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International Conference on Conceptual Modeling

ER 1993: Entity-Relationship Approach — ER '93 pp 190–205Cite as

Database schema design: A perspective from natural language techniques to validation and view integration

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Part of the book series: Lecture Notes in Computer Science ((LNCS,volume 823))

Abstract

This paper discusses the contribution of natural language techniques to some functions aiming at elaborating the conceptual schema in database design.

The schema building mainly requires specification, validation and views integration means. Since these three functions extensively involve the information keepers, the reliability of the result is highly dependent on the quality of the communication between the information keepers sphere and the technical sphere (conceptual schema, designer, CASE tool). Natural language may be a communication vector between these actors.

Natural language techniques are used not only to understand and generate texts, but also to reinforce algorithms of other functions, such as view integration.

The natural language techniques we have chosen are mainly based on Fillmore's semantic cases and Sowa's conceptual graphs. Each technique may be used by several functions of schema manipulation. For example, the detection of semantic cases is needed as well to paraphrase the conceptual schema as to reinforce the views integration algorithm.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Laboratoire MASI, Université de Versailles, 45, avenue des Etats-Unis, 78000, Versailles, France

    Elisabeth Métais, Jean-Noël Meunier & Gilles Levreau

Authors
  1. Elisabeth Métais
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  2. Jean-Noël Meunier
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  3. Gilles Levreau
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Editor information

Ramez A. Elmasri Vram Kouramajian Bernhard Thalheim

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© 1994 Springer-Verlag Berlin Heidelberg

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Métais, E., Meunier, JN., Levreau, G. (1994). Database schema design: A perspective from natural language techniques to validation and view integration. In: Elmasri, R.A., Kouramajian, V., Thalheim, B. (eds) Entity-Relationship Approach — ER '93. ER 1993. Lecture Notes in Computer Science, vol 823. Springer, Berlin, Heidelberg. https://doi.org/10.1007/BFb0024367

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/BFb0024367

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  • Publisher Name: Springer, Berlin, Heidelberg

  • Print ISBN: 978-3-540-58217-5

  • Online ISBN: 978-3-540-48575-9

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