Everything about Query by Example

🧭 Start here: a 6-step reading path

1. Read the overview: Query by ExampleA 5-minute orientation
2. Skim a recent paper: A Lightweight Architecture for Query-by-Example Keyword Spotting on Low-Power IoT DevicesInfluential work since 2022
3. Pick up a classic book: JavaScriptThe most-reprinted book on the subject
4. Read the landmark paper: Query-by-Example: A data base languageCited 547 times
5. Go sideways: Microsoft QueryA closely related topic
6. Go sideways: Object–relational databaseA closely related topic

🏆 Landmark papers (most cited)

• Query-by-Example: A data base language

  M. M. Zloof · 1977 · IBM Systems Journal · 547 citations

• Bridging the Gap: Query by Semantic Example

  Nikhil Rasiwasia, P.J. Moreno, N. Vasconcelos · 2007 · IEEE Transactions on Multimedia · 180 citations

• Query-by-Pictorial-Example

  Ning-San Chang, King-Sun Fu · 1980 · IEEE Transactions on Software Engineering · 176 citations

• Easy web service discovery: A query-by-example approach

  Marco Crasso, Alejandro Zunino, Marcelo Campo · 2008 · Science of Computer Programming · 49 citations

• Shape similarity matching for query-by-example

  Bilge Günsel, A. Murat Tekalp · 1998 · Pattern Recognition · 48 citations

• Time-by-example query language for historical databases

  A.U. Tansel, M.E. Arkun, G. Ozsoyoglu · 1989 · IEEE Transactions on Software Engineering · 42 citations

• A Pictorial Query-By-Example Language

  Dimitris Papadias, Timos Sellis · 1995 · Journal of Visual Languages & Computing · 41 citations

• Example-based graphical database query languages

  G. Ozsoyoglu, H. Wang · 1993 · Computer · 39 citations

🆕 Influential since 2022

• A Lightweight Architecture for Query-by-Example Keyword Spotting on Low-Power IoT Devices

  Meirong Li · 2023 · IEEE Transactions on Consumer Electronics · 26 citations

• Multimodal Composition Example Mining for Composed Query Image Retrieval

  Gangjian Zhang, Shikun Li, Shikui Wei · 2024 · IEEE Transactions on Image Processing · 16 citations

• Webpage retrieval based on query by example for think tank construction

  Qian Geng, Ziang Chuai, Jian Jin · 2022 · Information Processing & Management · 6 citations

• Query by Example: Semantic Traffic Scene Retrieval Using LLM-Based Scene Graph Representation

  Yafu Tian, Alexander Carballo, Ruifeng Li · 2025 · Sensors · 5 citations

• Self-Supervised Spoken Term Detection for Query by Example

  Nadia Benati, Halima Bahi · 2024 · Ingénierie des systèmes d information · 4 citations

📚 Books worth reading

• JavaScriptDavid Flanagan · 1996
• Structure and Interpretation of Computer Programs (SICP)Harold Abelson, Gerald Jay Sussman · 1985
• Clean CodeRobert C. Martin · 2008
• Apache CookbookKen Coar, Rich Bowen · 2003
• The web application hacker's handbookDafydd Stuttard, Marcus Pinto · 2007
• Database system conceptsAbraham Silberschatz · 1997
• Learning PHP, MySQL & JavaScriptRobin Nixon · 2009
• Access database design & programmingSteven Roman · 1997

Ranked by number of editions on Open Library, a rough measure of how lasting a book is.

🔗 Related topics

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• SQL Structured Query Language (SQL) (pronounced /ˌɛsˌkjuˈɛl/ S-Q-L; or alternatively as /ˈsiːkwəl/ "sequel") is a domain-specific language used to manage data…
• Db4o db4o (database for objects) was an embeddable open-source object database for Java and .NET developers. It was developed, commercially licensed and supported…
• Select (SQL) The SQL SELECT statement returns a result set of rows, from one or more tables. A SELECT statement retrieves zero or more rows from one or more database…
• Database In computing, a database is an organized collection of data or a type of data store based on the use of a database management system (DBMS), the software…
• IBM Db2 Db2 is a family of data management products, including database servers, developed by IBM. It initially supported the relational model, but was extended…
• Microsoft Access Microsoft Access is a database management system (DBMS) from Microsoft that combines the relational Access Database Engine (ACE) with a graphical user…