SQL comprehension and synthesis
Date
2020
Authors
Obaido, George Rabeshi
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Abstract
Structured Query Language (SQL) remains the standard language used in Relational
Database Management Systems (RDBMSs), and has found applications in healthcare
(patient registries), businesses (inventories, trend analysis), military, education, etc. Although
SQL statements are English-like, the process of writing SQL queries is often problematic
for non-technical end-users in the industry. Similarly, formulating and comprehending
written queries can be confusing, especially for undergraduate students. One of the pivotal
reasons given for these difficulties lies with the simple syntax of SQL, which is often misleading
and hard to understand. An ideal solution is to present these two audiences: undergraduate
students and non-technical end-users with learning and practice tools. These tools
are mostly electronic, and can be used to aid their understanding, as well as enable them
write correct SQL queries. This work proposes a new approach aimed at understanding and
writing correct SQL queries using principles from Formal Language and Automata Theory.
We present algorithms based on: regular expressions for the recognition of simple query constructs,
context-free grammars for the recognition of nested queries and a jumping finite automaton
for the synthesis of SQL queries from natural language descriptions. As proof of
concept, these algorithms were further implemented into interactive software tools aimed at
improving SQL comprehension. Evaluation of these tools showed that the majority of participants
agreed that the tools were intuitive and aided their understanding of SQL queries.
These tools should, therefore, find applications in aiding SQL comprehension at higher learning
institutions and assist in the writing of correct queries in data-centered industries
Description
A thesis submitted to the Faculty of Science, in fulfilment of the requirements for the degree of Doctor of Philosophy in Computer Science, 2020