Database Wrappers Development: Towards Automatic Generation

Wrapping databases allows them to be reused in formerly unplanned contexts, such as web-based applications or federated systems. Indeed, a wrapper can provide external clients of an existing (legacy) database with a neutral interface and augmented capabilities. However, except in simplistic cases where the wrapper and the database schemas are similar, the wrapper must implement complex mappings: it must translate queries from the wrapper data manipulation language to the database primitives, and, conversely, translate extracted data into the external wrapper format. We have developed a generic schema mapping framework in which wrappers can be specified formally and generated automatically. This framework comprises a highlevel generic data model and a set of schema transformations defined for this model. This reference model makes it possible to specify different data models in a uniform formalism. Mappings between schemas are expressed as sequences of reversible schema transformatio...

• Type: Conference
• Year: 2005
• Where: CSMR
• Authors: Philippe Thiran, Jean-Luc Hainaut, Geert-Jan Houben
• Keywords: CSMR 2005, External Wrapper Format, Schema Transformations, Software Engineering, Wrapper Data Manipulation