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The purpose of this paper is to compare the use of two Object-Relational models against the use of a post-Relational model for a realistic application. Although real-world applications, in most cases, can be adequately modeled by the Entity-Relationship (ER) model, the transformation to the popular Relational model alters the representation of structures common in reality, like multi-valued and composite fields. Alternative database models have been developed to overcome these shortcomings.

Based on the ER model of a medical application, this paper compares the information representation, manipulation and enforcement of integrity constraints through PostgreSQL and Oracle, against the use of a post-Relational model composed of the Conceptual Universal Database Language (CUDL) and the Conceptual Universal Database Language Abstraction Level (CAL).

The CAL/CUDL pair, although more periphrastic for data definition, is simpler for data insertions, does not require the use of procedural code for data updates, produces clearer output for retrieval of attributes, can accomplish retrieval of rows based on conditions that address composite data with declarative statements and supports data validation for relationships between composite data without the need for procedural code.

To verify, in practice, the conclusions of the paper, complete implementation of a CAL/CUDL system is needed.

The use of the CAL/CUDL pair would advance the productivity of database application development.

This paper highlights the properties of realistic database-applications modelling and management that are desirable by developers and shows that these properties are better satisfied by the CAL/CUDL pair.

Relational Database Management Systems (RDBMS) have a proven track record for storing and managing many different forms of digital content, and new strategies have been defined to provide RDBMS‐based solutions for XML. Some relational databases now offer special mechanisms to accommodate XML while several technologies have emerged to facilitate the use of XML representations of data housed within an RDBMS. In addition to presenting challenges and opportunities to RDBMS developers, XML and XML‐enabled technologies may find new application for libraries by combining RDBMS concepts with Web‐based services.

To provide a selective bibliography for researchers and practitioners interested in database modeling of engineering information with sources which can help them develop engineering information systems.

Identifies the requirements for engineering information modeling and then investigates how current database models satisfy these requirements at two levels: conceptual data models and logical database models.

Presents the relationships among the conceptual data models and the logical database models for engineering information modeling viewed from database conceptual design.

Currently few papers provide comprehensive discussions about how current engineering information modeling can be supported by database technologies. This paper fills this gap. The contribution of the paper is to identify the direction of database study viewed from engineering applications and provide a guidance of information modeling for engineering design, manufacturing, and production management.

The purpose of this paper is to present an innovative agile methodology that proposes fundamental changes in managing the development of in-house information systems in small- and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) and benchmarks it with one of two database technologies enabling these systems to be both efficient and competitive.

The objectives are achieved by presenting an elaborated design of the agile methodology that manages the system development process by addressing three basic components: roles played by system players, process needed to fulfill the system development, and artifacts to document the project. A case study is conducted as a proof of the effectiveness of the proposed methodology and measures whether the selection of the database technology affects the effectiveness of the system development process.

Results show that, compared with traditional methodologies, the proposed methodology reduced the cost of system development and testing by 30 percent and enhanced the IT – business alliance. Further, this work found that the selection of a suitable database technology is strongly related to the complexity and interrelationships between the data used.

Such research did not receive the needed attention (Hunter, 2004) even in the past decade. Successful adoption of IT by companies could be in the form of customized IS which could be expensive for SMEs to adopt due to a lack in technical expertise and financial resources. The proposed methodology has the potential to promote sustainable development through helping SMEs in reducing the time and cost of IT project development.

Executives in large organizations know that they must develop better techniques to manage their greatest asset: knowledge. Organizations currently create and maintain knowledge in isolated systems targeted at specific workgroups. For users outside the workgroup, that knowledge is virtually invisible. Vendors of all manner of tools, from intranet development tools to document management systems to search engines, are calling their products Knowledge Management systems, without regard to what that means. Without new technologies to create revolutionary change in the way knowledge workers create, communicate and manage information, a Knowledge Management system has little chance of improving enterprise knowledge sharing. This paper explores the concepts and technologies associated with an effective Knowledge Management system.

Provides an overview of the present state of development of integrated library systems and identifies, describes and evaluates significant trends in the industry in relation to their context within the overall development of library services. Notes that the library systems market, and developments in library systems, are driven by Internet trends and by the software Industry rather than by the library and information community and that they are subject to global economic imperatives.

