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Invited Talk

DOI: 10.4230/LIPIcs.ICDT.2026.1

Query Decompositions and All That (Invited Talk)

Authors: Kyle Deeds, Timo Camillo Merkl, Reinhard Pichler, and Dan Suciu

Published in: LIPIcs, Volume 365, 29th International Conference on Database Theory (ICDT 2026)

Abstract

The close relationship between Conjunctive Queries (CQs) and Constraint Satisfaction Problems (CSPs) has long been known. Nevertheless, apart from decomposition methods, research on efficient query evaluation or constraint solving algorithms has developed rather independently. In this article, we illustrate how search algorithms originating from the CSP community can be fruitfully applied to query evaluation - either by further developing the original search algorithms or by combining them with query decomposition methods. It turns out that the resulting approaches may indeed lead to lower time and/or space complexity than previous query evaluation methods.

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Kyle Deeds, Timo Camillo Merkl, Reinhard Pichler, and Dan Suciu. Query Decompositions and All That (Invited Talk). In 29th International Conference on Database Theory (ICDT 2026). Leibniz International Proceedings in Informatics (LIPIcs), Volume 365, pp. 1:1-1:20, Schloss Dagstuhl – Leibniz-Zentrum für Informatik (2026)

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@InProceedings{deeds_et_al:LIPIcs.ICDT.2026.1,
  author =	{Deeds, Kyle and Merkl, Timo Camillo and Pichler, Reinhard and Suciu, Dan},
  title =	{{Query Decompositions and All That}},
  booktitle =	{29th International Conference on Database Theory (ICDT 2026)},
  pages =	{1:1--1:20},
  series =	{Leibniz International Proceedings in Informatics (LIPIcs)},
  ISBN =	{978-3-95977-413-0},
  ISSN =	{1868-8969},
  year =	{2026},
  volume =	{365},
  editor =	{ten Cate, Balder and Funk, Maurice},
  publisher =	{Schloss Dagstuhl -- Leibniz-Zentrum f{\"u}r Informatik},
  address =	{Dagstuhl, Germany},
  URL =		{https://drops.dagstuhl.de/entities/document/10.4230/LIPIcs.ICDT.2026.1},
  URN =		{urn:nbn:de:0030-drops-256158},
  doi =		{10.4230/LIPIcs.ICDT.2026.1},
  annote =	{Keywords: Query evaluation, Query decompositions, Complexity}
}

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Invited Talk

DOI: 10.4230/LIPIcs.ICDT.2026.3

Building Relational Circuits (Invited Talk)

Authors: Florent Capelli

Published in: LIPIcs, Volume 365, 29th International Conference on Database Theory (ICDT 2026)

Abstract

We review two algorithms which allow to build a factorized representation of the answers set of join queries. In a nutshell, the representation builds a circuit representing the answers set of a join query by starting from atomic relations and iteratively combine them by either constructing the Cartesian product or the disjoint union of previously computed relations. The first one can be seen as the trace of the celebrated Yannakakis algorithm, building the answer set from the inputs to the output of the circuit while the second adopts a top-down approach which can be seen as a generalization of the exhaustive DPLL algorithm, originally designed to solve the #SAT problem.

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Florent Capelli. Building Relational Circuits (Invited Talk). In 29th International Conference on Database Theory (ICDT 2026). Leibniz International Proceedings in Informatics (LIPIcs), Volume 365, pp. 3:1-3:20, Schloss Dagstuhl – Leibniz-Zentrum für Informatik (2026)

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@InProceedings{capelli:LIPIcs.ICDT.2026.3,
  author =	{Capelli, Florent},
  title =	{{Building Relational Circuits}},
  booktitle =	{29th International Conference on Database Theory (ICDT 2026)},
  pages =	{3:1--3:20},
  series =	{Leibniz International Proceedings in Informatics (LIPIcs)},
  ISBN =	{978-3-95977-413-0},
  ISSN =	{1868-8969},
  year =	{2026},
  volume =	{365},
  editor =	{ten Cate, Balder and Funk, Maurice},
  publisher =	{Schloss Dagstuhl -- Leibniz-Zentrum f{\"u}r Informatik},
  address =	{Dagstuhl, Germany},
  URL =		{https://drops.dagstuhl.de/entities/document/10.4230/LIPIcs.ICDT.2026.3},
  URN =		{urn:nbn:de:0030-drops-256172},
  doi =		{10.4230/LIPIcs.ICDT.2026.3},
  annote =	{Keywords: Conjunctive queries, factorized databases, knowledge compilation}
}

Document

DOI: 10.4230/LIPIcs.ICDT.2026.11

Factorised Representations of Join Queries: Tight Bounds and a New Dichotomy

Authors: Christoph Berkholz and Harry Vinall-Smeeth

Published in: LIPIcs, Volume 365, 29th International Conference on Database Theory (ICDT 2026)

