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If We Refuse the Inheritance

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Database and Expert Systems Applications (DEXA 1999)

Part of the book series: Lecture Notes in Computer Science ((LNCS,volume 1677))

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Abstract

Specialization is an abstract concept which expresses the IS-A relationship while inheritance is a mechanism which implements specialization. Our experiences in extended entity-relationship DBMSs and object-oriented DBMSs have shown that specialization can be implemented by several mechanisms. We propose in this paper a mechanism which is more flexible than inheritance with respect to object dynamics and schema evolution. In our “hologram” approach, an object is implemented by multiple instances which represent its many faceted nature. Those instances are linked together through aggregation links in a specialization hierarchy. Objects are dynamic since they can migrate between the classes of a hierarchy. Attributes and methods are not inherited but reached by navigating in a specialization hierarchy. Class views provide customized interfaces of classes. Our approach makes schema changes more pertinent and easier to understand.

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Author information

Authors and Affiliations

  1. Department of Mathematics, American University of Beirut, P.O. Box 11-0236, Beirut, Lebanon

    Lina Al-Jadir

  2. Centre Universitaire d’Informatique, Université de Genève, 24, rue Général-Dufour, 1211, Genève 4, Switzerland

    Michel Léonard

Authors
  1. Lina Al-Jadir
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  2. Michel Léonard
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Editor information

Editors and Affiliations

  1. Department of Computer Science, University of Liverpool, P.O. Box 147, Liverpool, L49 3BX, UK

    Trevor J.M. Bench-Capon

  2. Department of Systems and Computers, University of Florence, Via S. Marta, 3, I-50139, Florence, Italy

    Giovanni Soda

  3. IFS, Technical University of Vienna, Resselgasse 3, A-1040, Vienna, Austria

    A Min Tjoa

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© 1999 Springer-Verlag Berlin Heidelberg

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Al-Jadir, L., Léonard, M. (1999). If We Refuse the Inheritance. In: Bench-Capon, T.J., Soda, G., Tjoa, A.M. (eds) Database and Expert Systems Applications. DEXA 1999. Lecture Notes in Computer Science, vol 1677. Springer, Berlin, Heidelberg. https://doi.org/10.1007/3-540-48309-8_52

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/3-540-48309-8_52

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  • Publisher Name: Springer, Berlin, Heidelberg

  • Print ISBN: 978-3-540-66448-2

  • Online ISBN: 978-3-540-48309-0

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