Reasoning about structured objects: Knowledge representation meets databases

Abstract

Structured objects are items with defined properties that are to be represented in a computer system. Research in Knowledge Representation (KR) and in Database Design (DB) has produced languages for describing structured objects. Although different in the particular means for defining properties, both areas share the goal of representing a part of the world in a structured way. Moreover, the rise of object-centred formalisms in the last decade has significantly influenced the convergence of languages.