Fuzzy sets in database and information systems: Status and opportunities

Fuzzy set approaches have been applied in the database and information retrieval areas for nearly 30 years. Here we give consideration to aspects of these areas that seem to afford the greatest potential for further development. This includes among others database design, preferences for flexible queries and fuzzy functional dependencies and redundancy. Applications to areas such as data mining and geographical information systems are described. Fuzzy information retrieval topics such as multi-media, digital libraries and web retrieval are also discussed.