Benchmarks are the vital tools in the performance measurement and evaluation of database management systems (DBMS), including the relational database management systems (RDBMS) and the object‐oriented/object‐relational database management systems (OODBMS/ORDBMS). Standard synthetic benchmarks have been used to assess the performance of RDBMS software. Other benchmarks have been utilized to appraise the performance of OODBMS/ORDBMS products. In this paper, an analytical framework of workload characterization to extensively and expansively examine the rationale and design of the industry standard and synthetic standard benchmarks is presented. This analytical framework of workload analysis is made up of four main components: the schema analysis, the operation analysis, the control analysis, and the system analysis. These analysis results are compiled and new concepts and perspectives of benchmark design are collated. Each analysis aspect is described and each managerial implication is discussed in detail.

XML emerges and evolves quick and fast as Web and wireless technology penetrates more into the consumer marketplace. Database technology faces new challenges. It has to change to play the supportive role. Web and wireless applications master the technology paradigm shift. XML and database connectivity and transformation become critical. Heterogeneity and interoperability must be distinctly tackled. In this paper, we provide an in‐depth and technical review of XML and XML database technology. An analytic and comparative framework is developed. Storage method, mapping technique, and transformation paradigm formulate the framework. We collect and compile the IBM, Oracle, Sybase, and Microsoft XML database products. We use the framework and analyze each of these XML database techniques. The comparison and contrast aims to provide an insight into the structural and methodological paradigm shift in XML database technology.

To provide a more requirements‐driven workload model for eXtensible Markup Language (XML) benchmark over the electronic data exchange and management in collaborative commerce.

A three‐component workload requirements model is formulated. They are the XML object model, the XML query operation model, and the control model. The object model extended from W3C data model gives a set of more generic data and document model. The query model enhanced from current and common benchmarks gives a more generalized set of standard and open queries against XML data and documents. The control model compiled from TPC and industry standards gives a set of more systematic experimental variables and performance metrics to set up and conduct an XML benchmark.

The long‐standing research issues of domain dependency and application irreproducibility of XML benchmarks are addressed, tackled and offered with a novel and computer‐aided alternative. Precision and cost‐effectiveness through a synthetic, standard, and scalable set of requirements‐driven workload model are presented.

XML constructs, constraints, and controls are investigated both in terms of data and documents. Workload formulation from the requirements analysis is explored. In‐depth schema, query, and control model to provide scalability and portability can be applied is developed.

Enterprise information integration over heterogeneous data sources has to be achieved through XML. Performance measurement and evaluation on XML is vital. With a more generic and generalized design, XML benchmark can become the key to the success of B2Bi interoperability and performance.

An origin of requirements‐driven benchmark modeling over collaborative commerce is presented. A novel extension on W3C XML model is created. A innovative enhancement from current XML benchmarks' query model is developed.

The purpose of this paper is to describe a novel XML schema language called DTD Schema that solves major limitations of document type definition (DTD) and supports features that XML Schema supports in a simple and concise way.

DTD Schema is designed based on DTD and data definition language of object‐oriented and object‐relational databases. It extends DTD with namespaces, richer built‐in types and user‐defined subtypes, local elements and attributes, complex types with nonmonotonic multiple element and attribute inheritance with overriding, blocking, conflict handling, and polymorphism.

XML Schema is recommended by W3C as the schema language for XML. It uses a set of predefined XML tags to define the schema, which is often a long, intricate specification, full of details and concepts and its verbose syntax often doubles or triples the document length. It is so complicated that even XML experts do not find it human‐readable, mostly due to the XML‐based syntax.

The only limitation is that DTD Schema is not in XML. But for the same reason, it is simple and concise.

DTD schema is halfway between DTD and XML Schema and thus it is less complex and much easier for human to use than XML Schema.

DTD Schema supports all functionalities of XML Schema and also the best of object‐oriented features including multiple inheritance, overriding, blocking, conflict handling and polymorphism. Therefore, it is much more expressive than XML Schema.