Enhancing OODB Semantics to Support Browsing in an OODB

In previous work, we have modeled a vocabulary given as a semantic network by an OODB (Object-Oriented Database). The OODB schema thus obtained provides a compact abstract view of the vocabulary. This enables fast traversal of the vocabulary by a user. In the semantic network vocabulary, the IS-A relationships express the specialization hierarchy. In our OODB modeling of the vocabulary, the SUBCLASS relationship expresses the specialization hierarchy of the classes and supports the inheritance of their properties. A typical IS-A path in the vocabulary has a corresponding shorter SUBCLASS path in the OODB schema