Axiomatic information modeling

Abstract

The obvious task in information modeling is to arrive at a model which is correct. However, the concept of correctness has many faces e g the model must correctly reflect the properties of the application at hand, and it must adequately select relevant parts of the application. The former case requires that the information model is “satisfied by the application”. The latter case is dependent on the intended use of the model. The problem of satisfyability is, in most information modeling approaches, considered to be an intuitive task. From logic we know that a theory, here seen as an information model, can only be satisfied if it is consistent. Thus, by applying predicate logic to information modeling, we should have a possibility of checking the satisfyability of an information model. However, in order to ensure that the information model is satisfied by the application in mind, requires an intuitive reasoning. Consequently, our plans include to further elaborate the use of predicate logic in information modeling. It furthermore includes a study of possibilities and limitations of such an approach. The results obtained so far will be shortly reviewed in the following.