An MDA approach for the development of spatial data warehouses

Abstract

In the past few years, several conceptual approaches have been proposed for the specification of the main multidimensional (MD) properties of the spatial data warehouses (SDW). However, these approaches often fail in providing mechanisms to univocally and automatically derive a logical representation. Even more, the spatial data often generates complex hierarchies (i.e., many-to-many) that have to be mapped to large and non-intuitive logical structures (i.e., bridge tables). To overcome these limitations, we implement a Model Driven Architecture (MDA) approach for spatial data warehouse development. In this paper, we present a spatial extension for the MD model to embed spatiality on it. Then, we formally define a set of Query/ View/ Transformation (QVT) transformation rules which allow us, to obtain a logical representation in an automatic way. Finally, we show how to implement the MDA approach in our Eclipse-based tool. © 2008 Springer-Verlag Berlin Heidelberg.