0.5 setgray00.5 setgray0.250.5 setgray0.50.5 setgray0.750.5 setgray1

0.5 setgray0 0.5 setgray0.25 0.5 setgray0.5 0.5 setgray0.75 0.5 setgray1

Towards a Theory of Genericity Based onGovernment and Binding

ER 2006

Tucson

November 2006

Alexander Bienemann, Klaus-Dieter Schewe,Bernhard Thalheim

Ariva.de Kiel & Massey University & Kiel University

1

GBGenericity

November 2006

B. Thalheim

SurveyGenericity

Generic workflows

Generic functions

Development

Implementation

Finally

Story Actor

Media types

WIS

Our main contributions

Development of database and information systems based on step-

wise refinement and intensions of already specified content

Background of genericity: linguistics (government and binding)

linguistics and Web IS (word fields, media types)

programming languages (higher-order functions)

Genericity during database and information systems development

based on abstraction and refinement

based explicit interpretation and implicit meaning

of concepts to be used

Generic workflows derived from our background and commonsense

knowledge

Theoretical basis through generic functions, generic composers

Application in practice based on specification templates

2

GBGenericity

November 2006

B. Thalheim

SurveyGenericity

Generic workflows

Generic functions

Development

Implementation

Finally

Story Actor

Media types

WIS

Government and binding�� ��The best part of Chomsky’s heritage

General way of utterance statement: extract, transform, load

Phonological form9

stylistic and phonological rulesz

β rules

Logical form

?α rules

S-structure

D-structure-Lexicon of basic concepts

General way of utterance statement in foreign language:

extract, transform, rephrase, load

General way of forming ideas: reason, rephrase, conceptualize

Layering of functionality, content: transport, structure, organi-

se, communicate

General way of collaborating: coordinate, communicate, coope-

rate

3

GBGenericity

November 2006

B. Thalheim

SurveyGenericity

Generic workflows

Generic functions

Development

Implementation

Finally

Story Actor

Media types

WIS

Genericity in Daily Life

Submit a paper, a document,...expecting a confirmation, storage of submission

Contribute content to somethingsupplying to community and sharing it

with certain obligations and responsibilities

quality obligations for its correctness

Inform somebody about somethinginformation must be based in information demand

understandable, perceivable, integratable

Join an association, community, ...role of a member of the community

commitment to coordination style and pattern

certain behaviour in the future and collaboration

Learn easy to grasp and simple to represent contentgain content and knowledge, understand, and discover

memorizing, able to perform some task, know this ability

role of a learner or student

supported by other actors who teach and instruct

4

GBGenericity

November 2006

B. Thalheim

SurveyGenericity

Generic workflows

Generic functions

Development

Implementation

Finally

Story Actor

Media types

WIS

Genericity in Daily Life

Submit a paper, a document,...expecting a confirmation, storage of submission

Contribute content to somethingsupplying to community and sharing it

with certain obligations and responsibilities

quality obligations for its correctness

Inform somebody about somethinginformation must be based in information demand

understandable, perceivable, integratable

Join an association, community, ...role of a member of the community

commitment to coordination style and pattern

certain behaviour in the future and collaboration

Learn easy to grasp and simple to represent contentgain content and knowledge, understand, and discover

memorizing, able to perform some task, know this ability

role of a learner or student

supported by other actors who teach and instruct

5

GBGenericity

November 2006

B. Thalheim

SurveyGenericity

Generic workflows

Generic functions

Development

Implementation

Finally

Story Actor

Media types

WIS

Genericity in Daily Life

Submit a paper, a document,...additional actions, permanency

Contribute content to somethingpeople context

portfolio

requirements

Inform somebody about somethingintentions

profile

Join an association, community, ...storyboard

contracting in advance

behaving in future

Learn easy to grasp and simple to represent contentprofile and content

abilities and content

portfolio and functionality

collaboration

6

GBGenericity

November 2006

B. Thalheim

SurveyGenericity

Generic workflows

Generic functions

Development

Implementation

Finally

Story Actor

Media types

WIS

Application of our theory to webinformation systems development�� ��1. Extracting Genericity Requirements