Abstract

A common theme in factorised databases and knowledge compilation is the representation of solution sets in a useful yet succinct data structure. In this paper, we study the representation of the result of join queries (or, equivalently, the set of homomorphisms between two relational structures). We focus on the very general format of {∪,×}-circuits - also known as d-representations or DNNF circuits - and aim to find the limits of this approach. In prior work, it has been shown that there always exists a {∪,×}-circuit of size N^O(subw) representing the query result, where N is the size of the database and subw the submodular width of the query. If the arity of all relations is bounded by a constant, then subw is linear in the treewidth tw of the query. In this setting, the authors of this paper proved a lower bound of N^Ω(tw^ε) on the circuit size (ICALP 2023), where ε > 0 depends on the excluded grid theorem. Our first main contribution is to improve this lower bound to N^Ω(tw), which is tight up to a constant factor in the exponent. Our second contribution is a N^Ω(subw^{1/4}) lower bound on the circuit size for join queries over relations of unbounded arity. Both lower bounds are unconditional lower bounds on the circuit size for well-chosen database instances. Their proofs use a combination of structural (hyper)graph theory with communication complexity in a simple yet novel way. While the second lower bound is asymptotically equivalent to Marx’s conditional bound on the decision complexity (JACM 2013), our N^Θ(tw) bound in the bounded arity setting is tight, while the best conditional bound on the decision complexity is N^Ω(tw/log tw). Note that removing this logarithmic factor in the decision setting is a major open problem.

Cite as

Christoph Berkholz and Harry Vinall-Smeeth. Factorised Representations of Join Queries: Tight Bounds and a New Dichotomy. In 29th International Conference on Database Theory (ICDT 2026). Leibniz International Proceedings in Informatics (LIPIcs), Volume 365, pp. 11:1-11:20, Schloss Dagstuhl – Leibniz-Zentrum für Informatik (2026)

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@InProceedings{berkholz_et_al:LIPIcs.ICDT.2026.11,
  author =	{Berkholz, Christoph and Vinall-Smeeth, Harry},
  title =	{{Factorised Representations of Join Queries: Tight Bounds and a New Dichotomy}},
  booktitle =	{29th International Conference on Database Theory (ICDT 2026)},
  pages =	{11:1--11:20},
  series =	{Leibniz International Proceedings in Informatics (LIPIcs)},
  ISBN =	{978-3-95977-413-0},
  ISSN =	{1868-8969},
  year =	{2026},
  volume =	{365},
  editor =	{ten Cate, Balder and Funk, Maurice},
  publisher =	{Schloss Dagstuhl -- Leibniz-Zentrum f{\"u}r Informatik},
  address =	{Dagstuhl, Germany},
  URL =		{https://drops.dagstuhl.de/entities/document/10.4230/LIPIcs.ICDT.2026.11},
  URN =		{urn:nbn:de:0030-drops-256255},
  doi =		{10.4230/LIPIcs.ICDT.2026.11},
  annote =	{Keywords: join queries, homomorphisms, factorised databases, succinct representation, knowledge compilation, lower bounds}
}

Document

DOI: 10.4230/LIPIcs.ICDT.2026.12

The Complexity of Finding Missing Answer Repairs

Authors: Jesse Comer and Val Tannen

Published in: LIPIcs, Volume 365, 29th International Conference on Database Theory (ICDT 2026)

Abstract

We investigate the problem of identifying database repairs for missing tuples in query answers. We show that when the query is part of the input - the combined complexity setting - determining whether or not a repair exists is polynomial-time equivalent to the satisfiability problem for classes of queries admitting a weak form of projection and selection. We then identify the sub-classes of unions of conjunctive queries with negated atoms, defined by the relational algebra operations permitted to appear in the query, for which the minimal repair problem can be solved in polynomial time. In contrast, we show that the problem is NP-hard, as well as set cover-hard to approximate via strict reductions, whenever both projection and join are permitted in the input query. Additionally, we show that finding the size of a minimal repair for unions of conjunctive queries (with negated atoms permitted) is OptP[log(n)]-complete, while computing a minimal repair is possible with O(n²) queries to an NP oracle. With recursion permitted, the combined complexity of all of these variants increases significantly, with an EXP lower bound. However, from the data complexity perspective, we show that minimal repairs can be identified in polynomial time for all queries expressible as semi-positive datalog programs.

Cite as

Jesse Comer and Val Tannen. The Complexity of Finding Missing Answer Repairs. In 29th International Conference on Database Theory (ICDT 2026). Leibniz International Proceedings in Informatics (LIPIcs), Volume 365, pp. 12:1-12:20, Schloss Dagstuhl – Leibniz-Zentrum für Informatik (2026)

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@InProceedings{comer_et_al:LIPIcs.ICDT.2026.12,
  author =	{Comer, Jesse and Tannen, Val},
  title =	{{The Complexity of Finding Missing Answer Repairs}},
  booktitle =	{29th International Conference on Database Theory (ICDT 2026)},
  pages =	{12:1--12:20},
  series =	{Leibniz International Proceedings in Informatics (LIPIcs)},
  ISBN =	{978-3-95977-413-0},
  ISSN =	{1868-8969},
  year =	{2026},
  volume =	{365},
  editor =	{ten Cate, Balder and Funk, Maurice},
  publisher =	{Schloss Dagstuhl -- Leibniz-Zentrum f{\"u}r Informatik},
  address =	{Dagstuhl, Germany},
  URL =		{https://drops.dagstuhl.de/entities/document/10.4230/LIPIcs.ICDT.2026.12},
  URN =		{urn:nbn:de:0030-drops-256265},
  doi =		{10.4230/LIPIcs.ICDT.2026.12},
  annote =	{Keywords: Missing answers, database repairs, datalog, computational complexity}
}

