Towards A Logic For Representation And Retrieval Of Incomplete Temporal Objects

In order to obtain an adequate model of the universe of discourse of certain information systems, it is of fundamental importance to allow the description of both incomplete and temporal characteristics of certain objects. In particular, in some cases the two types of characteristics may be treated simultaneously. This article proposes a logic, based on modal temporal logic, for the description and retrieval of incomplete temporal objects. Experiments has been done with a prototype, called MITO (Manipulation of Incomplete Temporal Objects) which has given significant elements for the construction of the theory.