Constraints in Complex Object Database Models

Database design almost invariably includes a specification of a set of rules (the integrity constraints) which should guarantee its consistency. Constraints are expressed in various fashions, depending on the data model, e.g. sub-sets of first order logic, or inclusion dependencies and predicates on row values, or methods in OO environments. Provided that an adequate formalism to express them is available, the following question arises?? Is there any way to populate a database which satisfieses the constraints supplied by a designer? Means of answering to this question should be embedded in automatic design tools, whose use is recommendable or often required in the difficult task of designing complex database schemas. The contribution of this research is to propose a computational solution to the problem of schema consistency in Complex Object Data Models