Developing a conceptual model for an integrated database

The paper describes a conceptual model developed by the OSCON team at the University of Salford in the UK in order to facilitate the development of an integrated database. A suite of demonstration applications is being developed These will consist of a CAD package, a cost estimating tool and an import/export link to an existing project planning package and a VRML interface. The software is being developed in C++ on the PC under Windows NT using the Microsoft Foundation Classes application framework. The ObjectStore OODBMS is being used in conjunction with the Object Engineering Workbench (OEW) modelling software to implement the project database. The OEW software is used to develop an object model which can support the applications which are within the scope of the project. The paper describes the conceptual core model and the methodology which is used to develop it. The conceptual model consists of a set of core objects linked by relationships which reflect the requirements of the integrated database.