Semantic Query Optimization

Semantic Query Optimization

A different approach to query optimization, called semantic query optimization, has been suggested. This technique, which may be used in combination with the techniques discussed previously, uses constraints specified on the database schema—such as unique attributes and other more complex constraints—in order to modify one query into another query that is more efficient to execute. We will not discuss this approach in detail but we will illustrate it with a simple example. Consider the SQL query:

SELECT                           E.Lname, M.Lname

FROM                             EMPLOYEE AS E, EMPLOYEE AS M

WHERE                           E.Super_ssn=M.Ssn AND E.Salary > M.Salary

This query retrieves the names of employees who earn more than their supervisors. Suppose that we had a constraint on the database schema that stated that no employee can earn more than his or her direct supervisor. If the semantic query optimizer checks for the existence of this constraint, it does not need to execute the query at all because it knows that the result of the query will be empty. This may save considerable time if the constraint checking can be done efficiently. However, searching through many constraints to find those that are applicable to a given query and that may semantically optimize it can also be quite time-consuming. With the inclusion of active rules and additional metadata in database systems (see Chapter 26), semantic query optimization techniques are being gradually incorporated into the DBMSs.