of traditional database query languages and some analytic tasks often performed in machine learning pipelines. Since Lara is parameterized by a set of user-defined functions which allow to transform values in tables, known as extension functions , the exact expressive power of the language depends on how these functions are defined. We start by showing Lara to be expressive complete with respect to a syntactic fragment of relational algebra with aggregation (under the mild assumption that extension functions in Lara can cope with traditional relational algebra operations such as selection and renaming). We then look further into the expressiveness of Lara based on different classes of extension functions, and distinguish two main cases depending on the level of genericity that queries are enforced to satisfy. Under strong genericity assumptions the language cannot express matrix convolution, a very important operation in current machine learning pipelines. This language is also local, and thus cannot express operations such as matrix inverse that exhibit a recursive behavior. For expressing convolution, one can relax the genericity requirement by adding an underlying linear order on the domain. This, however, destroys locality and turns the expressive power of the language much more difficult to understand. In particular, although under complexity assumptions some versions of the resulting language can still not express matrix inverse, a proof of this fact without such assumptions seems challenging to obtain. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper studies the complexity of query evaluation for databases whose relations are partially ordered; the problem commonly arises when combining or transforming ordered data from multiple sources. We focus on queries in a useful fragment of SQL, namely positive relational algebra with aggregates, whose bag semantics we extend to the partially ordered setting. Our semantics leads to the study of two main computational problems: the possibility and certainty of query answers. We show that these problems are respectively NP-complete and coNP-complete, but identify tractable cases depending on the query operators or input partial orders. We further introduce a duplicate elimination operator and study its effect on the complexity results. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

A proper (simple) relation algebra is a collection A of binary relations on a set U such that the top element of the algebra is U × U , and A is closed under union, intersection, complementation, composition, converse and contains the identity relation on U. Proper relation algebras can be constructed using U = Z / p Z as a base set using a method due to Comer. The cycle structure of such an algebra must, in general, be determined a posteriori , normally with the aid of a computer. In this paper, we give an improved algorithm for checking the cycle structure that reduces the time complexity from O (p 2) to O (p). [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Ordinary differential equations (ODEs) are widespread in many natural sciences including chemistry, ecology, and systems biology, and in disciplines such as control theory and electrical engineering. Building on the celebrated molecules-as-processes paradigm, they have become increasingly popular in computer science, with high-level languages and formal methods such as Petri nets, process algebra, and rule-based systems that are interpreted as ODEs. We consider the problem of comparing and minimizing ODEs automatically. Influenced by traditional approaches in the theory of programming, we propose differential equivalence relations. We study them for a basic intermediate language, for which we have decidability results, that can be targeted by a class of high-level specifications. An ODE implicitly represents an uncountable state space, hence reasoning techniques cannot be borrowed from established domains such as probabilistic programs with finite-state Markov chain semantics. We provide novel symbolic procedures to check an equivalence and compute the largest one via partition refinement algorithms that use satisfiability modulo theories. We illustrate the generality of our framework by showing that differential equivalences include (i) well-known notions for the minimization of continuous-time Markov chains (lumpability), (ii) bisimulations for chemical reaction networks recently proposed by Cardelli et al., and (iii) behavioral relations for process algebra with ODE semantics. Using ERODE, the tool that implements our techniques, we are able to detect equivalences in biochemical models from the literature that cannot be reduced using competing automatic techniques. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Abstract Binary Constraint Problems have traditionally been considered as Network Satisfaction Problems over some relation algebra. A constraint network is satisfiable if its nodes can be mapped into some representation of the relation algebra in such a way that the constraints are preserved. A qualitative representation ϕ is like an ordinary representation, but instead of requiring that (a ; b) ϕ is the composition a ϕ ∘ b ϕ of the relations a ϕ and b ϕ , as we do for ordinary representations, we only require that c ϕ ⊇ a ϕ ∘ b ϕ ⇔ c ≥ a ; b , for each c in the algebra. A constraint network is qualitatively satisfiable if its nodes can be mapped to elements of a qualitative representation, preserving the constraints. If a constraint network is satisfiable then it is clearly qualitatively satisfiable, but the converse can fail, as we show. However, for a wide range of relation algebras including the point algebra, the Allen Interval Algebra, RCC8 and many others, a network is satisfiable if and only if it is qualitatively satisfiable. Unlike ordinary composition, the weak composition arising from qualitative representations need not be associative, so we can generalise by considering network satisfaction problems over non-associative algebras. We prove that computationally, qualitative representations have many advantages over ordinary representations: whereas many finite relation algebras have only infinite representations, every finite qualitatively representable algebra has a finite qualitative representation; the representability problem for (the atom structures of) finite non-associative algebras is NP-complete ; the network satisfaction problem over a finite qualitatively representable algebra is always in NP ; the validity of equations over qualitative representations is co-NP-complete. On the other hand we prove that there is no finite axiomatisation of the class of qualitatively representable algebras. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Abstract: A Catalan pair is a pair of binary relations satisfying some axioms. These pairs are enumerated by the well-known Catalan numbers, and have been introduced in Disanto et al. (2010) [2] with the aim of giving a common language to many structures counted by Catalan numbers. Here, a simple method is given to pass from the recursive definition of a generic Catalan structure to the recursive definition of the Catalan pair on the same structure, thus giving an automatic way of interpreting Catalan structures in terms of Catalan pairs. Our method is applied to several well-known Catalan structures, focusing on the combinatorial meaning of the relations and in each case considered. [Copyright &y& Elsevier]

