Data structures and accessing in data-base systems, Part I: Evolution of information systems
by M. E. Senko, E. B. Altman, M. M. Astrahan, P. L. Fehder
Presented in three parts is a descriptive analysis of data-base information systems. Part I reviews the evolution of data-base systems to reveal the direction of their growth and applications. Emphasized are the two primary functions of data-base systems: storage and maintenance of structured information; and presentation of structured output information. Part II discusses the structuring of information, and introduces a new fundamental approach to this structuring. The approach provides a stable information oriented terminology for relating the conceptual frameworks of existing systems and future systems. Part III presents a framework, the Data Independent Accessing Model (DIAM), for describing information and its stored representations. The generality of this framework allows the model to describe most stored representations of existing systems in detail. Over the long term, it can provide a conceptual basis for systematic migration to systems with new improved capabilities.
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