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Lookup NU author(s): Dr Brian Rossiter
The subject of databases is both theoretical and very practical but theory has hardly kept pace with the demand-driven momentum of practical applications. In particular, demands for database systems to handle complex object structures adn behaviour of objects give sthe obvious dangers that many ad hoc solutions will be adopted which lack a theoretical basis and suffer from limited information on their applicability and predictability in operation. The power of databases is to operate across many levels coherently from the conceptual schema right across to the bit address on the physical storage medium. However, at the time database theroy was developing, it was necessary to customise notation from set theory to represent transformations of common data structures at an absent level. Standard database texts indicate a need for the use of higher level abstract formalism. This report consides the use of category theory for data modelling with the more traditional set-theoretic approach applied directly or by means of the representation language Z.
Author(s): Rossiter BN, Heather MA
Publication type: Report
Publication status: Published
Series Title: Department of Computing Science Technical Report Series
Year: 1992
Pages: 38
Print publication date: 01/12/1992
Source Publication Date: December 1992
Report Number: 407
Institution: Department of Computing Science, University of Newcastle upon Tyne
Place Published: Newcastle upon Tyne
URL: http://www.cs.ncl.ac.uk/publications/trs/papers/407.pdf
