Definition
Conceptual schema design is the process of generating a description of the contents of a database in high-level terms that are natural and direct for users of the database. The process takes as input information requirements for the applications that will use the database, and produces a schema expressed in a conceptual modeling notation, such as the Extended Entity-Relationship (EER) Data Model or UML class diagrams. The challenges in designing a conceptual schema include: (i) turning informal information requirements into a cognitive model that describes unambiguously and completely the contents of the database-to-be; and (ii) using the constructs of a data modeling language appropriately to generate from the cognitive model a conceptual schema that reflects it as accurately as possible.
Historical Background
The history of conceptual schema design is intimately intertwined with that of conceptual data models (aka semantic data models). In fact, for many years researchers...
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Borgida, A., Mylopoulos, J. (2018). Conceptual Schema Design. In: Liu, L., Özsu, M.T. (eds) Encyclopedia of Database Systems. Springer, New York, NY. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-1-4614-8265-9_642
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