16.7. Postrelational Databases

A conceptual schema may be mapped to various logical data models. The Rmap procedure discussed in Chapter 11 assumes that the application platform is a centralized, relational DBMS. It is a fairly simple task to specify other procedures for mapping to pre-relational systems such as hierarchic or network DBMSs. However, it has been argued that relational database systems are “out of date” and should be replaced by something better (e.g., object-oriented or deductive database systems). Moreover, there is a growing trend for databases to include special support for nontraditional kinds of data (e.g., spatial data, images, and sounds) and for databases to be decentralized in one way or another. This section outlines ...

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