Color coding ER-diagrams, one approach to modeling semistructured data. Entity-Relationship diagrams used for aggregate oriented databases.

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Abstract: Aggregate oriented databases[26] support collections of documents with unstructured data. The unstructured markup means that anything can be stored anywhere. Notations for conceptual modeling of entity relationship diagrams have been extended with notation for aggregation, which satisfy the nesting of structures in aggregate oriented databases [11]. Conceptual modeling of ER-diagrams [5,27] has the benefit that a generic diagram of the whole database is sufficient for moving forward to a design activity, while conceptual modeling of aggregate oriented databases has established a notation for modeling [2]. However the model is specific and not generic. Solutions that prefer a different nesting needs a separate aggregate data model. Our approach to conceptual modeling does not violate the existing relational constraints and provides an extra conceptual layer where document- structure can be modeled by color coding. We will show that modeling decisions can readily be made and materialized in document views within this notation.

In relational database theory, the study of entity sets is based on the understanding of functional dependencies and normalization. It is this theory of the fundamental properties where every attribute is scalar, not composite. To reach first normal form of a relation, all attribute values must contain atomic values only [Date 1990, p 526-527][8]. No composite attributes; no multivalue attributes, found in JSON or XML. By functional decomposition such representations would be split into a number of relations to reach progressive higher normal forms. The outcome of ER diagramming for relational databases is in many cases a database schema of third normal form or BCNF. But for semi- structured databases, not even the first normal form is reached, underlining the necessity for a notation.
Original languageEnglish
JournalInternational Journal of Innovative Studies in Sciences and Engineering Technology (IJISSET)
Volume6
Issue number6
Pages (from-to)14-22
ISSN2455-4863
Publication statusPublished - Jun 2020

    Research areas

  • Faculty of Science - ER-diagram, conceptual modeling, aggregate-oriented databases, aggregate-oriented data model, entity-relationship modeling

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