A Pragmatic Approach to Structured Database Design.

@inproceedings{DBLP:conf/vldb/TuchermanFC83,
  author    = {Luiz Tucherman and
               Antonio L. Furtado and
               Marco A. Casanova},
  editor    = {Mario Schkolnick and
               Costantino Thanos},
  title     = {A Pragmatic Approach to Structured Database Design},
  booktitle = {9th International Conference on Very Large Data Bases, October
               31 - November 2, 1983, Florence, Italy, Proceedings},
  publisher = {Morgan Kaufmann},
  year      = {1983},
  isbn      = {0-934613-15-X},
  pages     = {219-231},
  ee        = {db/conf/vldb/TuchermanFC83.html},
  crossref  = {DBLP:conf/vldb/83},
  bibsource = {DBLP, http://dblp.uni-trier.de}
}

Abstract

A database design methodology, based on the concept of module, is proposed as a way of managing the complexity of database descriptions and, at the same tima, enforcing integrity constraints. The design of databases is carried out in two levels of abstraction, the specification level, which is independent of any database managemant system, and the representation level, that refines the first one into an actual implementation of the database.

At the specification level, the definition of a mdule consists of a high-level description of the structures and operations of the module, as well as the integrity constraints. Two module constructors, extension and subsmption, are used to define new modules fron old ones. Extension is similar to the usual view mechanism. Subsumption is a new module constructor that permits adding new structures, operations and constraints to those of old modules, and redefining old operations, tiich may be required to maintain integrity.

The representation level description of a database is carried out using the SQL/DS system, which indicates that the modular database design proposed can be used in conjunction with present-day systems.

Finally, the concept of module graph is introduced to capture the modular structure of the database.

Copyright © 1983 by the VLDB Endowment. Permission to copy without fee all or part of this material is granted provided that the copies are not made or distributed for direct commercial advantage, the VLDB copyright notice and the title of the publication and its date appear, and notice is given that copying is by the permission of the Very Large Data Base Endowment. To copy otherwise, or to republish, requires a fee and/or special permission from the Endowment.

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