The finiteness principle of database theory
				(abstract)

				Csaba Henk

A paradigm of computer science that data must be stored by finite means.
There are many such data storing schemes. However, database theory uses the
simplest kind of data structrure: it is a paradigm (of database theory)
that data are stored in tables. This paradigm has a deep impact
on the range of the possible queries: only those queries are admissible
which preserve finiteness, since a relation can be stored in a finite table
iff it is finite. Hence I call this paradigm "the finiteness principle of
database theory". But not only finite relations can be stored by finite
means: eg., the graph of a polynomial can be stored by the polyomial
itself. 

The talk aims two questions:

 * Which sub-languages of the first order language do preserve finiteness? 
 
 * How could we relax the finiteness princile?