Options
Formalised Conceptual Models as a Foundation for Information Systems Development
Series
Lecture Notes in Computer Science (LNCS)
ISBN
978-3-540-58786-6
Type
book section
Date Issued
1994
Author(s)
Editor(s)
Loucopoulos, Pericles
Research Team
IWI1
Abstract
The more application semantics are added to a conceptual model, the greater the portion of the respective application system can be generated automatically. To allow for an automatic generation, additional type-level semantics have to be specified formally, and a large number of object-level semantics have to be derived from this formal model.
Form existential dependencies, existence implications, and derivation relationships, all abstraction relationships and non-abstracting derivation relationships between object types can be constructed. Their formalisation leads to three predicates that represent direct dependencies within the conceptual model. By applying three basic production rules to these predicates, the relational closure of all indirect dependencies throughout the model can be derived formally. Based on a formalisation of elementary insert, delete, and update operations, indirect dependencies are used to identify all objects throughout the system that are affected by a data manipulation.
Since the set of objects that are affected by a manipulation can be derived formally, it is possible to automatically generate database triggers that implement these object-level semantics. The generation process is presented, and examples from a simplified conceptual model and procedurally extended data model of a production planning system are given.
In conceptual modeling, the proposed model extensions represent important invariant properties that are consistently specified together with structural model elements. Not only tables and static integrity constraints can be automatically generated to implement structural model elements, but also data manipulation propagation triggers can be generated to implement invariant properties. Therefore, a tight integration of structural and important behavioral aspects is provided in information system design as well as implementation. Hence, formalised extended conceptual models can be regarded as a foundation of integrated information systems development.
Form existential dependencies, existence implications, and derivation relationships, all abstraction relationships and non-abstracting derivation relationships between object types can be constructed. Their formalisation leads to three predicates that represent direct dependencies within the conceptual model. By applying three basic production rules to these predicates, the relational closure of all indirect dependencies throughout the model can be derived formally. Based on a formalisation of elementary insert, delete, and update operations, indirect dependencies are used to identify all objects throughout the system that are affected by a data manipulation.
Since the set of objects that are affected by a manipulation can be derived formally, it is possible to automatically generate database triggers that implement these object-level semantics. The generation process is presented, and examples from a simplified conceptual model and procedurally extended data model of a production planning system are given.
In conceptual modeling, the proposed model extensions represent important invariant properties that are consistently specified together with structural model elements. Not only tables and static integrity constraints can be automatically generated to implement structural model elements, but also data manipulation propagation triggers can be generated to implement invariant properties. Therefore, a tight integration of structural and important behavioral aspects is provided in information system design as well as implementation. Hence, formalised extended conceptual models can be regarded as a foundation of integrated information systems development.
Language
German
HSG Classification
not classified
Refereed
No
Book title
Entity-Relationship Approach — ER '94 Business Modelling and Re-Engineering
Publisher
Springer
Publisher place
Berlin etc.
Volume
881
Start page
437
End page
455
Pages
19
Event Title
13th International Conference on the Entity-Relationship Approach ER'94
Event Location
Manchester, United Kingdom
Event Date
13.-16.12.1994
Subject(s)
Division(s)
Eprints ID
213478