Authors: Joachim Biskup, Ralf Menzel
Tags: 2002, conceptual modeling
Typically, the design of an object-oriented database schema starts with an analysis of the application and ends with the implementation of the application. We advocate a design process that employs an intermediate phase where the designer can choose between different abstract object-oriented database schemas. This choice influences the space and time costs that arise when the schema is implemented. We present a cost model for abstract object-oriented database schemas that allows the designer to estimate these costs. At the core of the cost model is an abstract object-oriented database machine. Access structures that are used by this abstract database machine are given by an internal schema. With this we can estimate the space costs. Queries and updates are expressed as programs of the abstract database machine. By providing cost functions that characterise cost relevant aspects of the operations of the abstract database machine we can estimate the time costs of the machine programs. Our cost model is parameterised. So, for example, it can be adopted to reflect different implementation database systems. We provide an example to show how the preferred choice of an abstract database schema changes when the parameters of the cost model vary.Read the full paper here: https://link.springer.com/chapter/10.1007/3-540-45816-6_40