• Content chunks representing content, concepts and topics

• Function chunks representing all functionality requirements

• Storyboard of the WIS

• Media type requirements (data, content, functions, containers, per-

formance, operational, maintainability, support, security )

• Representation requirements (look and feel, grids and pattern)

• Storyboard requirements (usability, humanity, privacy, cultural, po-

litical, legal) �� ��2. Conceptual modelling, specification�� ��3. Logical and physical development

7

GBGenericity

November 2006

B. Thalheim

SurveyGenericity

Generic workflows

Generic functions

Development

Implementation

Finally

Story Actor

Media types

WIS

Surprising and Novel Observation:Database Specification Is Essentially Based

on Genericity

• Generic specification of the database application

(S, ) for structuring and functionality with

S = (S,ΣS) (structure and static integrity constraints)

• α-rules for extending (S, ) to

(S = (S,ΣS),F∗ = (Alg(F),ΣF))

for the algebra generated from the basic functions F(retrieval, modification, and service functions)

and dynamic integrity constraints ΣF

or simply the ground schema

(S = (S,ΣS),F = (F ,ΣF))

• Mapping (S = (S,ΣS),F = (F ,ΣF)) to

(SABC = (SABC ,ΣSABC),FABC = (FABC ,ΣFABC

))

is based on β-rules

for ABC ∈ {SQL92, SQL : 1999, SQL : 2003, XML, ...}

8

GBGenericity

November 2006

B. Thalheim

SurveyGenericity

Generic workflows

Generic functions

Development

Implementation

Finally

Story Actor

Media types

WIS

Genericity in Detail: Join a SocietyThe joining process dimension

ApplicationSupporters,witnesses,advisors,attractors

Trialperiod

Membersprofile

Apply Admittedmember

Memberwith rights andobligations

Apply to join the society ..... .....

Join a society

General facets of joining:

Society-oriented selection of new members

Admission process based on rules of societies in general

Assignment process for temporal rights, obligations, roles

9

GBGenericity

November 2006

B. Thalheim

SurveyGenericity

Generic workflows

Generic functions

Development

Implementation

Finally

Story Actor

Media types

WIS

Genericity in Detail: Join a SocietyThe actor and activity dimension

...

Roles Rights Obligations Restrictions

Join, admit to be a member Communicate

Join and contribute ..... .....

Join a society

General facets of stories and scenarios of people being a member

Behaviour like a member with rights, roles, obligations, permissions,restrictions

Contribution of members in the society received, communicated,elaborated

Documentation of the work

Privacy of the work

10

GBGenericity

November 2006

B. Thalheim

SurveyGenericity

Generic workflows

Generic functions

Development

Implementation

Finally

Story Actor

Media types

WIS

Genericity in Detail: Join a SocietyThe work dimension

...

Portfolio Workflow Documents

Society task

Time Contract Restrictions

Coordinate

Cooperate ...

Join a society

Working, contributing, exchanging in a society

Goals and intentions of the society are supported

Tasks and portfolio of the society are driving behaviour

Work products of the work in the society

Coordination among the members of the society

11

GBGenericity

November 2006

B. Thalheim

SurveyGenericity

Generic workflows

Generic functions

Development

Implementation

Finally

Story Actor

Media types

WIS

Genericity in Detail: Join a SocietyThe context dimension

..... .....

Port-folio

Work-flow

Docu-ments

Society task

Document,behaviour

rules

Contract

as xycitizen

based onprofile

of member

based onfunctionsof member

Restrictionsand priorities

Rules of the society

Society ...

Join a society

Each society expects a certain behaviour

Specific tasks, society profiles,

Specific society atmosphere based on written/unwritten rules

Specific styles and pattern of interaction and collaboration

12

GBGenericity

November 2006

B. Thalheim

SurveyGenericity

Generic workflows

Generic functions

Development

Implementation

Finally

Story Actor

Media types

WIS

What is The Essence?

