The multi-lingual database system

Abstract

In the past, the design and implementation of a database system has followed a rather conventional approach. First, a specific data model for the database system is chosen. Second, a corresponding model-based data language is then specified. The result of this traditional approach to the database-system development is a mono-lingual database system where the user sees and uses the database system with a specific data model and its model-based data language. The conventional practice for the database-system design and implementation mandates that a database system must be restricted tot a single data model and a specific model-based data language. This paper introduces a new and unconventional approach to the design and implementation of a database system, the multi-lingual database system (MLDS). The multi-lingual database system is a single database system that can execute many transactions written respectively in different data languages and support many databases structured correspondingly in various data models. For example, this multi-lingual database system can run DL/I transactions on IMS databases, CODASYL-DML transactions on network database, SQL transactions on relational databases and Daplex transactions on entity-relationship databases, where the system appears to the user like a heterogeneous collection of database systems. Thus, a multi-lingual database system allows the old transactions and existing databases to be migrated to the new environment, the experienced user to continue to utilize certain favorite features of existing data languages and data models, the new user to explore the strong features of the various data languages and data models, the hardware upgrade to be focused on a single system instead of a heterogeneous collection of database systems, and the database application to cover wider types of transactions and different modes of interactions