PQL: a declarative query language over dynamic biological schemata.

ABSTRACT

We introduce the PQL query language (PQL) used in the GeneSeek genetic data integration project. PQL incorporates many features of query languages for semi-structured data. To this we add the ability to express metadata constraints like intended semantics and database curation approach. These constraints guide the dynamic generation of potential query plans. This allows a single query to remain relevant even in the presence of source and mediated schemas that are continually evolving, as is often the case in data integration.