QPE: A System For Deconstructing SQL Queries

Abstract

Research on the topic of converting natural language to machine-readable code has experienced great interest over the last decade, however studies into converting machine-readable code into natural language are sparse. The applications of translating spoken or written languages into code are well-established, such as allowing a more novice or non-technical user to interact with a program or database with ease. The benefits of such applications are readily observable and are likely to grow as software systems continue to increase in complexity and capability. Likewise, parsing code to natural language produces certain benefits from which the potential gain in utility and knowledge has yet to be fully realized. This thesis identifies opportunities for deploying solutions that provide a natural language explanation of programming languages, specifically with Structured Query Language (SQL) and database interfacing. A novel solution is proposed in the form of an application named Query Purpose Extractor (QPE), which utilizes existing open-source libraries to aid in the process of translating SQL statements into English sentences.