Fuzzy Data Modeling and Algebraic Operations in XML

XML has been the de-facto standard of information representation and exchange over the web. As the next generation of the Web language, XML is straightforwardly usable over the Internet. At the same time, the real world is filled with imprecision and uncertainty. However, the existed works fall short in their ability to model imprecise and uncertain data using XML. In this paper, we propose a new fuzzy XML data model based on XML Schema. With the model used, the fuzzy information in XML documents can be represented naturally. Along with the model, an associated algebra is presented formally. We also introduce how to use our algebra to capture queries expressed in XQuery. It shows that this model and algebra can establish a firm foundation for publishing and managing the histories of fuzzy data on the Web. (C) 2010 Wiley Periodicals, Inc.