Conceptual Level Design of Semi-structured Database System: Graph-semantic Based Approach

TL;DR

This paper introduces GOOSSDM, a graph-semantic conceptual model for semi-structured databases, enabling detailed modeling of complex data and XML documents at the conceptual level with transformation to XML schemas.

Contribution

The paper presents a novel graph-semantic conceptual model for semi-structured databases, including formal constructs, relationship types, and a transformation mechanism to XML schemas.

Findings

Model effectively captures irregular, heterogeneous, hierarchical data

Supports XML document modeling with ordering and disjunction

Implemented using Generic Modeling Environment (GME)

Abstract

This paper has proposed a Graph - semantic based conceptual model for semi-structured database system, called GOOSSDM, to conceptualize the different facets of such system in object oriented paradigm. The model defines a set of graph based formal constructs, variety of relationship types with participation constraints and rich set of graphical notations to specify the conceptual level design of semi-structured database system. The proposed design approach facilitates modeling of irregular, heterogeneous, hierarchical and non-hierarchical semi-structured data at the conceptual level. Moreover, the proposed GOOSSDM is capable to model XML document at conceptual level with the facility of document-centric design, ordering and disjunction characteristic. A rule based transformation mechanism of GOOSSDM schema into the equivalent XML Schema Definition (XSD) also has been proposed in this paper. The concepts of the proposed conceptual model have been implemented using Generic Modeling Environment (GME).