Document

DOI: 10.4230/LIPIcs.ICDT.2026.13

Complexity of Evaluating GQL Queries

Authors: Diego Figueira, Anthony W. Lin, and Liat Peterfreund

Published in: LIPIcs, Volume 365, 29th International Conference on Database Theory (ICDT 2026)

Abstract

GQL has recently emerged as the standard query language over graph databases, particularly, property graphs. Indeed, this is analogous to the role of SQL for relational databases. Unlike SQL, however, fundamental problems regarding GQL are still unsolved, most notably the complexity of query evaluation. In this paper we provide a complete solution to this problem for the core fragment of GQL and for its extension with path restrictors. In particular, we show that the data complexity of these fragments is P^NP[log]-complete in general, and drops to NL-complete when restrictors are disallowed. Using techniques from embedded finite model theory, we show that this is true, even when the queries use data from infinite concrete domains such as real numbers with arithmetic. In proving these results, we establish and exploit tight connections between GQL and query languages over relational databases, especially extensions of relational calculus with transitive closure operators and fragments of second-order logic.

Cite as

Diego Figueira, Anthony W. Lin, and Liat Peterfreund. Complexity of Evaluating GQL Queries. In 29th International Conference on Database Theory (ICDT 2026). Leibniz International Proceedings in Informatics (LIPIcs), Volume 365, pp. 13:1-13:18, Schloss Dagstuhl – Leibniz-Zentrum für Informatik (2026)

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@InProceedings{figueira_et_al:LIPIcs.ICDT.2026.13,
  author =	{Figueira, Diego and Lin, Anthony W. and Peterfreund, Liat},
  title =	{{Complexity of Evaluating GQL Queries}},
  booktitle =	{29th International Conference on Database Theory (ICDT 2026)},
  pages =	{13:1--13:18},
  series =	{Leibniz International Proceedings in Informatics (LIPIcs)},
  ISBN =	{978-3-95977-413-0},
  ISSN =	{1868-8969},
  year =	{2026},
  volume =	{365},
  editor =	{ten Cate, Balder and Funk, Maurice},
  publisher =	{Schloss Dagstuhl -- Leibniz-Zentrum f{\"u}r Informatik},
  address =	{Dagstuhl, Germany},
  URL =		{https://drops.dagstuhl.de/entities/document/10.4230/LIPIcs.ICDT.2026.13},
  URN =		{urn:nbn:de:0030-drops-256278},
  doi =		{10.4230/LIPIcs.ICDT.2026.13},
  annote =	{Keywords: Graph query languages, GQL, complexity, database theory}
}

Document

DOI: 10.4230/LIPIcs.ICDT.2026.17

Algorithms for Optimizing Acyclic Queries

Authors: Zheng Luo, Wim Van den Broeck, Guy Van den Broeck, and Yisu Remy Wang

Published in: LIPIcs, Volume 365, 29th International Conference on Database Theory (ICDT 2026)

Abstract

Most research on query optimization has centered on binary join algorithms like hash join and sort-merge join. However, recent years have seen growing interest in theoretically optimal algorithms, notably Yannakakis' algorithm. These algorithms rely on join trees, which differ from the operator trees for binary joins and require new optimization techniques. We propose three approaches to constructing join trees for acyclic queries. First, we give an algorithm to enumerate all join trees of an α-acyclic query by edits in linear time with amortized constant delay, which forms the basis of a cost-based optimizer for acyclic joins. Second, we show the Maximum Cardinality Search algorithm by Tarjan and Yannakakis constructs the unique shallowest join tree for any Berge-acyclic query, thus enabling parallel execution of large join queries. Finally, we prove that a simple algorithm by Hu et al. converts any connected left-deep linear plan of a γ-acyclic query into a join tree, allowing reuse of optimizers developed for binary joins.

Cite as

Zheng Luo, Wim Van den Broeck, Guy Van den Broeck, and Yisu Remy Wang. Algorithms for Optimizing Acyclic Queries. In 29th International Conference on Database Theory (ICDT 2026). Leibniz International Proceedings in Informatics (LIPIcs), Volume 365, pp. 17:1-17:18, Schloss Dagstuhl – Leibniz-Zentrum für Informatik (2026)

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@InProceedings{luo_et_al:LIPIcs.ICDT.2026.17,
  author =	{Luo, Zheng and Van den Broeck, Wim and Van den Broeck, Guy and Wang, Yisu Remy},
  title =	{{Algorithms for Optimizing Acyclic Queries}},
  booktitle =	{29th International Conference on Database Theory (ICDT 2026)},
  pages =	{17:1--17:18},
  series =	{Leibniz International Proceedings in Informatics (LIPIcs)},
  ISBN =	{978-3-95977-413-0},
  ISSN =	{1868-8969},
  year =	{2026},
  volume =	{365},
  editor =	{ten Cate, Balder and Funk, Maurice},
  publisher =	{Schloss Dagstuhl -- Leibniz-Zentrum f{\"u}r Informatik},
  address =	{Dagstuhl, Germany},
  URL =		{https://drops.dagstuhl.de/entities/document/10.4230/LIPIcs.ICDT.2026.17},
  URN =		{urn:nbn:de:0030-drops-256319},
  doi =		{10.4230/LIPIcs.ICDT.2026.17},
  annote =	{Keywords: Query Optimization, Join Trees, Enumeration}
}

