Nested Relations and Complex Objects in Databases

This volume was primarily intended to present selected papers from the workshop on Theory and Applications of Nested Relations and Complex Objects, held in Darmstadt, FRG, from April 6-8, 1987. Other papers were solicited in order to provide a picture of the field as general as possible. Research on nested relations and complex objects originates in the late seventies. The motivation was to obtain data models and systems which would provide support for so-called complex objects or molecular structures, i.e., for hierarchically organized data, thereby overcoming severe shortcomings of the relational model. This theme of research is now maturing. Systems based on those ideas are beginning to be available. Languages of various natures (algebras, calculi, graphical, logic-oriented) have been designed and a theory is slowly emerging. Finally, new developments in database technology and research are incorporating features of models involving complex objects. A variety of approaches is represented in this volume. The first three papers give overviews of major pioneering implementation efforts. The fourth paper is devoted to the important issue of implementation of storage structures. The next three papers propose excursions in the foundations of nested relations and complex objects. The following six contributions are all devoted to modeling of complex objects. The area of database design is represented by the last four papers.

Autorentext
Serge Abiteboul is a researcher at INRIA Saclay and ENS Cachan and co-founder of the start-up Xyleme.

Inhalt
The advanced information management prototype.- Verso: A database machine based on nested relations.- The two roles of nested relations in the DASDBS project.- A storage structure for Nested Relational Databases.- Four views of complex objects: A sophisticate's introduction.- An introduction to the completeness of languages for complex objects and nested relations.- On the uniqueness of nested relations.- An introduction to the Nested Sequences of Tuples data model and algebra.- Recursively defined complex objects.- Query languages for Nested Relational Databases.- Nested relations and recursive queries.- Realization of nested relation interfaces for relational and network databases.- An approach to manage large inheritance networks within a DBS supporting nested relations.- On the normalization in Nested Relational Databases.- Complex objects modeling: An entity-relationship approach.- A data model for complex objects based on a semantic database model and nested relations.- ?-Acyclicdatabase schemes and nested relations.