Representation of object-oriented data models

Abstract

Database design tools have been introduced as a means of reducing the expertise required of the designer, to free him or her from the implementation details and to aid in managing the complexity of the design task. However, one of the common shortcomings of database design tools is that they are closely tied to specific data models, thus limiting the applicability of their underlaying concepts and restricting the reusability of the design software. SeaWeed, a component of the Data Model Compiler (DMC) project, proposes a solution by automatically generating database design software from data model specifications. In this paradigm, a data model specification model, or metamodel of data models, is introduced for specifying particular object-oriented data models. Using the knowledge in the specification, conceptual database design software is automatically generated for the given data model. This paper presents a metamodel for object-oriented data models and offers a technique for expressing the semantics of an object-oriented data model in terms of the metaobject types, which consist of attributes, operations, constraints and graphical representations.