Conceptual modeling for semistructured data
Antoni Badia · 2005
We review the more widely used models in ConceptualModeling for Information Systems (Entity-Relationship andUML), and argue that they do not support effectively modelingof semistructured data. As a consequence, structuredand semistructured data cannot be treated in an integrated,holistic way during requirements specification. We proposea set of minimal extensions to E-R models which allow usto capture information in an XML DTD, and provide a sim-plealgorithm to go from the extended E-R model to a relationaldesign, to an XML DTD or to a hybrid model withboth structured and semistructured parts. This last choice isnovel in the literature and opens the door for the possibilityof better designed and integrated information systems.