Toward the design of a semantic communication protocol in heterogeneous database systems

The problem of semantic reconciliation in heterogeneous databases is discussed. In general, semantic differences are context dependent. The context within which the semantics are interpreted must thus be clearly understood to facilitate reconciliation. Knowledge-based techniques are one approach used to model the context. It assumes that the semantics of data exchanged can be captured. Another approach models the interaction process itself rather than the knowledge exchanged. A drawback of both of these approaches is that the set of possible interactions is predefined and the type of interaction is independent of the knowledge conveyed. The authors believe that a single model which determines the type of interaction dynamically based on the knowledge exchanged is the solution. This model should allow dynamic evolution of the context within which the dialogue is to be conducted to reconcile the semantic differences.<>