Extending Tree Automata to Obtain Consistent Query Answer from Inconsistent XML Document

Data may contain inconsistencies that violate integrity constraints, the consistent query answering problem attempts to find answers common for every possible repair. In this paper, we study how to handle the inconsistent XML document, which conforms to the DTD, while violates constraints. We consider three types of constraints, including functional dependencies, keys and foreign keys. We provide a repair framework for inconsistent XML document with three basic update operations: node insertion, node deletion and value modification. Following this approach, we introduce the concept of labelled XML document, which is an extension to the traditional tree model of XML with a function to indicate the unreliable nodes. We then give the definition of minimal labelled XML document, a representation of all possible repairs and can be used for consistent query answering. We provide a method for building an extended bottom-up tree automaton. The automaton can, in only one pass, not only check the validity of an XML document w.r.t DTD and integrity constraints, but also generate the corresponding minimal labelled XML document