An Integrated Query Relaxation Approach Adopting Data Abstraction and Fuzzy Relation

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This paper proposes a cooperative query answering approach that relaxes query conditions to provide approximate answers by utilizing similarity relationships between data values. The proposed fuzzy abstraction hierarchy (FAH) represents a similarity relationship based on the integrated notion of data abstraction and fuzzy relations. Based on FAH, the authors develop query relaxation operators like query generalization, approximation, and specialization of a value. Compared with existing approaches, FAH supports more effective information retrieval by processing various kinds of cooperative queries through elaborate relaxation control and providing ranked query results according to fitness scores. Moreover, FAH reduces maintenance cost by decreasing the number of similarity relationships to be managed.