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Description Logics for Conceptual Data Modeling

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Logics for Databases and Information Systems

Part of the book series: The Springer International Series in Engineering and Computer Science ((SECS,volume 436))

Abstract

The article aims at establishing a logical approach to class-based data modeling. After a discussion on class-based formalisms for data modeling, we introduce a family of logics, called Description Logics, which stem from research on Knowledge Representation in Artificial Intelligence. The logics of this family are particularly well suited for specifying data classes and relationships among classes, and are equipped with both formal semantics and inference mechanisms. We demonstrate that several popular data modeling formalisms, including the Entity-Relationship Model, and the most common variants of object-oriented data models, can be expressed in terms of specific logics of the family. For this purpose we use a unifying Description Logic, which incorporates all the features needed for the logical reformulation of the data models used in the various contexts. We also discuss the problem of devising reasoning procedures for the unifying formalism, and show that they provide valuable supports for several important data modeling activities.

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Authors
  1. Diego Calvanese
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  2. Maurizio Lenzerini
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  3. Daniele Nardi
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Editor information

Editors and Affiliations

  1. Monmouth University, USA

    Jan Chomicki

  2. University of Magdeburg, Germany

    Gunter Saake

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Calvanese, D., Lenzerini, M., Nardi, D. (1998). Description Logics for Conceptual Data Modeling. In: Chomicki, J., Saake, G. (eds) Logics for Databases and Information Systems. The Springer International Series in Engineering and Computer Science, vol 436. Springer, Boston, MA. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-1-4615-5643-5_8

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/978-1-4615-5643-5_8

  • Publisher Name: Springer, Boston, MA

  • Print ISBN: 978-1-4613-7582-1

  • Online ISBN: 978-1-4615-5643-5

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