On Inheritance in Conceptual Modeling for XML

Abstract

Modern information systems may exploit numerous XML formats for communication. Each message may have its own XML format for data representation which causes problems with evolution of their schemas. Manual change management of the XML formats may be error-prone and time consuming. We tackled this problem in our previous work with the introduction of a formal two level conceptual model for XML which interconnects multiple XML schemas describing parts of a common problem domain on a conceptual level. This allows for well-defined and automated change management of XML schemas. In this paper, we extend our previous work with inheritance modeling. Because inheritance is common in XML schemas and conceptual models in general, its modeling is needed and makes our conceptual model more usable in real world situations. There are two basic types of inheritance when it comes to modeling: structural and conceptual inheritance. We discuss the differences and how these two types need to be reflected in our model.