Introduction to logical information systems

Abstract

Logical Information Systems (LIS) use logic in a uniform way to describe their contents, to query it, to navigate through it, to analyze it, and to maintain it. They can be given an abstract speci¯cation that does not depend on the choice of a particular logic, and concrete instances can be obtained by instantiating this speci¯cation with a particular logic. In fact, a logic plays in a LIS the role of a schema in data-bases. We present the principles of logical information systems, the constraints they impose on the expression of logics, and hints for their e®ective implementation.