Document

DOI: 10.4230/LIPIcs.ICDT.2026.21

First-Order Rewritability of Rule-Based Ontology Mediated Queries with Negation

Authors: Georg Gottlob, Marco Manna, Andreas Pieris, and Aldo Ricioppo

Published in: LIPIcs, Volume 365, 29th International Conference on Database Theory (ICDT 2026)

Abstract

The idea of using an ontology to enrich user queries with domain knowledge has attracted considerable attention from the database and KR communities during the last fifteen years or so. The ontology and the user query can be conveniently seen as two components of one composite query, called ontology-mediated query (omq), while an omq language (OL,QL) collects all such omqs where the ontology is expressed using the ontology language OL and the user query comes from the query language QL. The evaluation problem for rule-based omq languages of the form (OL,CQ), where OL is a rule-based ontology language, i.e., it collects ontologies modelled using tuple-generating dependencies (a.k.a. existential rules), and CQ is the language of conjunctive queries, has been extensively studied in the literature. In particular, the notion of first-order rewritability of such languages, i.e., the property of being able to rewrite every omq from the language in question to an equivalent first-order query, has been studied in depth. This research effort led an algorithmic characterization of when a rule-based omq language (OL,CQ) is first-order rewritable. More precisely, there is a uniform algorithm Rewrite such that, for every rule-based ontology language OL, the omq language (OL,CQ) is first-order rewritable iff for every omq O from (OL,CQ), the algorithm Rewrite on input O terminates and constructs a first-order rewriting of O. The question that we are interested in is whether the above algorithmic characterization can be extended to rule-based omq languages of the form (OL,nCQ), where nCQ is the language of conjunctive queries with the useful feature of negation. The goal of this work is to initiate effort towards the settlement of the above highly non-trivial question. To this end, we provide a new algorithm, which is a non-trivial extension of the algorithm Rewrite for positive omqs, and show the following: under the Skolem semantics, a well-established approach for defining the answer to a rule-based omq when the user query can use negation, the proposed algorithm is a first-order rewriter for (OL,nCQ), where OL is the language of linear or acyclic tuple-generating dependencies, two central rule-based ontology languages that ensure first-order rewritability for positive omqs. We strongly believe that the new algorithm can serve as a good starting point towards the full settlement of our main question.

Cite as

Georg Gottlob, Marco Manna, Andreas Pieris, and Aldo Ricioppo. First-Order Rewritability of Rule-Based Ontology Mediated Queries with Negation. In 29th International Conference on Database Theory (ICDT 2026). Leibniz International Proceedings in Informatics (LIPIcs), Volume 365, pp. 21:1-21:20, Schloss Dagstuhl – Leibniz-Zentrum für Informatik (2026)

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@InProceedings{gottlob_et_al:LIPIcs.ICDT.2026.21,
  author =	{Gottlob, Georg and Manna, Marco and Pieris, Andreas and Ricioppo, Aldo},
  title =	{{First-Order Rewritability of Rule-Based Ontology Mediated Queries with Negation}},
  booktitle =	{29th International Conference on Database Theory (ICDT 2026)},
  pages =	{21:1--21:20},
  series =	{Leibniz International Proceedings in Informatics (LIPIcs)},
  ISBN =	{978-3-95977-413-0},
  ISSN =	{1868-8969},
  year =	{2026},
  volume =	{365},
  editor =	{ten Cate, Balder and Funk, Maurice},
  publisher =	{Schloss Dagstuhl -- Leibniz-Zentrum f{\"u}r Informatik},
  address =	{Dagstuhl, Germany},
  URL =		{https://drops.dagstuhl.de/entities/document/10.4230/LIPIcs.ICDT.2026.21},
  URN =		{urn:nbn:de:0030-drops-256353},
  doi =		{10.4230/LIPIcs.ICDT.2026.21},
  annote =	{Keywords: ontology-mediated queries, tuple-generating dependencies, conjunctive queries with negation, first-order rewritability}
}

Document

DOI: 10.4230/LIPIcs.ICDT.2026.23

Conjunctive Query Containment with Safe Negation and TGD One-Boundedness

Authors: Xavier Oriol

Published in: LIPIcs, Volume 365, 29th International Conference on Database Theory (ICDT 2026)

Abstract

Query containment is a fundamental database problem which has been extensively studied for conjunctive queries (CQs). The most famous result is arguably the Homomorphism Theorem: a CQ q₁ is contained in a CQ q₂ iff there is a homomorphism from q₂ to q₁. However, when extending conjunctive queries with safe base negation (CQ^¬), this test becomes incomplete, hence, requiring significantly more expensive procedures due to its inherently harder complexity (Π₂^P-hard). In this paper, we define and study the classes CQ^{1¬}_{HT} and CQ^{¬}_{HT}: the classes of conjunctive queries extended with one or several safe negated atoms that satisfy the Homomorphism Theorem, and hence, whose containment check is in NP. To characterise them, we define what we call the dependency-version of a query, which is a dependency that, intuitively, models the databases in which the query is false. It turns out that, when the query q contains one (several) negated atom(s), the query satisfies the Homomorphism Theorem iff its tgd(ded)-version is uniformly one-bounded. We also show that CQ^¬_{HT} membership is EXPTIME-hard, but its complexity reduces to Π₂^P in the CQ^{1¬}_{HT} case, and to NP when bounding the number of positive atoms that can unify with the negated one.

