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A natural language interface plug-in for cooperative query answering in biological databases
1Department of Computer Science, Wayne State University, Michigan, USA. hmjamil@wayne.edu
BMC Genomics
|July 5, 2012
Summary
This study introduces a semantic correspondence plug-in for biological databases, enabling natural language queries for flexible and cooperative responses. This approach supports schema modifications and offers independence from underlying database structures.
Area of Science:
- Bioinformatics
- Database Management
- Computational Biology
Background:
- Biological databases often require flexible query responses beyond structured language.
- High-level biological concepts necessitate interpretive query processing.
- Rigid database structures can limit effective querying in biological research.
Purpose of the Study:
- To propose a semantic correspondence plug-in for natural language query processing.
- To enable cooperative responses tailored to user interpretations.
- To facilitate querying over arbitrary biological database schemas.
Main Methods:
- Leveraging natural language parsing, rule languages, and ontologies.
- Developing a prototype query processor for transforming natural language to structured queries.
- Integrating knowledge rules and supporting their modifications within the database schema.
Main Results:
- The developed plug-in supports schema modifications, overcoming limitations of contemporary natural language interfaces.
- It achieves independence from underlying database schemas.
- A prototype demonstrates the transformation of natural language queries into semantically equivalent structured queries.
Conclusions:
- The plug-in is generic, connecting user-selected natural language interfaces to arbitrary databases.
- It utilizes a semantic description of the intended application.
- The approach's feasibility is demonstrated through a practical example.
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