
218 Foundations of Semantic Web Technologies
Further references on deductive databases are given at the end of this chapter.
2
Let us now consider the syntax of datalog rules and the intuitive semantics
of such rules. Besides logical operators, a datalog rule can feature three kinds
of symbols:
• Constant symbols are used as names to refer to certain elements of the
domain of interest.
• Variables are used as place holders for (arbitrary) domain elements to
which rules might apply.
• Predicate symbols, or simply predicates, are used to denote relations
between domain elements.
Constant symbols play essentially the role of individual names in OWL or
description ...