Cite as

Xavier Oriol. Conjunctive Query Containment with Safe Negation and TGD One-Boundedness. In 29th International Conference on Database Theory (ICDT 2026). Leibniz International Proceedings in Informatics (LIPIcs), Volume 365, pp. 23:1-23:20, Schloss Dagstuhl – Leibniz-Zentrum für Informatik (2026)

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@InProceedings{oriol:LIPIcs.ICDT.2026.23,
  author =	{Oriol, Xavier},
  title =	{{Conjunctive Query Containment with Safe Negation and TGD One-Boundedness}},
  booktitle =	{29th International Conference on Database Theory (ICDT 2026)},
  pages =	{23:1--23:20},
  series =	{Leibniz International Proceedings in Informatics (LIPIcs)},
  ISBN =	{978-3-95977-413-0},
  ISSN =	{1868-8969},
  year =	{2026},
  volume =	{365},
  editor =	{ten Cate, Balder and Funk, Maurice},
  publisher =	{Schloss Dagstuhl -- Leibniz-Zentrum f{\"u}r Informatik},
  address =	{Dagstuhl, Germany},
  URL =		{https://drops.dagstuhl.de/entities/document/10.4230/LIPIcs.ICDT.2026.23},
  URN =		{urn:nbn:de:0030-drops-256373},
  doi =		{10.4230/LIPIcs.ICDT.2026.23},
  annote =	{Keywords: conjunctive queries, query containment, safe negation, tgd, one-boundedness}
}

Document

Database Theory in Action

DOI: 10.4230/LIPIcs.ICDT.2026.24

Database Theory in Action: Evaluation of Aggregate Queries Without Materialisation

Authors: Matthias Lanzinger, Reinhard Pichler, and Alexander Selzer

Published in: LIPIcs, Volume 365, 29th International Conference on Database Theory (ICDT 2026)

Abstract

Aggregate queries often require computing large intermediate joins despite producing only small outputs. We identify broad classes of acyclic aggregate queries that can be evaluated without materialising any join results, using a bottom-up, semi-join–based propagation of cardinalities and partial aggregates. An implementation in Spark SQL shows that this approach is widely applicable and yields substantial performance gains on standard benchmarks.

Cite as

Matthias Lanzinger, Reinhard Pichler, and Alexander Selzer. Database Theory in Action: Evaluation of Aggregate Queries Without Materialisation. In 29th International Conference on Database Theory (ICDT 2026). Leibniz International Proceedings in Informatics (LIPIcs), Volume 365, pp. 24:1-24:5, Schloss Dagstuhl – Leibniz-Zentrum für Informatik (2026)

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@InProceedings{lanzinger_et_al:LIPIcs.ICDT.2026.24,
  author =	{Lanzinger, Matthias and Pichler, Reinhard and Selzer, Alexander},
  title =	{{Database Theory in Action: Evaluation of Aggregate Queries Without Materialisation}},
  booktitle =	{29th International Conference on Database Theory (ICDT 2026)},
  pages =	{24:1--24:5},
  series =	{Leibniz International Proceedings in Informatics (LIPIcs)},
  ISBN =	{978-3-95977-413-0},
  ISSN =	{1868-8969},
  year =	{2026},
  volume =	{365},
  editor =	{ten Cate, Balder and Funk, Maurice},
  publisher =	{Schloss Dagstuhl -- Leibniz-Zentrum f{\"u}r Informatik},
  address =	{Dagstuhl, Germany},
  URL =		{https://drops.dagstuhl.de/entities/document/10.4230/LIPIcs.ICDT.2026.24},
  URN =		{urn:nbn:de:0030-drops-256380},
  doi =		{10.4230/LIPIcs.ICDT.2026.24},
  annote =	{Keywords: Join Processing, Aggregate Queries, Acyclic Conjunctive Queries}
}

Document

Database Theory in Action

DOI: 10.4230/LIPIcs.ICDT.2026.25

Database Theory in Action: Yannakakis' Algorithm

Authors: Paraschos Koutris, Stijn Vansummeren, Qichen Wang, Yisu Remy Wang, and Xiangyao Yu

Published in: LIPIcs, Volume 365, 29th International Conference on Database Theory (ICDT 2026)

Abstract

Yannakakis' seminal algorithm is optimal for acyclic joins, yet it has not been widely adopted due to its poor performance in practice. This paper briefly surveys recent advancements in making Yannakakis' algorithm more practical, in terms of both efficiency and ease of implementation, and points out several avenues for future research.

