A description logic based approach to formalizing the information bearing capability of paths in ER schemata
International Journal of Intelligent Computing and Cybernetics
ISSN: 1756-378X
Article publication date: 10 August 2015
Abstract
Purpose
The purpose of this paper is to show how description logics (DLs) can be applied to formalizing the information bearing capability (IBC) of paths in entity-relationship (ER) schemata.
Design/methodology/approach
The approach follows and extends the idea presented in Xu and Feng (2004), which applies DLs to classifying paths in an ER schema. To verify whether the information content of a data construct (e.g. a path) covers a semantic relation (which formulates a piece of information requirement), the principle of IBC under the source-bearer-receiver framework is presented. It is observed that the IBC principle can be formalized by constructing DL expressions and examining constructors (e.g. quantifiers).
Findings
Description logic can be used as a tool to describe the meanings represented by paths in an ER schema and formalize their IBC. The criteria for identifying data construct distinguishability are also discovered by examining quantifiers in DL expressions of paths of an ER schema.
Originality/value
This paper focuses on classifying paths in data schemas and verifying their formalized IBC by using DLs and the IBC principle. It is a new point of view for evaluation of data representation, which looks at the information borne by data but not data dependencies.
Keywords
Acknowledgements
This work has been funded by Scientific Research Common Program of Beijing Municipal Commission of Education (No. KM201311417011), the Importation and Development of High-Caliber Talents Project of Beijing Municipal Institutions (No. CIT & TCD201404089) and Funding project of Beijing Philosophy and Social Science Research Program (No. 11JGB039).
Citation
Xu, K., Feng, J., Crowe, M. and Liu, L. (2015), "A description logic based approach to formalizing the information bearing capability of paths in ER schemata", International Journal of Intelligent Computing and Cybernetics, Vol. 8 No. 3, pp. 279-291. https://doi.org/10.1108/IJICC-08-2014-0039
Publisher
:Emerald Group Publishing Limited
Copyright © 2015, Emerald Group Publishing Limited