The poset of closures as a model of changing databases (Q1104951)

The authors investigate the poset P of all closure operators on a finite set X, ordered by \({\mathcal L}_ 1\leq {\mathcal L}_ 2\) iff every \({\mathcal L}_ 1\)-closed subset of X is \({\mathcal L}_ 2\)-closed. The basic motivation comes from the theory of databases, the closure being interpreted as a model of a database at a fixed state. The main results concern the system of minimal keys (minimal subsets generating X with respect to a given closure operator) and the in- and out-degrees of a closure in the Hasse diagram of the poset P. Necessary and sufficient conditions are given for a system of minimal keys to determine the closure uniquely and lower and upper estimates of the degrees of closures at a fixed level of the Hasse diagram of P are evaluated.