[r2004-09-09 14:41:58 by cmiachon] Empty log message

Original author: cmiachon
Date: 2004-09-09 14:41:58+00:00

web/Funding.xml

@@ -30,32 +30,34 @@ href="http://www.telecom.gouv.fr/rntl/">RNTL</a>) and aims at ...
 <p>
 This ACI is motivated by the increasing number of applications that
 produce, consume or handle large sets of data, or
-``\emph{datamasses}''.  In many cases, these are either raw data or a
+"<i>datamasses</i>".  In many cases, these are either raw data or a
 collection of data from various sources, both of which lack uniform
 descriptive criteria. Such cases require more flexibility than the
 classical relational model can provide, and have given rise to the
-so-called semi-structured data model~\cite{serge99}, of
+so-called semi-structured data model <footnote>serge99</footnote>, of
 which XML is one of the most prominent examples.
-
+</p>
+<p>
 Our project intends to study the processing, querying and handling of large
 datamasses whenever data is available in XML format. We pay particular attention
 to the programming languages and query languages problems. We aim to cover in a
-uniform way a wide spectrum of different areas, namely: {\bf programming
-languages} (expressiveness, typing, new programming primitives, query underlying
-logics, logical optimization), {\bf data access\/} (streamed data, compression,
-access to secondary memory storages, persistency engines), {\bf implementation}
+uniform way a wide spectrum of different areas, namely: <b>programming
+languages</b> (expressiveness, typing, new programming primitives, query underlying
+logics, logical optimization), <b>data access</b> (streamed data, compression,
+access to secondary memory storages, persistency engines), <b>implementation</b>
 (pattern matching compiling, physical optimization, subtyping verification,
 execution models for streamed data).
-
+</p>
+<p>
 We will tackle these challenges following three research directions:
-
-\begin{description}
-\item[query languages:] one of the characteristics of the relation model is to
+</p>
+<ol style="list-style-type:none;">
+<li><b>query languages</b>: one of the characteristics of the relation model is to
       base query languages on the relational algebra or the relational calculus.
-      These are paradigms characterized by {\it high declarativity\/} (in the
+      These are paradigms characterized by <i>high declarativity</i> (in the
       sense that they describe the result rather the way to obtain the result)
       and limited expressiveness (notably, they are not Turing complete). The
-      ``simplicity'' of these languages is at the origin of the good
+      "simplicity" of these languages is at the origin of the good
       performances, performances that can be improved by using the algebraic
       properties of the operators (logical optimization) or by secondary memory
       management techniques (physical optimization).  Our goal is to develop a
@@ -63,28 +65,29 @@ We will tackle these challenges following three research directions:
       pursue it as follows: theoretical study of the expressiveness and
       complexity of the query languages; definition of query languages for XML
       and their implementation; definition and validation of optimization
-      techniques.
+      techniques.<br/><br/></li>
 
-\item[streaming:] the possibility of process streams of data without needing of storing whole documents (if not partially) is crucial in the context of  datamasses. We will consider the
+<li><b>streaming</b>: the possibility of process streams of data without needing of storing whole documents (if not partially) is crucial in the context of  datamasses. We will consider the
 aspects related to streaming also when the data is compressed.
-  always possible~\cite{segoufin1}, so one of the main difficulty to
+  always possible <footnote>segoufin1</footnote>, so one of the main difficulty to
   overcome here is to identify a suitable class of ``streamable''
   queries, with or without compression, and in the former case to
-  determine optimal compression granularity.
-\item[document typing :] type systems are used in the first place for
+  determine optimal compression granularity.<br/><br/></li>
+<li><b>document typing</b>: type systems are used in the first place for
   document validation and for checking integrity constraints, but as
   with standard programming languages, types are at the basis of many
   helpful optimizations. This makes the study of typing systems one of
-  our primary objectives.
-  
+  our primary objectives.<br/><br/></li>
+<li>  
   Another motivation for line of work is our interest in integrity
   constraints whose satisfaction does not depend on the ordering of
   the fields in a document, unlike the constraints expressible in
   ``classical'' type systems for XML such as DTD.  This is a natural
   choice when processing data originating from the fusion of several
   relational databases (a frequent instance of large documents), since
-  the order of the fields is then irrelevant.
-\end{description}
+  the order of the fields is then irrelevant.</li>
+</ol>
+<p>
 The groups involved in our project have each already been working
 separately on XML document handling, although this is only one of the
 incentives for us to work together.  Indeed, we share the same
@@ -94,7 +97,9 @@ document validation: typing, integrity constraints
 
 Beyond our agreement on foundational tools and our agreement on goals,
 cooperation inside the project is further strengthened by the choice
-of a single software target, the CDuce language~\cite{BCF02,CDuce}, a
+of a single software target, the CDuce language<footnote>
+ <a href="papers/cduce-design.ps.gz">CDuce: An XML-Centric General-Purpose Language</a>
+ V. Benzaken, G. Castagna and A. Frisch</footnote> <footnote>CDuce</footnote>, a
 joint development of LIENS and LRI, two of the sites involved in this
 project.
 </p>