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Applying Category Theory to Databases

Lookup NU author(s): Dr Brian Rossiter

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Abstract

The subject of databases is both theoretical and very practical but theory has hardly kept pace with the demand-driven momentum of practical applications. In particular, demands for database systems to handle complex object structures adn behaviour of objects give sthe obvious dangers that many ad hoc solutions will be adopted which lack a theoretical basis and suffer from limited information on their applicability and predictability in operation. The power of databases is to operate across many levels coherently from the conceptual schema right across to the bit address on the physical storage medium. However, at the time database theroy was developing, it was necessary to customise notation from set theory to represent transformations of common data structures at an absent level. Standard database texts indicate a need for the use of higher level abstract formalism. This report consides the use of category theory for data modelling with the more traditional set-theoretic approach applied directly or by means of the representation language Z.


Publication metadata

Author(s): Rossiter BN, Heather MA

Publication type: Report

Publication status: Published

Series Title: Department of Computing Science Technical Report Series

Year: 1992

Pages: 38

Print publication date: 01/12/1992

Source Publication Date: December 1992

Report Number: 407

Institution: Department of Computing Science, University of Newcastle upon Tyne

Place Published: Newcastle upon Tyne

URL: http://www.cs.ncl.ac.uk/publications/trs/papers/407.pdf


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