Cite as

Paraschos Koutris, Stijn Vansummeren, Qichen Wang, Yisu Remy Wang, and Xiangyao Yu. Database Theory in Action: Yannakakis' Algorithm. In 29th International Conference on Database Theory (ICDT 2026). Leibniz International Proceedings in Informatics (LIPIcs), Volume 365, pp. 25:1-25:6, Schloss Dagstuhl – Leibniz-Zentrum für Informatik (2026)

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@InProceedings{koutris_et_al:LIPIcs.ICDT.2026.25,
  author =	{Koutris, Paraschos and Vansummeren, Stijn and Wang, Qichen and Wang, Yisu Remy and Yu, Xiangyao},
  title =	{{Database Theory in Action: Yannakakis' Algorithm}},
  booktitle =	{29th International Conference on Database Theory (ICDT 2026)},
  pages =	{25:1--25:6},
  series =	{Leibniz International Proceedings in Informatics (LIPIcs)},
  ISBN =	{978-3-95977-413-0},
  ISSN =	{1868-8969},
  year =	{2026},
  volume =	{365},
  editor =	{ten Cate, Balder and Funk, Maurice},
  publisher =	{Schloss Dagstuhl -- Leibniz-Zentrum f{\"u}r Informatik},
  address =	{Dagstuhl, Germany},
  URL =		{https://drops.dagstuhl.de/entities/document/10.4230/LIPIcs.ICDT.2026.25},
  URN =		{urn:nbn:de:0030-drops-256395},
  doi =		{10.4230/LIPIcs.ICDT.2026.25},
  annote =	{Keywords: Join algorithms, acyclicity, Yannakakis' algorithm}
}

Document

DOI: 10.4230/LIPIcs.STACS.2026.51

Structural Parameterization of Steiner Tree Packing

Authors: Niko Hastrich and Kirill Simonov

Published in: LIPIcs, Volume 364, 43rd International Symposium on Theoretical Aspects of Computer Science (STACS 2026)

Abstract

Steiner Tree Packing (STP) is a notoriously hard problem in classical complexity theory, which is of practical relevance to VLSI circuit design. Previous research has approached this problem by providing heuristic or approximate algorithms. In this paper, we show the first FPT algorithms for STP parameterized by structural parameters of the input graph. In particular, we show that STP is fixed-parameter tractable by the tree-cut width as well as the fracture number of the input graph. To achieve our results, we generalize techniques from Edge-Disjoint Paths (EDP) to Generalized Steiner Tree Packing (GSTP), which generalizes both STP and EDP. First, we derive the notion of the augmented graph for GSTP analogous to EDP. We then show that GSTP is FPT by - the tree-cut width of the augmented graph, - the fracture number of the augmented graph, - the slim tree-cut width of the input graph. The latter two results were previously known for EDP; our results generalize these to GSTP and improve the running time for the parameter fracture number. On the other hand, it was open whether EDP is FPT parameterized by the tree-cut width of the augmented graph, despite extensive research on the structural complexity of the problem. We settle this question affirmatively.

Cite as

Niko Hastrich and Kirill Simonov. Structural Parameterization of Steiner Tree Packing. In 43rd International Symposium on Theoretical Aspects of Computer Science (STACS 2026). Leibniz International Proceedings in Informatics (LIPIcs), Volume 364, pp. 51:1-51:18, Schloss Dagstuhl – Leibniz-Zentrum für Informatik (2026)

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@InProceedings{hastrich_et_al:LIPIcs.STACS.2026.51,
  author =	{Hastrich, Niko and Simonov, Kirill},
  title =	{{Structural Parameterization of Steiner Tree Packing}},
  booktitle =	{43rd International Symposium on Theoretical Aspects of Computer Science (STACS 2026)},
  pages =	{51:1--51:18},
  series =	{Leibniz International Proceedings in Informatics (LIPIcs)},
  ISBN =	{978-3-95977-412-3},
  ISSN =	{1868-8969},
  year =	{2026},
  volume =	{364},
  editor =	{Mahajan, Meena and Manea, Florin and McIver, Annabelle and Thắng, Nguy\~{ê}n Kim},
  publisher =	{Schloss Dagstuhl -- Leibniz-Zentrum f{\"u}r Informatik},
  address =	{Dagstuhl, Germany},
  URL =		{https://drops.dagstuhl.de/entities/document/10.4230/LIPIcs.STACS.2026.51},
  URN =		{urn:nbn:de:0030-drops-255405},
  doi =		{10.4230/LIPIcs.STACS.2026.51},
  annote =	{Keywords: Steiner tree packing, structural parameters, fixed-parameter tractability}
}

Document

DOI: 10.4230/LIPIcs.STACS.2026.37

Random Models and Guarded Logic

Authors: Oskar Fiuk

Published in: LIPIcs, Volume 364, 43rd International Symposium on Theoretical Aspects of Computer Science (STACS 2026)

Abstract

Building on ideas of Gurevich and Shelah for the Gödel Class, we present a new probabilistic proof of the finite model property for the Guarded Fragment of First-Order Logic. Our proof is conceptually simple and yields the optimal doubly-exponential upper bound on the size of minimal models. We precisely analyse the obtained bound, up to constant factors in the exponents, and construct sentences that enforce models of tightly matching size. The probabilistic approach adapts naturally to the Triguarded Fragment, an extension of the Guarded Fragment that also subsumes the Two-Variable Fragment. Finally, we derandomise the probabilistic proof by providing an explicit model construction which replaces randomness with deterministic hash functions.

