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Hierarchical Data Model

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Encyclopedia of Database Systems

Synonyms

IMS data model

Definition

The hierarchical data model is based on a view of the application domain (i.e., the world) as a hierarchical arrangement of concepts where some concepts exist on their own while the others depend on the former. According to this conceptual model, data are organized into records that are recursively composed of other records. Though this paradigm is fairly common in data structures, the term hierarchical model most generally refers to the IMS model, a proprietary DBMS developed by IBM from the sixties that is still widely used.

The IMS model organizes data in tree structures of records augmented with additional links that compensate for the weaknesses of this base model. Data processing itself is hierarchical, starting from the root of a record tree then parsing the dependent records in depth-first, left-to-right, traversal order.

Historical Background

In 1966, IBM started the development of ICS (Information Control System), a data management software...

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Recommended Reading

  1. Blackman K. IMS celebrates thirty years as an IBM product. IBM Syst. J., 37(4):596–603, 1998.

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  2. Elmasri R. and Navathe S. Fundamentals of Database Systems (3rd edn.). Addison-Wesley, 2000. (The appendix on the hierarchical data model has been removed from later editions but is now available on the authors’ site.)

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  3. Hainaut J-L. The transformational approach to database engineering. In Generative and Transformational Techniques in Software Engineering, R. Lämmel, J. Saraiva, J. Visser (eds.). Springer, New York, NY, 2006, pp. 89–138.

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  4. Long R., Harrington M., Hain R., and Nicholls G. IMS Primer – IBM Redbooks, 2000.

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  5. Meltz D., Long R., Harrington M., Hain R., and Nichols G. An Introduction to IMS. IBM Press, Armonk, NY, 2005.

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  6. Tsichritzis D. and Lochovsky F. Hierarchical data-base management: a survey. ACM Comput. Surv.(Special Issue: Data-Base Management Systems), 8(1):105–124, 1976.

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Author information

Authors and Affiliations

  1. University of Namur, Namur, Belgium

    Jean-Luc Hainaut

Authors
  1. Jean-Luc Hainaut
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Editor information

Editors and Affiliations

  1. College of Computing, Georgia Institute of Technology, 266 Ferst Drive, 30332-0765, Atlanta, GA, USA

    LING LIU (Professor) (Professor)

  2. Database Research Group David R. Cheriton School of Computer Science, University of Waterloo, 200 University Avenue West, N2L 3G1, Waterloo, ON, Canada

    M. TAMER ÖZSU (Professor and Director, University Research Chair) (Professor and Director, University Research Chair)

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© 2009 Springer Science+Business Media, LLC

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Hainaut, JL. (2009). Hierarchical Data Model. In: LIU, L., ÖZSU, M.T. (eds) Encyclopedia of Database Systems. Springer, Boston, MA. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-0-387-39940-9_189

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