A prototype database is a model of a database which
exhibits the desired properties, in terms of its
schema and data values, of an operational database.
Database prototyping has been proposed as a technique
to support the database application development
process. Existing work on this area has been widely
ignored in practice mainly on the grounds that its
benefits, i.e. an increase in the quality of the
resulting software systems, do not justify the costs
of developing and using a satisfactory prototype of
the database under construction.
Increasingly more software development projects
consist of extending or enhancing existing systems,
as opposed to developing new ones. Examples include
legacy information systems migration and WEB-enabling
existing systems. In these types of projects, using
the entire operational database may not be
cost-effective and a carefully selected subset may be
more appropriate. The availability of operational
data and a database schema can significantly reduce
the effort required to build an appropriate prototype
database to support the project at hand. This work
investigates how such a prototype database should be
constructed.
exhibits the desired properties, in terms of its
schema and data values, of an operational database.
Database prototyping has been proposed as a technique
to support the database application development
process. Existing work on this area has been widely
ignored in practice mainly on the grounds that its
benefits, i.e. an increase in the quality of the
resulting software systems, do not justify the costs
of developing and using a satisfactory prototype of
the database under construction.
Increasingly more software development projects
consist of extending or enhancing existing systems,
as opposed to developing new ones. Examples include
legacy information systems migration and WEB-enabling
existing systems. In these types of projects, using
the entire operational database may not be
cost-effective and a carefully selected subset may be
more appropriate. The availability of operational
data and a database schema can significantly reduce
the effort required to build an appropriate prototype
database to support the project at hand. This work
investigates how such a prototype database should be
constructed.