Skip to main content
SpringerLink
Log in

Generic Relationships in Information Modeling

  • Conference paper
Journal on Data Semantics IV

Part of the book series: Lecture Notes in Computer Science ((JODS,volume 3730))

Abstract

Generic relationships are abstraction patterns used for structuring information across application domains. They play a central role in information modeling. However, the state of the art of handling generic relationships leaves open a number of problems, like differences in the definition of some generic relationships in various data models and differences in the importance given to some generic relationships, considered as first-class constructs in some models and as special cases of other relationships in other models. To address those problems, we define a list of dimensions to characterize the semantics of generic relationships in a clear and systematic way. The list aims to offer a uniform and comprehensive analysis grid for generic relationships, drawn from a careful analysis of commonalities and differences among the generic relationships discussed in the literature. The usefulness of those dimensions is illustrated by reviewing significant generic relationships, namely, materialization, role, aggregation, grouping, and ownership. Based on those dimensions, a new metamodel for relationships is proposed.

This is a preview of subscription content, log in via an institution to check access.

Access this chapter

Log in via an institution
Chapter
USD 29.95
Price excludes VAT (USA)
  • Available as PDF
  • Read on any device
  • Instant download
  • Own it forever
eBook
USD 39.99
Price excludes VAT (USA)
  • Available as PDF
  • Read on any device
  • Instant download
  • Own it forever
Softcover Book
USD 54.99
Price excludes VAT (USA)
  • Compact, lightweight edition
  • Dispatched in 3 to 5 business days
  • Free shipping worldwide - see info

Tax calculation will be finalised at checkout

Purchases are for personal use only

Institutional subscriptions

Preview

Unable to display preview. Download preview PDF.

Unable to display preview. Download preview PDF.

References

  1. Abrial, J.: Data semantics. In: Proc. of the IFIP Working Conf. on Data Base Management, pp. 1–59. North-Holland, Amsterdam (1974)

    Google Scholar 

  2. Albano, A., Bergamini, R., Ghelli, G., Orsini, R.: An object data model with roles. In: Proc. of the 19th Int. Conf. on Very Large Data Bases, VLDB 1993, pp. 39–51. Morgan Kaufmann, San Francisco (1993)

    Google Scholar 

  3. Andonoff, E., Hubert, G., Le Parc, A.: Modeling inheritance, composition and relationship links between objects, object versions and class versions. In: Iivari, J., Rossi, M., Lyytinen, K. (eds.) CAiSE 1995. LNCS, vol. 932, pp. 96–111. Springer, Heidelberg (1995)

    Google Scholar 

  4. Brodie, M.: Association: A database abstraction. In: Chen, P. (ed.) Entity-Relationship Approach to Information Modeling and Analysis, pp. 583–608. North-Holland, Amsterdam (1981)

    Google Scholar 

  5. Cattell, R., Barry, D., Berler, M., Eastman, J. (eds.): The Object Data Standard: ODMG 3.0. Morgan Kaufmann, San Francisco (2000)

    Google Scholar 

  6. Chu, W., Zhang, G.: Associations and roles in object-oriented modeling. In: Embley, D.W. (ed.) ER 1997. LNCS, vol. 1331, pp. 257–270. Springer, Heidelberg (1997)

    Google Scholar 

  7. Constantopoulos, P., Mylopoulos, J., Vassiliou, Y. (eds.): CAiSE 1996. LNCS, vol. 1080. Springer, Heidelberg (1996)

    Google Scholar 

  8. Dahchour, M.: Integrating Generic Relationships into Object Models Using Metaclasses. PhD thesis, Département d’ingénierie informatique, Université catholique de Louvain, Belgium (2001)

    Google Scholar 

  9. Dahchour, M., Pirotte, A., Zimányi, E.: Materialization and its metaclass implementation. IEEE Trans. on Knowledge and Data Engineering 14(5), 1078–1094 (2002)

    Article  Google Scholar 

  10. Dahchour, M., Pirotte, A., Zimányi, E.: A role model and its metaclass implementation. Information Systems 29(3), 235–270 (2004)

    Article  Google Scholar 

  11. Davis, K., Dong, G., Heuer, A.: Discussion report: Object migration and classification. In: Proc. of the 4th Int. Workshop on Foundations of Models and Languages for Data and Objects, pp. 223–227. Springer, Heidelberg (1992)

    Google Scholar 

  12. Firesmith, D., Henderson-Sellers, B., Graham, I.: OPEN Modeling Language OML Reference Manual. SIGS Books (1997)

    Google Scholar 

  13. Gottlob, G., Schrefl, M., Röck, B.: Extending object-oriented systems with roles. ACM Trans. on Office Information Systems 14(3), 268–296 (1996)

    Article  Google Scholar 

  14. Gupta, R., Hall, G.: An abstraction mechanism for modeling generation. In: Proc. of the 8th Int. Conf. on Data Engineering, ICDE 1992, pp. 650–658. IEEE Computer Society Press, Los Alamitos (1992)

