Definition
Schema versioning deals with the need to retain current data, and the ability to query and update it, through alternate database structures. (The structure of a database is held in a schema (pl. schemata or schemas). Commonly, particularly in temporal databases, these schemata represent the historical structure of a database but this may not always be the case.) Schema Versioning requires not only that data are not lost in schema transformation but also requires that all data are able to be queried, both retrospectively and prospectively, through user-definable version interfaces. Partial schema versioning is supported when data stored under any historical schema may be viewed through any other schema but may only be updated through one specified schema version – normally the current or active schema. (Schema evolution and schema versioning has been conflated in the literature with the two terms occasionally being used interchangeably.)
Historical Background
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Roddick, J.F. (2009). Schema Versioning. In: LIU, L., ÖZSU, M.T. (eds) Encyclopedia of Database Systems. Springer, Boston, MA. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-0-387-39940-9_323
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