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Multiplex: A Formal Model for Multidatabases and Its Implementation

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Book cover Next Generation Information Technologies and Systems (NGITS 1999)

Part of the book series: Lecture Notes in Computer Science ((LNCS,volume 1649))

Abstract

The integration of information from multiple databases has been an enduring subject of research for over 20 years, and many different solutions have been attempted or proposed. Missing from this research has been a uniform framework. Usually, each solution develops its own ad-hoc framework, designed to address the particular aspects of the problem that are being attacked and the particular methodology that is being used. To address this situation, in this paper we define a formal model for multidatabases, which we call Multiplex. Multiplex is a simple extension of the relational model, which may serve as a uniform abstraction for many previous ad-hoc solutions. Multiplex is based on formal assumptions of integrability, which distinguish between scheme and instance reconcilability among independent databases. Multiplex supports database heterogeneity, and it provides several degrees of freedom that allow it to model actual situations encountered in multidatabase applications. In addition, in situations in which a single answer is not obtainable (either because the global query is not answerable, or there are multiple candidate answers), Multiplex defines approximative answers. Finally, Multiplex provides a practical platform for implementation. A prototype of such an implementation is described briefly.

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Authors
  1. Amihai Motro
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Editor information

Editors and Affiliations

  1. Matam - Advanced Technology Center, IBM Research Laboratory in Haifa, Haifa, 31905, Israel

    Ron Y. Pinter

  2. SurroMed, Inc., 1060 East Meadow Circle, Palo Alto, CA, 94303, USA

    Shalom Tsur

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© 1999 Springer-Verlag Berlin Heidelberg

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Motro, A. (1999). Multiplex: A Formal Model for Multidatabases and Its Implementation. In: Pinter, R.Y., Tsur, S. (eds) Next Generation Information Technologies and Systems. NGITS 1999. Lecture Notes in Computer Science, vol 1649. Springer, Berlin, Heidelberg. https://doi.org/10.1007/3-540-48521-X_11

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/3-540-48521-X_11

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  • Publisher Name: Springer, Berlin, Heidelberg

  • Print ISBN: 978-3-540-66225-9

  • Online ISBN: 978-3-540-48521-6

  • eBook Packages: Springer Book Archive

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