A Formal ORM-to -UML Mapping Algorithm

The object-role model (ORM) data structure can be represented in the unified modeling language (UML) using the five fact encoding constructs: class attribute, association, association class, sub-class and the association qualifier. In the existing literature there exist numerous mappings of how individual fact types from an ORM information model can be mapped onto ‘well-formed’ UML expressions. What is lacking in the existing literature is a precise description of the conditions on the ‘source’ object-role model under which a specific UML fact encoding construct can be applied in the ‘target’ UML class diagram. In this paper we will show under what conditions, a specific UML fact encoding construct must be applied in a way that results in a well-formed UML class diagram.computer science applications;

Natural Language Based Object-Oriented Software Modelling

Deriving useful information from natural language has been a task of much relevance for fields ranging from machine translation, software modelling, and artificial intelligence and so on. Sufficient literature is available on utilisation of grammatical inference in object oriented software modelling. The major advancements in this field along with the challenges faced by researchers as well as practitioners have been outlined. An amalgamation of ideas taken from existing theories and models along with proposed methodology has been worked out so as to utilise natural language text in the field of object oriented analysis and design. The very first step of Natural Language (NL) text processing is Parts-of-Speech (POS) tagging. Grammatical rules, some already existing and some deduced through careful observation of NL structures has been extensively discussed and implemented. After appropriate tagging the words to their respective parts of speech the objective is to recognise the classes among them. The classes along with their attributes and methods were listed out. These classes essentially are identified as part of the major functionalities in an information system. The information system consists of requirement specification given by clients for their target software. Comprehending client specification is a time consuming process. Therefore analysing classes from the specification provided becomes mandatory. Several ambiguities and redundancy in class identification were faced and were effectively resolved. Final classes from the given requirement specification were found out. Subsequently the knowledge acquired from the same is put to use while analysing these functionalities through various UML (Unified Modelling Language) diagrams. There are several UML tools that serve the purpose of drawing these diagrams. But the motive is to make the entire process of deriving the UML diagrams in a logical and automated manner

A Methodology for Reengineering Relational Databases to an Object-Oriented Database

This research proposes and evaluates a methodology for reengineering a relational database to an object-oriented database. We applied this methodology to reengineering the Air Force Institute of Technology Student Information System (AFITSIS) as our test case. With this test case, we could verify the applicability of the proposed methodology, especially because AFITSIS comes from an old version of Oracle RDBMS. We had the opportunity to implement part of the object model using an object-oriented database, and we present some peculiarities encountered during this implementation. The most important result of this research is that it demonstrated that the proposed methodology can be used for reengineering an arbitrarily selected relational database to an object-oriented database. It appears that this approach can be applied to any relational database

The breadth of primary care: a systematic literature review of its core dimensions

Background: Even though there is general agreement that primary care is the linchpin of effective health care delivery, to date no efforts have been made to systematically review the scientific evidence supporting this supposition. The aim of this study was to examine the breadth of primary care by identifying its core dimensions and to assess the evidence for their interrelations and their relevance to outcomes at (primary) health system level. Methods: A systematic review of the primary care literature was carried out, restricted to English language journals reporting original research or systematic reviews. Studies published between 2003 and July 2008 were searched in MEDLINE, Embase, Cochrane Library, CINAHL, King's Fund Database, IDEAS Database, and EconLit. Results: Eighty-five studies were identified. This review was able to provide insight in the complexity of primary care as a multidimensional system, by identifying ten core dimensions that constitute a primary care system. The structure of a primary care system consists of three dimensions: 1. governance; 2. economic conditions; and 3. workforce development. The primary care process is determined by four dimensions: 4. access; 5. continuity of care; 6. coordination of care; and 7. comprehensiveness of care. The outcome of a primary care system includes three dimensions: 8. quality of care; 9. efficiency care; and 10. equity in health. There is a considerable evidence base showing that primary care contributes through its dimensions to overall health system performance and health. Conclusions: A primary care system can be defined and approached as a multidimensional system contributing to overall health system performance and health

TEMPOS: A Platform for Developing Temporal Applications on Top of Object DBMS

This paper presents TEMPOS: a set of models and languages supporting the manipulation of temporal data on top of object DBMS. The proposed models exploit object-oriented technology to meet some important, yet traditionally neglected design criteria related to legacy code migration and representation independence. Two complementary ways for accessing temporal data are offered: a query language and a visual browser. The query language, namely TempOQL, is an extension of OQL supporting the manipulation of histories regardless of their representations, through fully composable functional operators. The visual browser offers operators that facilitate several time-related interactive navigation tasks, such as studying a snapshot of a collection of objects at a given instant, or detecting and examining changes within temporal attributes and relationships. TEMPOS models and languages have been formalized both at the syntactical and the semantical level and have been implemented on top of an object DBMS. The suitability of the proposals with regard to applications' requirements has been validated through concrete case studies