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03 / THE LITERATURE

The research library.

A curated, searchable collection of semantic query processing research. Follow an idea to its source, then understand the limits of the evidence.

Source records and abstracts reviewed on October 23, 2026. Experiments have not been independently reproduced. Years refer to the initial cited record.
Research engine2024

LOTUS

Semantic Operators: A Declarative Model for Rich, AI-based Data Processing

Natural-language specifications for filtering, joining, sorting and aggregation, with optimized implementations evaluated against a reference algorithm.

Semantic operatorsQuality constraintsCascades
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Research engine2024

UQE

UQE: A Query Engine for Unstructured Databases

A SQL-like language for reasoning over images, conversations and reviews, combining foundation models with sampling and execution optimization.

SQLMultimodalSampling
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Research engine2024

Palimpzest

A Declarative System for Optimizing AI Workloads

Turns declarative AI analytics into executable plans that trade off output quality, runtime and model cost.

PipelinesModel selectionCost models
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Research engine2024

DocETL

DocETL: Agentic Query Rewriting and Evaluation for Complex Document Processing

Rewrites complex document workflows by decomposing tasks and data, using agents to propose and evaluate better execution plans.

DocumentsRewritingEvaluation
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Research engine2023

SUQL

SUQL: Conversational Search over Structured and Unstructured Data with Large Language Models

Composes structured queries with free-text answering and summarization, supporting conversational access to hybrid knowledge sources.

SQLHybrid dataConversational search
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Benchmark2025

SemBench

SemBench: A Benchmark for Semantic Query Processing Engines

Evaluates semantic engines across text, image and audio scenarios using filters, joins, mappings, ranking and classification.

MultimodalEvaluationEnd-to-end
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Benchmark2026

LROBench

Large Language Model-Enhanced Relational Operators: Taxonomy, Benchmark, and Analysis

Organizes Select, Match, Impute, Cluster and Order operators into single-operator and multi-operator workloads over relational databases.

TaxonomyEvaluationRelational operators
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Research engine2026

Sema

Sema: A High-performance System for LLM-based Semantic Query Processing

Integrates semantic expressions into SQL and combines logical rewrites with adaptive reordering, fusion and prompt batching.

SQLDuckDBAdaptive execution
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Research engine2026

NousDB

NousDB - A Fast Query Engine for Semantic Analytics

A DataFusion-based engine using semantic algebra, token histograms and context-aware batching to optimize AI analytics.

DataFusionBatchingCost models
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Research engine2026

JEVDB

Prune First, Decide Fast: Scalable Semantic Query Processing with JEVDB

Uses decision models for semantic operations, escalates uncertain cases to generative models and prunes semantic-join candidates.

Semantic joinsCascadesCandidate pruning
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Optimization2026

SemViews

Semantic Views: Certified Reuse of LLM Labels Across Semantic Queries

Reuses prior query labels as ranking signals and applies fresh stratified oracle sampling to certify filter precision and recall.

ReuseQuality constraintsSampling
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Evaluation study2026

Same Query, Different Answer

Same Query, Different Answer: Run-to-Run Variance in Semantic Query Processing

Studies how repeated model decisions propagate into changing query answers and proposes reporting practices for reproducible evaluation.

ReproducibilityEvaluationNondeterminism
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Optimization2026

SemBaker

From Interpretation to Compilation: A Compilation-Based Execution Engine for Semantic Operator Systems

Compiles suitable semantic operations into local Python functions, routing between compiled and native execution using cost estimates.

CompilationPipelinesCost models
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Optimization2026

Kalypso

Kalypso: Relational LLM Serving

Makes model serving aware of semantic operator dependencies, pipelining tuples to reuse KV-cache state under memory constraints.

ServingKV cacheScheduling
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Research engine2025

FlockMTL

Beyond Quacking: Deep Integration of Language Models and RAG into DuckDB

Adds model-backed scalar and aggregate functions, with PROMPT and MODEL schema objects plus batching and caching optimizations.

SQLDuckDBRAG
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Research engine2026

iPDB

iPDB -- Optimizing Semantic SQL Queries

Supports in-database ML and LLM inference through a relational predict operator and optimizations across semantic SQL operations.

SQLInferenceQuery optimization
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Optimization2026

PLOP

PLOP: Cost-Based Placement of Semantic Operators in Hybrid Query Plans

Balances model-call cost against relational processing cost when choosing semantic operator placement in mixed query plans.

Operator placementCost modelsSemantic joins
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Optimization2024

Relational LLM optimization

Optimizing LLM Queries in Relational Data Analytics Workloads

Reorders table rows and fields to increase shared prompt prefixes and improve KV-cache reuse during batch model inference.

KV cacheServingBatch analytics
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Optimization2025

LLM ORDER BY

Access Paths for Efficient Ordering with Large Language Models

Studies physical implementations of semantic ordering and a budget-aware optimizer that chooses among ranking access paths.

RankingTop-kAccess paths
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Optimization2026

Larch

Larch: Learned Query Optimization for Semantic Predicates

Learns per-row evaluation orders for semantic predicates, using either a sequential decision policy or predicted selectivities.

FiltersLearned optimizationSelectivity
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Optimization2026

Fast semantic filtering

Fast LLM-Based Semantic Filtering: From a Unified Framework to an Adaptive Two-Phase Method

Combines clustering and learned proxies adaptively, using token-aware representations and oracle confidence to reduce expensive filtering calls.

FiltersCascadesProxy models
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Optimization2026

SemJoin

SemJoin: Semantic Join Optimization

Uses an LLM advisor to route joins between clustering-based candidate pruning and classification into a shared label space.

Semantic joinsRoutingClustering
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Benchmark2025

UDA-Bench

Unstructured Data Analysis using LLMs: A Comprehensive Benchmark

Evaluates unstructured-document analysis against manually annotated relational views. The arXiv v1 workload contains five datasets and 240 queries covering extraction, filtering, aggregation, joins, and combinations of operators.

DocumentsRelational ground truthEnd-to-end
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Benchmark2026

Shelob

Prune First, Decide Fast: Scalable Semantic Query Processing with JEVDB

Extends TPC-DS-derived relations with return reports, issue bulletins, and release notes to study semantic-join scaling. The JEVDB paper evaluates five queries at XS, S, and M tiers.

Semantic joinsScalabilityTPC-DS
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Benchmark2026

Spider 2.0-AIFunc

Spider 2.0-AIFunc: Extending Real-World Text-to-SQL to AI-Native SQL Workflows

Tests whether models generate Snowflake SQL that composes relational operations with AI functions for classification, filtering, sentiment analysis, extraction, similarity, and aggregation.

Query generationSQLAI functions
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Benchmark2025

VectorSQLBench

Text2VectorSQL: Towards a Unified Interface for Vector Search and SQL Queries

Benchmarks generation of queries combining relational operations and vector search, spanning three database backends and four source collections. Examines result omissions when SQL filters interact with vector retrieval.

Query generationVector searchHybrid data
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Benchmark2026

HybridDeepResearch

Benchmarking Hybrid Deep Research Across Database Querying and Web Search

Evaluates agents on 380 tasks requiring both database queries and web evidence. Tasks exercise database-to-search, search-to-database, and parallel reasoning, with an emphasis on preserving constraints across tools.

AgentsSQLWeb search
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Evaluation study2026

The Stochastic Shift

The Stochastic Shift: A New Evaluation Paradigm for Text-to-SQL with AI Operators

Studies failures of exact-result scoring for SQL with stochastic AI operators. Proposes evaluating relational logic and semantic operations separately, with experiments on BigQuery and ThalamusDB.

EvaluationQuery generationNondeterminism
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