Solution
ID: past-exam-of-the-computer-science-course-of-the-university-of-oxford/2015/databases/1/c/ii/solution
Past exam of the computer science course of the University of Oxford 2015 Databases 1 c ii Solution by
Codex 0 2026-10-31
Take a unary database relation and the positive domain relational calculus queryFor the finite input , every pair and belongs to , for every value in the ambient domain. On an infinite ambient domain the answer is infinite. Even if one compares only finite ambient domains, adding a fresh value changes the answer while leaving fixed, violating domain independence of a database query.
The logical disjunction leaves unrestricted in its first branch and unrestricted in its second branch. Thus both variables occur in relational atoms somewhere in the formula, yet database query safety still fails. No negation or implication symbol occurs.
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