Graphical Notation for Document Database Modeling

Goals and objectives. Graphical models have proven to be a reliable, clear and convenient tool for creating sketch models of databases. Most of the existing notations are designed for the relational data model, the dominant data model for the last thirty years. However, the development of information technologies has led to an increase in the popularity of non-relational data models, primarily the document model. One of the problems of its application in practice is the lack of suitable tools that allow performing graphical modeling of the database, taking into account the features of the document model, at the stage of logical design. The development of appropriate tools is an important and actual task, since their application in practical research makes it possible to identify, classify and analyze typical modeling errors that allow the designer to reduce the risk of their occurrence in the future. The purpose of this article is to develop a graphical notation that, on the one hand, providing convenience for the designer, and on the other hand, taking into account the peculiarities of creating and functioning of the noSQL document storage model.Materials and methods. The materials for the study were numerous publications devoted to the development of graphical notations in problems and their application to database design for various information systems. The selected materials were analyzed and the main graphical notations used to describe the relational data model were identified. Three notations were selected from them, a set of graphic stereotypes, which were most different from each other, the analysis of which allowed us to identify the main image patterns of the components of the relational model.The resulting patterns were applied to the main elements of the document database, which were obtained by analyzing the documentation of the popular MongoDB DBMS.Results. The result of the research was the creation of a new tool for modeling document databases at the logical level, which consists of a set of graphic stereotypes and rules for their application. On the one hand, the development is well known to practitioners who have previously worked with relational data models, since its development took into account many years of experience in using graphical models in the field of relational database design, and on the other hand, it reflects the features of the structure of the document model.Conclusion. The practical application of the developed model has shown the convenience of its use both in the process of designing document databases and in the process of teaching students within this subject area. The use of graphical models constructed in the proposed graphical notation will allow researchers to create and illustrate typical patterns of document databases, which will undoubtedly have a positive impact on the dynamics of the development of promising data storage technologies.

MecCog: A knowledge representation framework for genetic disease mechanism

ABSTRACTMotivationExperimental findings on genetic disease mechanisms are scattered throughout the literature and represented in many ways, including unstructured text, cartoons, pathway diagrams, and network graphs. Integration and structuring of such mechanistic information will greatly enhance its utility.ResultsMecCog is a graphical framework for building integrated representations (mechanism schemas) of mechanisms by which a genetic variant causes a disease phenotype. A MecCog mechanism schema displays the propagation of system perturbations across stages of biological organization, using graphical notations to symbolize perturbed entities and activities, hyperlinked evidence tagging, a mechanism ontology, and depiction of knowledge gaps, ambiguities, and uncertainties. The web platform enables a user to construct, store, publish, browse, query, and comment on schemas. MecCog facilitates the identification of potential biomarkers, therapeutic intervention sites, and critical future experiments.Availability and ImplementationThe MecCog framework is freely available at http://[email protected] informationSupplementary material is available at Bioinformatics online.

Adaptive Concept Map Approach for Software Requirements Validation

Requirements validation is one of the most significant and critical parts of the requirements engineering. This activity ensures that the set of requirements is accurate, right, complete, and consistent. Requirements validation is considered as the key activity because mistakes found in a software requirements document can lead to extensive rework costs when they are discovered either during development or after the system is in service. There are some commonly used bases to validate user requirements such as: Natural language, Design description languages, Graphical notations and Mathematical specification languages. Whereas the graphical notations are the most suitable means to be used in software requirements validation because it is easy to understand, and it can be easily created by analyst and time took. Therefore, this paper adopts the map concept which is a graphical technique for discovering the hidden flaws in software requirements in the early phases of software development lifecycle.

A Survey on Text-based Modeling in Model Evolution and Management

Model-driven software engineering methodologies like model-driven engineering aim to improve the productivity of software development by using graph-based models as the main artifacts during development, and generating the source code from these models. The models are usually displayed and edited using a graphical notation. However, they can also be described using a textual notation. This has some advantages and disadvantages compared to the graphical approach. For example, while editing the model, we can better focus on the details instead of a broad overview. Similarly to source code, models evolve rapidly during development. Handling and managing the evolution of models is an important task in model-driven methodologies and is an active research area today. However, there exist few research on text-based modeling approaches, compared to graph-based ones. This paper introduces the text-based modeling research field based on existing literature, and presents the state-of-the-art of the field related to model evolution and management. Our goal is to identify challenges and directions for future research in this field. The main topics covered are model differencing and merging, and the synchronization of the textual and graphical notations.

Towards knowledge interoperability between the UML, DMN, BPMN and CMMN models

Development of modern software systems consists of many different phases, the sequence of whom is referred to as the software life cycle. During these phases, business analysts gather requirements from clients and try to design a system in order to fulfil these requirements. Software design of complex systems exploits various notations for representing knowledge about system structure and behaviour, decisions, processes and different cases. These elements are modelled using such graphical notations, maintained by Object Management Group (OMG), such as UML (Unified Modelling Language), DMN (Decision Model and Notation), BPMN (Business Process Model and Notation), and CMMN (Case Management Model and Notation). In this paper, we present our work-in-progress analysis of the current state of the art in knowledge interchange for these notations. Moreover, we identify the integration or interchange approaches in terms of application areas. Our goal is to provide an input for an integrated method of designing systems with the use of these notations.

Differences in Visual Programming for GIS

ArcGIS and AutoCAD Map 3D are both geographic information system (GIS) software. Both are used worldwide in many countries and companies. The dataflow design in visual editors is suitable for daily work. Visual languages are valuable for wide user community. Dataflow design automatizes typical GIS tasks and makes the processes universal. It is possible to construct simple or complex workflows with a visual editor in both software. The concept of visual programming is highly acceptable for GIS users because they think spatially and graphically. The article presented practical example for automatic finding of suitable area for construction of new hotel. Two data flow diagrams for the same task demonstrate the differences between graphical notations in ArcGIS and AutoCAD Map.