From ER Models to the Entity Model

Abstract

In this paper, a new knowledge representation formalism, called the entity model, is introduced. This model can be used to address knowledge diversity by making the modeling assumptions of different knowledge representations explicit and by rooting them in a world representation. The entity model can be used to: 1) detect the possible ways in which the diversity appears in ER models and therefore improving their representational adequacy; 2) make the modeling assumptions behind different ER models explicit; 3) combine the different ER models in a unified view, thus enabling data integration.