A relational database is inconsistent if it does not
satisfy a given set of integrity constraints. Nevertheless, it is
likely that most of the data in it is consistent with the
constraints. In this paper we apply logic programming based on
answer sets to the problem of retrieving consistent information from
a possibly inconsistent database. Since consistent information
persists from the original database to every of its minimal repairs,
the approach is based on a specification of database repairs using
disjunctive logic programs with exceptions,
whose answer set semantics can be represented and computed by
systems that implement stable model semantics. These programs allow
us to declare persistence by default of data from the original
instance to the repairs; and changes to restore consistency, by
exceptions. We concentrate mainly on logic programs for binary
integrity constraints, among which we find most of the integrity
constraints found in practice.