    Google Scholar 

  15. Hall, G., Gupta, R.: Modeling transition. In: Proc. of the 7th Int. Conf. on Data Engineering, ICDE 1991, pp. 540–549. IEEE Computer Society Press, Los Alamitos (1991)

    Google Scholar 

  16. Halper, M., Geller, J., Perl, Y.: An OODB part-whole model: Semantics, notation, and implementation. Data & Knowledge Engineering 27(1), 59–95 (1998)

    Article  MATH  Google Scholar 

  17. Halper, M., Perl, Y., Yang, O., Geller, J.: Modeling business applications with the OODB ownership relationship. In: Proc. of the 3rd Int. Conf. on AI Applications on Wall Street, pp. 2–10 (1995)

    Google Scholar 

  18. Halpin, T.: Information Modeling and Relational Databases: From Conceptual Analysis to Logical Design. Morgan Kaufmann, San Francisco (2001)

    Google Scholar 

  19. Henderson-Sellers, B.: OPEN relationships: Compositions and containments. Journal of Object-Oriented Programming 10(7), 51–55 (1997)

    Google Scholar 

  20. Jones, T., Song, I.: Binary equivalents of ternary relationships in entity-relationship modeling: A logical decomposition approach. Journal of Database Management 11(2), 12–19 (2000)

    Article  Google Scholar 

  21. Katz, R.: Towards a unified framework for version modeling in engineering databases. ACM Computing Surveys 22(4), 375–408 (1990)

    Article  Google Scholar 

  22. Kim, W., Bertino, E., Garza, J.: Composite objects revisited. In: Proc. of the ACM SIGMOD Int. Conf. on Management of Data, SIGMOD 1989. SIGMOD Record, vol. 18(2), pp. 337–347 (1989)

    Google Scholar 

  23. Kolp, M.: A Metaobject Protocol for Integrating Full-Fledged Relationships into Reflective Systems. PhD thesis, INFODOC, Université Libre de Bruxelles, Belgium (1999)

    Google Scholar 

  24. Kolp, M., Pirotte, A.: An aggregation model and its C++ implementation. In: Proc. of the 4th Int. Conf. on Object-Oriented Information Systems, OOIS 1997, pp. 211–224 (1997)

    Google Scholar 

  25. Lahlou, Y., Mouaddib, N.: Relaxing the instantiation link: Towards a content-based data model for information retrieval. In: Constantopoulos, P., Vassiliou, Y., Mylopoulos, J. (eds.) CAiSE 1996. LNCS, vol. 1080, pp. 540–561. Springer, Heidelberg (1996)

    Google Scholar 

  26. Lamsweerde, A., Darimont, R., Letier, E.: Managing conflicts in goal-driven requirements engineering. IEEE Transactions on Software Engineering, Special Issue on Managing Inconsistency in Software Development 24(11), 908–926 (1998)

    Google Scholar 

  27. Lieberman, H.: Using prototypical objects to implement shared behavior in object oriented systems. In: Proc. of the Conf. on Object-Oriented Programming Systems, Languages and Applications, OOPSLA 1986. ACM SIGPLAN Notices, vol. 21(11), pp. 214–223 (1986)

    Google Scholar 

  28. Ling, T.: A normal form for entity-relationship diagrams. In: Proc. of the 4th Int. Conf. on the Entity-Relationship Approach, ER 1985, pp. 24–35 (1985)

    Google Scholar 

  29. Mattos, N.: Abstraction concepts: The basis for data and knowledge modelling. In: Proc. of the 7th Int. Conf. on the Entity-Relationship Approach, ER 1988, pp. 473–492 (1988)

    Google Scholar 

  30. Motschnig-Pitrik, R., Kaasboll, J.: Part-whole relationship categories and their application in object-oriented analysis. IEEE Trans. on Knowledge and Data Engineering 11(5), 779–797 (1999)

    Article  Google Scholar 

  31. Motschnig-Pitrik, R., Mylopoulos, J.: Classes and instances. International Journal of Intelligent and Cooperative Information Systems 1(1), 61–92 (1992)

    Article  Google Scholar 

  32. Motschnig-Pitrik, R., Mylopoulos, J.: Semantics, features, and applications of the viewpoint abstraction. In: Constantopoulos, P., Vassiliou, Y., Mylopoulos, J. (eds.) CAiSE 1996. LNCS, vol. 1080, pp. 514–539. Springer, Heidelberg (1996)

    Google Scholar 

  33. Motschnig-Pitrik, R., Storey, V.: Modelling of set membership: The notion and the issues. Data & Knowledge Engineering 16(2), 147–185 (1995)

    Article  MATH  Google Scholar 

  34. Mylopoulos, J.: Information modeling in the time of the revolution. Information Systems 23(3–4), 127–155 (1998)

    Article  Google Scholar 

  35. Mylopoulos, J., Borgida, A., Jarke, M., Koubarakis, M.: Telos: Representing knowledge about informations systems. ACM Trans. on Office Information Systems 8(4), 325–362 (1990)

