Databases (cs.DB)

Abstract: This paper presents the FormAI dataset, a large collection of 112,000 AI-generated compilable and independent C programs with vulnerability classification. We introduce a dynamic zero-shot prompting technique, constructed to spawn a diverse set of programs utilizing Large Language Models (LLMs). The dataset is generated by GPT-3.5-turbo and comprises programs with varying levels of complexity. Some programs handle complicated tasks such as network management, table games, or encryption, while others deal with simpler tasks like string manipulation. Every program is labeled with the vulnerabilities found within the source code, indicating the type, line number, and vulnerable function name. This is accomplished by employing a formal verification method using the Efficient SMT-based Bounded Model Checker (ESBMC), which performs model checking, abstract interpretation, constraint programming, and satisfiability modulo theories, to reason over safety/security properties in programs. This approach definitively detects vulnerabilities and offers a formal model known as a counterexample, thus eliminating the possibility of generating false positive reports. This property of the dataset makes it suitable for evaluating the effectiveness of various static and dynamic analysis tools. Furthermore, we have associated the identified vulnerabilities with relevant Common Weakness Enumeration (CWE) numbers. We make the source code available for the 112,000 programs, accompanied by a comprehensive list detailing the vulnerabilities detected in each individual program including location and function name, which makes the dataset ideal to train LLMs and machine learning algorithms.

Abstract: Large Language Models (LLMs) are capable of answering questions in natural language for various purposes. With recent advancements (such as GPT-4), LLMs perform at a level comparable to humans for many proficient tasks. The analysis of business processes could benefit from a natural process querying language and using the domain knowledge on which LLMs have been trained. However, it is impossible to provide a complete database or event log as an input prompt due to size constraints. In this paper, we apply LLMs in the context of process mining by i) abstracting the information of standard process mining artifacts and ii) describing the prompting strategies. We implement the proposed abstraction techniques into pm4py, an open-source process mining library. We present a case study using available event logs. Starting from different abstractions and analysis questions, we formulate prompts and evaluate the quality of the answers.

Abstract: Data mesh is a socio-technical approach to decentralized analytics data management. To manage this decentralization efficiently, data mesh relies on automation provided by a self-service data infrastructure platform. A key aspect of this platform is to enable decentralized data governance. Because data mesh is a young approach, there is a lack of coherence in how data mesh concepts are interpreted in the industry, and almost no work on how a data mesh platform facilitates governance. This paper presents a conceptual model of key data mesh concepts and discusses different approaches to drive governance through platform means. The insights presented are drawn from concrete experiences of implementing a fully-functional data mesh platform that can be used as a reference on how to approach data mesh platform development.

Abstract: Hosting database services on cloud systems has become a common practice. This has led to the increasing volume of database workloads, which provides the opportunity for pattern analysis. Discovering workload patterns from a business logic perspective is conducive to better understanding the trends and characteristics of the database system. However, existing workload pattern discovery systems are not suitable for large-scale cloud databases which are commonly employed by the industry. This is because the workload patterns of large-scale cloud databases are generally far more complicated than those of ordinary databases. In this paper, we propose Alibaba Workload Miner (AWM), a real-time system for discovering workload patterns in complicated large-scale workloads. AWM encodes and discovers the SQL query patterns logged from user requests and optimizes the querying processing based on the discovered patterns. First, Data Collection & Preprocessing Module collects streaming query logs and encodes them into high-dimensional feature embeddings with rich semantic contexts and execution features. Next, Online Workload Mining Module separates encoded queries by business groups and discovers the workload patterns for each group. Meanwhile, Offline Training Module collects labels and trains the classification model using the labels. Finally, Pattern-based Optimizing Module optimizes query processing in cloud databases by exploiting discovered patterns. Extensive experimental results on one synthetic dataset and two real-life datasets (extracted from Alibaba Cloud databases) show that AWM enhances the accuracy of pattern discovery by 66% and reduce the latency of online inference by 22%, compared with the state-of-the-arts.