Understanding and representing relationship semantics in database design

Abstract

Much of the research that deals with understanding the real world and representing it in a conceptual model uses the entity-relationship model as a means of representation. Although the relationship construct is a very important part of this model, the semantics of relationship verbs are usually not considered in much detail, due, in part, to their generic nature. In this research, an ontology for classifying relationships based upon their verb phrases is proposed. The ontology is intended to serve as a useful part of database design methodologies to understand, capture, and refine the semantics of an application. Testing of the ontology on a number of cases illustrates its usefulness.