    Article  Google Scholar 

  36. Odell, J.: Six different kinds of composition. Journal of Object-Oriented Programming 6(8), 10–15 (1994)

    Google Scholar 

  37. Parent, C., Spaccapietra, S., Zimányi, E.: Conceptual Modeling for Traditional and Spatio-Temporal Applications: The MADS approach. Springer, Heidelberg (2005) (to appear)

    Google Scholar 

  38. Peckham, J., MacKellar, B., Doherty, M.: Data model for extensible support of explicit relationships in design databases. Very Large Data Bases Journal 4(2), 157–191 (1995)

    Article  Google Scholar 

  39. Pirotte, A., Zimányi, E., Massart, D., Yakusheva, T.: Materialization: a powerful and ubiquitous abstraction pattern. In: Proc. of the 20th Int. Conf. on Very Large Data Bases, VLDB 1994, pp. 630–641. Morgan Kaufmann, San Francisco (1994)

    Google Scholar 

  40. Renouf, D., Henderson-Sellers, B.: Incorporating roles into MOSES. In: Proc. of the 15th Conf. on Technology of Object-Oriented Languages and Systems, TOOLS 15, pp. 71–82 (1995)

    Google Scholar 

  41. Rumbaugh, J., Jacobson, I., Booch, G.: The Unified Modeling Language: Reference Manual, 2nd edn. Addison-Wesley, Reading (2004)

    Google Scholar 

  42. Storey, V.: Understanding semantic relationships. Very Large Data Bases Journal 2(4), 455–488 (1993)

    Article  Google Scholar 

  43. Teorey, T.: Database Modeling and Design, 3rd edn. Morgan Kaufmann, San Francisco (1999)

    Google Scholar 

  44. Wäsch, J., Aberer, K.: Flexible design and efficient implementation of a hypermedia document database system by tailoring semantic relationships. In: Proc. of the IFIP WG2.6 6th Working Conf. on Database Semantics, DS-6, pp. 367–388. Chapman & Hall, Boca Raton (1995)

    Google Scholar 

  45. Wieringa, R., De Jonge, W., Spruit, P.: Using dynamic classes and role classes to model object migration. Theory and Practice of Object Systems 1(1), 61–83 (1995)

    Google Scholar 

  46. Winston, M., Chaffin, R., Herrmann, D.: A taxonomy of part-whole relations. Cognitive Science 11(4), 417–444 (1987)

    Article  Google Scholar 

  47. Wong, R., Chau, H., Lochovsky, F.: A data model and semantics of objects with dynamic roles. In: Proc. of the 13th Int. Conf. on Data Engineering, ICDE 1997, pp. 402–411. IEEE Computer Society Press, Los Alamitos (1997)

    Chapter  Google Scholar 

  48. Yang, O., Halper, M., Geller, J., Perl, Y.: The OODB ownership relationship. In: Proc. of the Int. Conf. on Object-Oriented Information Systems, OOIS’94, pp. 278–291. Springer, Heidelberg (1994)

    Google Scholar 

  49. Yu, E., Liu, L., Li, Y.: Modelling strategic actor relationships to support intellectual property management. In: Kunii, H.S., Jajodia, S., Sølvberg, A. (eds.) ER 2001. LNCS, vol. 2224, pp. 164–178. Springer, Heidelberg (2001)

    Chapter  Google Scholar 

Download references

Author information

Authors and Affiliations

  1. Institut National des Postes et Télécommunications, Av. Allal Al Fassi, Rabat, Morocco

    Mohamed Dahchour

  2. IAG School of Management, Université catholique de Louvain, 1 Place des Doyens, B-1348, Louvain-la-Neuve, Belgium

    Alain Pirotte

  3. Department of Computer and Network Engineering, Université Libre de Bruxelles, 50 Av. F. Roosevelt, CP 165/15, B-1050, Brussels, Belgium

    Esteban Zimányi

Authors
  1. Mohamed Dahchour
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

  2. Alain Pirotte
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

  3. Esteban Zimányi
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

Editor information

Editors and Affiliations

  1. EPFL-IC-IIF-LBD, Station 14 - INJ 236, 1015, Lausanne, Switzerland

    Stefano Spaccapietra

Rights and permissions

Reprints and permissions

Copyright information

© 2005 Springer-Verlag Berlin Heidelberg

About this paper

Cite this paper

Dahchour, M., Pirotte, A., Zimányi, E. (2005). Generic Relationships in Information Modeling. In: Spaccapietra, S. (eds) Journal on Data Semantics IV. Lecture Notes in Computer Science, vol 3730. Springer, Berlin, Heidelberg. https://doi.org/10.1007/11603412_1

Download citation

  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/11603412_1

  • Publisher Name: Springer, Berlin, Heidelberg

  • Print ISBN: 978-3-540-31001-3

  • Online ISBN: 978-3-540-31447-9

  • eBook Packages: Computer ScienceComputer Science (R0)

Publish with us

Policies and ethics

Search

Navigation