Abstract: We study the Boolean algebras of regular languages, context-sensitive languages and decidable languages, respectively, over any alphabet. It is well known that , with proper inclusions. After observing that these Boolean algebras are all isomorphic, we study some immunity properties: for instance we prove that for every coinfinite decidable language there exists a decidable language such that , is infinite, and there is no context-sensitive language , with unless is finite; similarly, for every coinfinite regular language there exists a context-sensitive language such that , is infinite, and there is no regular language such that , unless is finite. [Copyright &y& Elsevier]

Abstract: Coalgebras can be seen as a natural abstraction of Kripke frames. In the same sense, coalgebraic logics are generalised modal logics. In this paper, we give an overview of the basic tools, techniques and results that connect coalgebras and modal logic. We argue that coalgebras unify the semantics of a large range of different modal logics (such as probabilistic, graded, relational, conditional) and discuss unifying approaches to reasoning at this level of generality. We review languages defined in terms of the so-called cover modality, languages induced by predicate liftings as well as their common categorical abstraction, and present (abstract) results on completeness, expressiveness and complexity in these settings, both for basic languages as well as a number of extensions, such as hybrid languages and fixpoints. [Copyright &y& Elsevier]

Abstract: Integer multiplication as one of the basic arithmetic functions has been in the focus of several complexity theoretical investigations. Ordered binary decision diagrams (OBDDs) are one of the most common dynamic data structures for boolean functions. Among the many areas of application are verification, model checking, computer-aided design, relational algebra, and symbolic graph algorithms. In this paper it is shown that the OBDD complexity of the most significant bit of integer multiplication is exponential answering an open question posed by Wegener (2000) . [Copyright &y& Elsevier]

Abstract: Let be an integer. A sequence of natural numbers is -synchronized if its graph is represented, in base , by a right-synchronized rational relation. We show that the factor complexity and the palindromic complexity of a -synchronized sequence are -regular sequences. We derive that the palindromic complexity of a -automatic sequence is -automatic. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Abstract: We consider the first-order theory of the free infinitely generated monoid with the usual predicates “prefix” and “equal length” along with the predicate “equal last letter”. The associated definable relations are related to the algebras of relations recognized by different types of multitape automata which are natural extensions of the famous Rabin–Scott multitape automata and the synchronous automata. We investigate these classes of automata and solve decision issues concerning them. [Copyright &y& Elsevier]

Entity-Relationship (ER) modelling is a popular technique for data modelling. Despite its popularity and widespread use, it lacks a firm semantic foundation. We propose a translation of an ER-model into relation algebra, suggesting that this kind of algebra does provide suitable mechanisms for establishing a formal semantics of ER modelling. The work reported on here deals first with the techniques necessary for the translation, thus constructing a static view of an ER-model in an abstract setting of what might be called logic without variables. We then undertake a detailed analysis of the insertion and deletion operations for an ER-model represented in terms of the relation calculus. [Copyright &y& Elsevier]