Conjunctive query pattern structures: A relational database model for Formal Concept Analysis

Previous work on concept graphs combining Formal Concept Analysis with Conceptual Graphs is revisited in this paper in the context of conjunctive database queries. The paper presents the conjunctive database query model as a special case of Ganter and Kuznetsov's pattern structures, where patterns are considered as conjunctive queries. It further presents kernel operators to reduce the complexity of the computation and to simplify the description of concepts. Alternative formalisms based on intensional graphs and power context families are introduced to advance knowledge interoperability between Formal Concept Analysis, database theory, model theory, logic, concept graphs and Sowa's Conceptual Graphs. (C) 2019 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.