Abstract
The development of database applications is usually carried out informally. In this paper, we propose an extension to the traditional database design process aimed at formalizing the development of (relational) database applications. Specifically, we present a general method which prescribes how to specify the important aspects of relational database applications using Z. It includes the definition of relations, the specification of candidate and foreign keys, and querying and updating of relations, including error handling. Some features of the relational model itself are specified as pre-defined operators which simplify the use of the method. We illustrate the method using a simple example application.
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© 1992 British Computer Society
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de Barros, R.S.M., Harper, D.J. (1992). A Method for the Specification of Relational Database Applications. In: Nicholls, J.E. (eds) Z User Workshop, York 1991. Workshops in Computing. Springer, London. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-1-4471-3203-5_13
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DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/978-1-4471-3203-5_13
Publisher Name: Springer, London
Print ISBN: 978-3-540-19780-5
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