Evolving temporal conceptual schemas: the reification case

We study temporal conceptual schema evolutions related to reification, a typical and complex modeling construct. Various types of reification are considered. Using a previously defined framework, we specify only at conceptual level (and without descending to logical or application levels), the effects of any possible evolution related to reification, thus reducing the complexity of the management of those changes.Peer ReviewedPostprint (published version

Updates in a Rule based Language for Objects

The integration of object-oriented concepts into deductive databases has been investigated for a certain time now. Various approaches to incorporate updates into deduction have been proposed. The current paper presents an approach which is based on object versioning; different versions of one object may be created and referenced during an update-process. By means of such versions it becomes possible to exert explicit control on the update process during bottom-up evaluation in a rather intuitive way. The units for updates are the result sets of base methods, i.e. methods, whose results are stored in the object-base and are not defined by rules. However, the update itself may be defined by rules. Update-programs have fixpoint semantics; the fixpoint can be computed by a bottom-up evaluation according to a certain stratification

Role-based Adaptation of Business Reference Models to Application Models: An Enterprise Modeling Methodology for Software Construction

Large software systems are in need of a construction plan to determine and define every concept and element used in order to not end up in complex, unusable, and cost-intensive systems. Different modeling languages, like UML, support the development of these construction plans and visualize them for the system’s stakeholders. Reference models are a specific kind of construction plan, used as templates for information systems and already capture business domain knowledge for reuse and tailoring. By adaptation, reference models are tailored to enterprise-specific application models, which can be used for software construction and maintenance. However, current adaptation methods suffer from the limitations of pure object-oriented development (e.g., identity issues, large inheritance trees, and inflexibility). In this thesis, the usage of roles as the sole adaptation mechanism is proposed to solve these challenges. With the help of conceptual roles, it is possible to create rich model variations and adaptations from existing (industry standard) reference models, and it is simpler to react to model evolution and changing business logic. Adaptations can be specified with more precision by maintaining or even increasing the model’s expressiveness. As a consequence, the role-enriched final application model can be used to describe software systems in more detail, with different perspectives, and, if available, can be implemented with a role supporting programming language. However, even without this step, the application model itself will provide valuable insights into the overall construction plan of a software system by the combination of structure and behavior and a clear separation of relatively stable domain knowledge from its use case specific adaptation

El Mètode dels esdeveniments per a l'Actualització de vistes en bases de dades deductives

En esta tesis se presenta un nuevo método, llamado método de los eventos, para la actualización de vistas en bases de datos deductivas. Este método aumenta la base de datos con un conjunto de reglas, llamadas reglas de transición y de evento, que definen explícitamente las inserciones y las supresiones inducidas por una modificación de la base de datos. Mediante estas reglas, se utiliza la resolución SIDNF para obtener todas las traducciones mínimas que satisfacen una petición de actualización de vista.Una de las contribuciones principales de esta tesis es la demostración del hecho que el método de los eventos es completo en bases de datos estratificados. Es decir, en este tipo de bases de datos dicho método obtiene todas las traducciones validas. Otras ventajas importantes del método son la incorporación de la comprobación de integridad en el proceso de traducción, el tratamiento uniforme de inserciones y supresiones, la posibilidad de prevenir efectos laterales y la traducción de peticiones de modificación de vista.Por todas estas razones, se puede decir que el método de los eventos tiene todo el poder de los métodos propuestos hasta el momento actual para la utilización de vistas en bases de datos deductivas, pero sin presentar algunas de sus limitaciones