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Oskar Fiuk. Random Models and Guarded Logic. In 43rd International Symposium on Theoretical Aspects of Computer Science (STACS 2026). Leibniz International Proceedings in Informatics (LIPIcs), Volume 364, pp. 37:1-37:21, Schloss Dagstuhl – Leibniz-Zentrum für Informatik (2026)

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@InProceedings{fiuk:LIPIcs.STACS.2026.37,
  author =	{Fiuk, Oskar},
  title =	{{Random Models and Guarded Logic}},
  booktitle =	{43rd International Symposium on Theoretical Aspects of Computer Science (STACS 2026)},
  pages =	{37:1--37:21},
  series =	{Leibniz International Proceedings in Informatics (LIPIcs)},
  ISBN =	{978-3-95977-412-3},
  ISSN =	{1868-8969},
  year =	{2026},
  volume =	{364},
  editor =	{Mahajan, Meena and Manea, Florin and McIver, Annabelle and Thắng, Nguy\~{ê}n Kim},
  publisher =	{Schloss Dagstuhl -- Leibniz-Zentrum f{\"u}r Informatik},
  address =	{Dagstuhl, Germany},
  URL =		{https://drops.dagstuhl.de/entities/document/10.4230/LIPIcs.STACS.2026.37},
  URN =		{urn:nbn:de:0030-drops-255269},
  doi =		{10.4230/LIPIcs.STACS.2026.37},
  annote =	{Keywords: guarded fragment, finite model property, probabilistic method}
}

Document

DOI: 10.4230/LIPIcs.CSL.2026.6

Hereditary First-Order Logic: the Tractable Quantifier Prefix Classes

Authors: Manuel Bodirsky and Santiago Guzmán-Pro

Published in: LIPIcs, Volume 363, 34th EACSL Annual Conference on Computer Science Logic (CSL 2026)

Abstract

Many computational problems can be modelled as the class of all finite structures A that satisfy a fixed first-order sentence ϕ hereditarily, i.e., we require that every (induced) substructure of A satisfies ϕ. We call the corresponding computational problem the hereditary model checking problem for ϕ, and denote it by Her(ϕ). We present a complete description of the quantifier prefixes for ϕ such that Her(ϕ) is in P; we show that for every other quantifier prefix there exists a formula ϕ with this prefix such that Her(ϕ) is coNP-complete. Specifically, we show that if Q is of the form ∀*∃∀* or of the form ∀*∃*, then Her(ϕ) can be solved in polynomial time whenever the quantifier prefix of ϕ is Q. Otherwise, Q contains ∃∃∀ or ∃∀∃ as a subword, and in this case, there is a first-order formula ϕ whose quantifier prefix is Q and Her(ϕ) is coNP-complete. Moreover, we show that there is no algorithm that decides for a given first-order formula ϕ whether Her(ϕ) is in P (unless P=NP).

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Manuel Bodirsky and Santiago Guzmán-Pro. Hereditary First-Order Logic: the Tractable Quantifier Prefix Classes. In 34th EACSL Annual Conference on Computer Science Logic (CSL 2026). Leibniz International Proceedings in Informatics (LIPIcs), Volume 363, pp. 6:1-6:20, Schloss Dagstuhl – Leibniz-Zentrum für Informatik (2026)

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@InProceedings{bodirsky_et_al:LIPIcs.CSL.2026.6,
  author =	{Bodirsky, Manuel and Guzm\'{a}n-Pro, Santiago},
  title =	{{Hereditary First-Order Logic: the Tractable Quantifier Prefix Classes}},
  booktitle =	{34th EACSL Annual Conference on Computer Science Logic (CSL 2026)},
  pages =	{6:1--6:20},
  series =	{Leibniz International Proceedings in Informatics (LIPIcs)},
  ISBN =	{978-3-95977-411-6},
  ISSN =	{1868-8969},
  year =	{2026},
  volume =	{363},
  editor =	{Guerrini, Stefano and K\"{o}nig, Barbara},
  publisher =	{Schloss Dagstuhl -- Leibniz-Zentrum f{\"u}r Informatik},
  address =	{Dagstuhl, Germany},
  URL =		{https://drops.dagstuhl.de/entities/document/10.4230/LIPIcs.CSL.2026.6},
  URN =		{urn:nbn:de:0030-drops-254308},
  doi =		{10.4230/LIPIcs.CSL.2026.6},
  annote =	{Keywords: Quantifier prefix, first-order Logic, Computational Complexity, Polynomial-time algorithm, coNP-completeness}
}

Document

Invited Paper

DOI: 10.4230/OASIcs.RW.2024/2025.7

Modern Datalog: Concepts, Methods, Applications (Invited Paper)

Authors: Markus Krötzsch

Published in: OASIcs, Volume 138, Joint Proceedings of the 20th and 21st Reasoning Web Summer Schools (RW 2024 & RW 2025)

Abstract

Pure Datalog is arguably the most fundamental rule language, elegant and simple, but also often too limited to be useful in practice. This has motivated the introduction of many new expressive features, ranging from datatypes and related functions, over aggregates and semi-ring generalisations, to existential quantifiers and complex terms. In spite of their variety, all these approaches remain true to the nature of Datalog as a direct, pattern-based way of computing on structured data. We therefore find that a modern notion of Datalog is emerging, distinctly different from other approaches of logic programming and with its own set of related methods and applications. In this course, we introduce Datalog and its most common extensions, and explain when and how these features can be used together (which is often, but not always, safe to do). We further look at modern Datalog systems and some of their primary use cases. Hands-on work with Datalog and its extensions is done with the free Datalog engine https://knowsys.github.io/nemo-doc/. The course is accessible to all audiences and does not assume specific prior knowledge.

