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Natural language interfaces to databases

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  07 July 2009

Ann Copestake  and
Karen Sparck Jones
Ann Copestake
Affiliation:
Computer Laboratory, University of Cambridge, New Museums Site, Pembroke Street, Cambridge CB2 3QG, UK
Karen Sparck Jones
Affiliation:
Computer Laboratory, University of Cambridge, New Museums Site, Pembroke Street, Cambridge CB2 3QG, UK
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Abstract

This paper reviews the current state of the art in natural language access to databases. This has been a long-standing area of work in natural language processing. But though some commercial systems are now available, providing front ends has proved much harder than was expected, and the necessary limitations on front ends have to be recognized. The paper discusses the issues, both general to language and task-specific, involved in front end design, and the way these have been addressed, concentrating on the work of the last decade. The focus is on the central process of translating a natural language question into a database query, but other supporting functions are also covered. The points are illustrated by the use of a single example application. The paper concludes with an evaluation of the current state, indicating that future progress will depend on the one hand on general advances in natural language processing, and on the other on expanding the capabilities of traditional databases.

Information

Type
Research Article
Information
The Knowledge Engineering Review , Volume 5 , Issue 4 , December 1990 , pp. 225 - 249
Copyright
Copyright © Cambridge University Press 1990

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