Database Repair by Signed Formulae

We introduce a simple and practically efficient method for repairing inconsistent databases. The idea is to properly represent the underlying problem, and then use off-the-shelf applications for efficiently computing the corresponding solutions.Given a possibly inconsistent database, we represent the possible ways to restore its consistency in terms of signed formulae. Then we show how the ‘signed theory’ that is obtained can be used by a variety of computational models for processing quantified Boolean formulae, or by constraint logic program solvers, in order to rapidly and efficiently compute desired solutions, i.e., consistent repairs of the database.