Abstract
We present a formal framework for the combination of schemas. A main problem addressed is that of determining when two schemas can be meaningfully integrated. Another problem is how to merge two schemas into an integrated schema that has the same information capacity as the original ones, i.e., that the resulting schema can represent as much information as the original schemas. We show that both these problems can be solved by placing a restriction on the schemas to be integrated. The restriction, called conflictfreeness, states that the rules of one schema together with a set of correspondence assertions may not restrict the models of the other schema. We also give decidability and complexity results for the problem of determining conflictfreeness.
This work was partly performed within the project SDeLphi at Telia Research AB. It was also partly supported by the NUTEK project SISI.
Preview
Unable to display preview. Download preview PDF.
Similar content being viewed by others
References
C. Batini, M. Lenzerini and S. B. Navathe, “A Comparative Analysis of Methodologies for Database Schema Integration”, ACM Computing Surveys, vol. 18, no. 4, pp. 323–364, 1986.
J. Biskup and B. Convent, “A Formal View Integration Method”, in International Conference on the Management of Data, Washington, ACM, 1986.
M. Bouzeghoub and I. Comyn-Wattiau, “View Integration by Semantic Unification and Transformation of Data Structures”, in Ninth International Conference on Entity-Relationship Approach, Ed. H. Kangassalo, pp. 413–430, Lausanne, North-Holland, 1990.
U. Dayal and H.-Y. Hwang, “View Definition and Generalization for Database Integration in a Multidatabase System”, IEEE Transactions on Software Engineering, vol. SE-10, no. 6, pp. 628–644, 1984.
B. Dreben and W. D. Goldfarb, The Decision Problem: Solvable Classes of Quantification Formulas, Reading, Mass, Addison-Wesley, 1979.
W. Effelsberg and M. V. Mannino, “Attribute Equivalence in Global Schema Design for Heterogeneous Distributed Databases”, Information Systems, vol. 9, no. 3/4, pp. 237–240, 1984.
R. Hull, “Relative Information Capacity of Simple Relational Database Schemata”, SIAM Journal of Computing, vol. 15, no. 3, pp. 856–886, 1986.
D.S. Johnson “A Catalogue of Complexity Classes”, in Handbook of Theoretical Computer Science: Volume A, Ed. Jan van Leeuwen, Elsevier, Amsterdam, 1990.
P. Johannesson, “A Logic Based Approach to Schema Integration”, in 10th International Conference on Entity-Relationship Approach, Ed. T. Teorey, San Francisco, North-Holland, 1991.
P. Johannesson, “A Logical Basis for Schema Integration”, in Third International Workshop on Research Issues in Data Engineering — Interoperability in Multidatabase Systems, Ed. H. Schek, Vienna, IEEE Press, 1993.
P. Johannesson, “Linguistic Instruments and Qualitative Reasoning for Schema Integration”, in Third International Conference on Information and Knowledge Management, Ed. N. Adam. Gaithersburg, Maryland, IEEE Press, 1994.
P. Johannesson, “Schema Standardization as an Aid in View Integration”, in Information Systems, Vol. 19, No 3, 1994.
J. A. Larson, S. Navathe and R. ElMasri, “A Theory of Attribute Equivalence in Databases with Applications to Schema Integration”, IEEE Transactions on Software Engineering, vol. 15, no. 4, pp. 449–463, 1989.
R. Miller, Y. Ioannidis, and R. Ramakrishnan, “Schema Equivalence in Heterogeneous Systems: Bridging Theory and Practice”, in Information Systems, Vol. 19, No 1,1994.
A. Motro, “Superviews: Virtual Integration of Multiple Databases”, IEEE Transactions on Software Engineering, vol. 13, no. 7, pp. 785–798, 1987.
S. Spaccapietra, C. Parent and Y. Dupont, “Model Independent Assertions for Integration of Heterogeneous Schemas”, The VLDB Journal, vol. 1, no. 2, pp. 81–126, 1992.
G. Stålmarck, System for Determining Propositional Logic Theorems by Applying Values and Rules to Triplets that are Generated from a Formula, US. Patent No. 5 276 897.
M. T. Özsu and P. Valduriez, Principles of Distributed Database Systems, Prentice-Hall, 1990.
Author information
Authors and Affiliations
Editor information
Rights and permissions
Copyright information
© 1995 Springer-Verlag Berlin Heidelberg
About this paper
Cite this paper
Ekenberg, L., Johannesson, P. (1995). Conflictfreeness as a basis for schema integration. In: Bhalla, S. (eds) Information Systems and Data Management. CISMOD 1995. Lecture Notes in Computer Science, vol 1006. Springer, Berlin, Heidelberg. https://doi.org/10.1007/3-540-60584-3_21
Download citation
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/3-540-60584-3_21
Published:
Publisher Name: Springer, Berlin, Heidelberg
Print ISBN: 978-3-540-60584-3
Online ISBN: 978-3-540-47799-0
eBook Packages: Springer Book Archive