Automatic validation of object-oriented database structures

The philosophy of explicitly representing simple range classes for properties and explicitly specifying range and/or cardinality restrictions on inherited properties is adopted so that the membership of an object in classes is characterized by the object's property values. The motivation for this approach is twofold: first, it is in keeping with the database philosophy of emphasizing the representation of an application (rather than some intrinsic meaning); and second, it provides a framework for algorithmically verifying the structural aspects of the schema. An automatic classifier for the structural validation of object-oriented schemas based on sound and complete rules of inference is presented. If the classifier discovers structural relationships and/or inconsistencies, the designer can refine the schema to reflect the semantics of the application. Thus the classifier serves as an interactive design tool that can be used at any stage during the design process.<>