A Semantic Comparison of the Modelling Capabilities of the ER and NIAM Models

Conceptual design (conceptual modelling) is the most important phase in database design as it results in a conceptual schema, which is a high-level description of the user requirements. Over the past decade, several data models, called semantic or conceptual models, have been proposed for conceptual design. Two of the most popular of these data models are the ER and NIAM models. In this paper we present a semantic comparison of the ER and NIAM models with a view to highlighting their similarities and differences, and to showing the major characteristics of each model. The comparison is divided in three parts. Firstly, we describe and compare the model constructs using a common terminology framework. We then compare their modelling capability by discussing the mapping of ER and NIAM schemas into the relational model. Finally, we relate the models to a checklist of conceptual modelling objectives.

[1]  David K. Hsiao.  ACM transactions on database systems: aim and scope , 1976, TODS.

[2]  Nicola Santoro,et al.  Labelling and Implicit Routing in Networks , 1985, Computer/law journal.

[3]  Shamkant B. Navathe,et al.  Conceptual Database Design: An Entity-Relationship Approach , 1991 .

[4]  Il-Yeol Song,et al.  Schema Conversion Rules Between EER and NIAM Models , 1991, ER.

[5]  Joan Peckham,et al.  Semantic data models , 1988, CSUR.

[6]  Marco A. Casanova,et al.  On the Design and Maintenance of Optimized Relational Representations of Entity-Relationship Schemas , 1993, Data Knowl. Eng..

[7]  Peter P. Chen.  The entity-relationship model: toward a unified view of data , 1975, VLDB '75.

[8]  Ramez Elmasri,et al.  Fundamentals of Database Systems , 1989 .

[9]  Shamkant B. Navathe,et al.  Evolution of data modeling for databases , 1992, CACM.

[10]  Alberto H. F. Laender,et al.  Mapping from a Conceptual Schema to a Target Internal Schema , 1985, Computer/law journal.

[11]  Arie Shoshani,et al.  On the correctness of representing extended entity-relationship structures in the relational model , 1989, SIGMOD '89.

[12]  C. M. R. Leung,et al.  Relational database design using the NIAM conceptual schema , 1988, Inf. Syst..

[13]  Diane C. P. Smith,et al.  Database abstractions: aggregation and generalization , 1977, TODS.

[14]  G. M. Nijssen,et al.  Conceptual schema and relational database design - a fact oriented approach , 1989 .

[15]  Roger King,et al.  Semantic database modeling: survey, applications, and research issues , 1987, CSUR.

[16]  Marco A. Casanova,et al.  An analysis of SQL integrity constraints from an entity-relationship model perspective , 1994, Inf. Syst..

[17]  Peter N. Creasy,et al.  ENIAM: A More Complete Conceptual Schema Language , 1989, VLDB.

[18]  Toby J. Teorey,et al.  Database modeling and design: the entity-relationship approach , 1990 .

[19]  Henk Sol,et al.  Information Systems Design Methodologies: A Comparative Review , 1983 .