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Markus Krötzsch. Modern Datalog: Concepts, Methods, Applications (Invited Paper). In Joint Proceedings of the 20th and 21st Reasoning Web Summer Schools (RW 2024 & RW 2025). Open Access Series in Informatics (OASIcs), Volume 138, pp. 7:1-7:41, Schloss Dagstuhl – Leibniz-Zentrum für Informatik (2025)

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@InProceedings{krotzsch:OASIcs.RW.2024/2025.7,
  author =	{Kr\"{o}tzsch, Markus},
  title =	{{Modern Datalog: Concepts, Methods, Applications}},
  booktitle =	{Joint Proceedings of the 20th and 21st Reasoning Web Summer Schools (RW 2024 \& RW 2025)},
  pages =	{7:1--7:41},
  series =	{Open Access Series in Informatics (OASIcs)},
  ISBN =	{978-3-95977-405-5},
  ISSN =	{2190-6807},
  year =	{2025},
  volume =	{138},
  editor =	{Artale, Alessandro and Bienvenu, Meghyn and Garc{\'\i}a, Yazm{\'\i}n Ib\'{a}\~{n}ez and Murlak, Filip},
  publisher =	{Schloss Dagstuhl -- Leibniz-Zentrum f{\"u}r Informatik},
  address =	{Dagstuhl, Germany},
  URL =		{https://drops.dagstuhl.de/entities/document/10.4230/OASIcs.RW.2024/2025.7},
  URN =		{urn:nbn:de:0030-drops-250524},
  doi =		{10.4230/OASIcs.RW.2024/2025.7},
  annote =	{Keywords: Datalog, query language, knowlegde representation and reasoning, logic programming, Horn logic, SPARQL, datatypes and aggregation, lecture notes, tutorial}
}

Document

Invited Paper

DOI: 10.4230/OASIcs.RW.2024/2025.8

ASP Essentials: Modelling and Efficient Solving (Invited Paper)

Authors: Giuseppe Mazzotta and Francesco Ricca

Published in: OASIcs, Volume 138, Joint Proceedings of the 20th and 21st Reasoning Web Summer Schools (RW 2024 & RW 2025)

Abstract

Answer Set Programming (ASP) is a logic-based Knowledge Representation and Reasoning (KRR) paradigm that facilitates rapid prototyping of solutions for complex problems. It is particularly effective for tackling Deep Reasoning tasks involving exponentially large search spaces, such as combinatorial search and optimization. While getting started with ASP is relatively easy, mastering its advanced constructs and scaling solutions to real-world problem sizes can be challenging. This paper provides an introduction to ASP, guiding the reader from the fundamentals of the language to the application of programming methodologies and the computation of answer sets. Beyond the core framework, the paper also examines selected extensions of ASP that enable the modeling of complex problems, as well as compilation techniques designed to enhance solving efficiency. Furthermore, it mentions some recent tools that combine ASP with LLMs.

Cite as

Giuseppe Mazzotta and Francesco Ricca. ASP Essentials: Modelling and Efficient Solving (Invited Paper). In Joint Proceedings of the 20th and 21st Reasoning Web Summer Schools (RW 2024 & RW 2025). Open Access Series in Informatics (OASIcs), Volume 138, pp. 8:1-8:21, Schloss Dagstuhl – Leibniz-Zentrum für Informatik (2025)

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@InProceedings{mazzotta_et_al:OASIcs.RW.2024/2025.8,
  author =	{Mazzotta, Giuseppe and Ricca, Francesco},
  title =	{{ASP Essentials: Modelling and Efficient Solving}},
  booktitle =	{Joint Proceedings of the 20th and 21st Reasoning Web Summer Schools (RW 2024 \& RW 2025)},
  pages =	{8:1--8:21},
  series =	{Open Access Series in Informatics (OASIcs)},
  ISBN =	{978-3-95977-405-5},
  ISSN =	{2190-6807},
  year =	{2025},
  volume =	{138},
  editor =	{Artale, Alessandro and Bienvenu, Meghyn and Garc{\'\i}a, Yazm{\'\i}n Ib\'{a}\~{n}ez and Murlak, Filip},
  publisher =	{Schloss Dagstuhl -- Leibniz-Zentrum f{\"u}r Informatik},
  address =	{Dagstuhl, Germany},
  URL =		{https://drops.dagstuhl.de/entities/document/10.4230/OASIcs.RW.2024/2025.8},
  URN =		{urn:nbn:de:0030-drops-250539},
  doi =		{10.4230/OASIcs.RW.2024/2025.8},
  annote =	{Keywords: Answer Set Programming, ASP with Quantifiers, Grounding Bottleneck, Compilation-based ASP solving, Neurosymbolic AI, LLMs}
}

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