Authors: Il-Yeol Song, Juan Trujillo, Sergio Luján-Mora
Tags: 2004, conceptual modeling
Multidimensional (MD) modeling is the basis for data warehouses, multidimensional databases (MDB) and on-line analytical processing (OLAP) applications. This paper presents how the unified modeling language (UML) can be successfully used to represent both structural and dynamic properties of these systems at the conceptual level. The structure of the system is specified by means of a UML class diagram that considers the main properties of MD modeling with minimal use of constraints and extensions of the UML. If the system to be modeled is too complex, the paper describes how to use the package grouping mechanism provided by the UML to simplify the final model. Furthermore, a UML-compliant class notation (called cube class) is provided to represent OLAP users’ initial requirements. The paper also describes how to use the UML state and interaction diagrams to model the behavior of a data warehouse system. To facilitate the interchange of conceptual MD models, a Document Type Definition (DTD) is provided to represent the same MD modeling properties that can be considered by using our approach. From this DTD, valid extensible Markup Language (XML) documents can be directly generated that represent MD models at the conceptual level.Read the full paper here: https://www.igi-global.com/journal/journal-database-management
