A methodology for creating user views in database design

Abstract

The View Creation System (VCS) is an expert system that engages a user in a dialogue about the information requirements for some application, develops an Entity-Relationship model for the user's database view, and then converts the E-R model to a set of Fourth Normal Form relations. This paper describes the knowledge base of VCS. That is, it presents a formal methodology, capable of mechanization as a computer program, for accepting requirements from a user, identifying and resolving inconsistencies, redundancies, and ambiguities, and ultimately producing a normalized relational representation. Key aspects of the methodology are illustrated by applying VCS's knowledge base to an actual database design task.