N1spørringer

N1spørringer is a term used in, and occasionally appears in, Norwegian information technology and database theory to describe a specific class of queries derived from an original N-constraint query by removing exactly one constraint. The prefix N1 denotes N minus 1, highlighting the idea of relaxing a single condition while keeping the other constraints intact.

The concept is mainly applied to analyze how removing a constraint affects query results, performance, and indexing needs. By comparing the outcomes of N1spørringer with the full N-constraint query, developers and researchers can assess sensitivity to individual conditions, estimate cardinalities, and guide optimization strategies for search interfaces and database engines.

Construction and example. If a query enforces three constraints on attributes A, B, and C (for example A=value1, B=value2, C=value3), the N1spørringer would consist of the three variant queries that remove one constraint at a time: (A=value1 and B=value2), (A=value1 and C=value3), and (B=value2 and C=value3). Each variant represents a relaxation of the original specification, producing larger result sets than the full query but allowing analysis of each constraint’s impact.

Relation to other concepts. N1spørringer relate to ideas such as constraint relaxation, query optimization, and performance testing. They are distinct from N-grams or broader constraint satisfaction problems, serving primarily as a diagnostic and design tool in database and information retrieval workflows.

See also: Constraint relaxation, Query optimization, Database indexing, Performance testing.