ICNPAA 2010: Mathematical Problems in
Engineering, Aerospace and Sciences

Fuzzy Logic and Fuzzy Set Theory have been widely exploited on account of their feature to translate uncertain, ambiguous and vague information - typical of human beings thoughts - to numerical data. The scope of fuzzy applications is actually large and it may be increasing. One of its applications is in Relational Databases, promoting an improvement in information retrieval. In this context, this paper presents a convenient and simple way to treat linguistic variables in database queries with the aim to make data retrieval closer to imprecise human reasoning. A trigger, using Structured Query Language (SQL) and MySQL Database Management System, has been created to make fuzzy membership degrees based on trapezoidal fuzzy numbers. With the purpose to illustrate and test the advantages of this approach, a case study based on age variables - child, young, middle-age, elderly - has been done, assuming an insurance company interested in setting values according to the age of customers. As conclusion, a parallel between fuzzy and traditional (crisp) queries results has been shown, beyond future works.