Sound of Databases: Sonification of a Semantic Web Database Engine

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Abstract

Sonifications map data to auditory dimensions and offer a new audible experience to their listeners. We propose a sonification of query processing paired with a corresponding visualization both integrated in a web application. In this demonstration we show that the sonification of different types of relational operators generates different sound patterns, which can be recognized and identified by listeners increasing their understanding of the operators' functionality and supports easy remembering of requirements like merge joins work on sorted input. Furthermore, new ways of analyzing query processing are possible with the sonification approach.