Spatiotemporal Query Languages

Project Description

We have designed a data model to represent spatiotemporal data, that is, geometric information that changes over time. Based on an abstract data type modeling approach, we have designed query languages to express inquiries about such data. Adding a temporal dimension to spatial data creates a huge space of possible relationships and dependencies between spatiotemporal objects that offers a wealth of different language designs that are still to be explored. In addition to traditional textual query languages, we are also developing visual query languages to simplify the construction of queries for end users.

A brief overview is given in the paper Design of Spatio-Temporal Query Languages. For a more elaborate description of the fundamental data modeling issues, see Spatio-Temporal Data Types: An Approach to Modeling and Querying Moving Objects in Databases.

Selected Publications

A Visual Language for the Evolution of Spatial Relationships and its Translation into a Spatio-Temporal Calculus, Martin Erwig and Markus Schneider
Journal of Visual Languages and Computing, Vol. 14No. 2, 181-211, 2003

Spatio-Temporal Models and Languages: An Approach Based on Data Types, Ralf H. Güting, Mike H. Böhlen, Martin Erwig, Christian S. Jensen, Nikos A. Lorentzos, Enrico Nardelli, and Markus Schneider
Chapter 4 of Spatio-Temporal Databases: The CHOROCHRONOS Approach (eds. T. Sellis et al.), Springer Verlag, LNCS 2520, 97-146, 2003

Design of Spatio-Temporal Query Languages, Martin Erwig
NSF/BDEI Workshop on Spatio-Temporal Data Models of Biogeophysical Fields for Ecological Forecasting, 2002

STQL: A Spatio-Temporal Query Language, Martin Erwig and Markus Schneider
Chapter 6 of Mining Spatio-Temporal Information Systems (eds. R. Ladner, K. Shaw, and M. Abdelguerfi), Kluwer Academic Publishers, 105-126, 2002

Spatio-Temporal Predicates, Martin Erwig and Markus Schneider
IEEE Transactions on Knowledge and Data Engineering, Vol. 14, No. 4, 881-901, 2002

Query-By-Trace: Visual Predicate Specification in Spatio-Temporal Databases, Martin Erwig and Markus Schneider
5th IFIP Conf. on Visual Databases, 199-218, 2000

A Foundation for Representing and Querying Moving Objects, Ralf H. Güting, Mike H. Böhlen, Martin Erwig, Christian S. Jensen, Nikos A. Lorentzos, Markus Schneider, and Michalis Vazirgiannis
ACM Transactions on Database Systems, Vol. 25, No. 1, 1-42, 2000

Visual Specifications of Spatio-Temporal Developments, Martin Erwig and Markus Schneider
15th IEEE Symp. on Visual Languages, 187-188, 1999

The Honeycomb Model of Spatio-Temporal Partitions, Martin Erwig and Markus Schneider
Int. Workshop on Spatio-Temporal Database Management, LNCS 1678, 39-59, 1999

Developments in Spatio-Temporal Query Languages, Martin Erwig and Markus Schneider
IEEE Int. Workshop on Spatio-Temporal Data Models and Languages, 441-449, 1999

Spatio-Temporal Data Types: An Approach to Modeling and Querying Moving Objects in Databases,
Martin Erwig, Ralf H. Güting, Markus Schneider, and Michalis Vazirgiannis
GeoInformatica, Vol. 3, No. 3, 269-296, 1999

Temporal Objects for Spatio-Temporal Data Models and a Comparison of Their Representations,
Martin Erwig, Markus Schneider, and Ralf H. Güting
Int. Workshop on Advances in Database Technologies, LNCS 1552, 454-465, 1998

Abstract and Discrete Modeling of Spatio-Temporal Data Types, Martin Erwig, Ralf H. Güting, Markus Schneider, and Michalis Vazirgiannis
6th ACM Symp. on Geographic Information Systems, 131-136, 1998

Participating Researchers

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