Componentabstraction

Contextabstraction

Detailabstraction

Abstraction

Generalisationspecialisationhierarchies

Grouping,Class

development

Aggregationand

decomposition

ComponentrefinementSmith/Smith

Contextactivation

Detaildevelopment,Implementation

Refinement

13

GBGenericity

November 2006

B. Thalheim

SurveyGenericity

Generic workflows

Generic functions

Development

Implementation

Finally

Story Actor

Media types

WIS

What is The Essence?

Comp.abstr.

Viewing,scoping,

localisationcontext

Temporalcontext

abstraction

Storycontext

abstraction

Usagecontext

abstraction

Systemcontext

abstraction

Contextabstraction

Detailabstr.

Abstraction

Commonsense context of concepts behind words used

Work product context of documents consumed, produced,revised, displayed depending on visitors/members profile

Generic rule context or generic story context

History context resulting in and requiring adaptation

Technical environment context depending on service, providers,users

14

GBGenericity

November 2006

B. Thalheim

SurveyGenericity

Generic workflows

Generic functions

Development

Implementation

Finally

Story Actor

Media types

WIS

What Do We Need, What To Develop?

Generic workflows with a specification framebased on α- and β−rules

Generic functions based on α- and β−rules

composition functions for generic functionsconsistent with α- and β−rules

enhanced by coiteration, higher-order polymorphism and

structural recursion

Generic documents or media types√

Generic bindings based on co-developmentof refinement through α- and β−rulesand

Exploration for DB and IS

Application in practice

15

GBGenericity

November 2006

B. Thalheim

SurveyGenericity

Generic workflows

Generic functions

Development

Implementation

Finally

Story Actor

Media types

WIS

Generic workflowsworkflow suite: set of workflows

bundled together by an association schemamaintained by consistency requirements

Specification frameDescription: general CSP expression

based on generic functions

Context explicitly specified

Applicability: circumstances

Interactions: requires media types for its support

Consequences: non-applicability of other workflows or restrictions

Strategies: mapping based on a number of α-rules,β-rules to map to workflow instantiations

Related generic workflows

16

GBGenericity

November 2006

B. Thalheim

SurveyGenericity

Generic workflows

Generic functions

Development

Implementation

Finally

Story Actor

Media types

WIS

Generic FunctionsFunctionalisation (S,F,Σ, s0)

• specification of structuringS = (S, V )

• database schema S = (T S,ΣS)T S: set of types according to the type systemΣS: set of static integrity constraints,

• set of views V upon S

• function application F,

• set of dynamic integrity constraints Σ on S,

• distinguished initial state s0

17

GBGenericity

November 2006

B. Thalheim

SurveyGenericity

Generic workflows

Generic functions

Development

Implementation

Finally

Story Actor

Media types

WIS

Functionalization Space with ThreeDimensions

6

-

Refinement

Contextembedding

Instantiation

(S1, F 1,Σ1, s10)

(S2, F 2,Σ2, s20)j

:...

18

GBGenericity

November 2006

B. Thalheim

SurveyGenericity

Generic workflows

Generic functions

Development

Implementation

Finally

Story Actor

Media types

WIS

Developing Generic Governorsgovernor G

• function G : C × GW → WSgeneric workflow GWcontext Cworkflow suite WS

Practical purposes: term rewriting rules for the governors

- *

:z

j -:

Define generic workflow

Apply α- and β−rules

Restrict by governors

19

GBGenericity

November 2006

B. Thalheim

SurveyGenericity

Generic workflows

Generic functions

Development

Implementation

Finally

Story Actor

Media types

WIS

Examples of Basic Generic Workflows�� ��Data Accessor

Description: encapsulates physical access details into logical access

expose logical operations, encapsulate physical operations; expose logical resources,encapsulate physical resources; normalize and format data;encapsulate platform details; encapsulate optimization details

Context: advanced ETL logic, MVC grid

Applicability: hide physical access complixity/optimization/semantics

Structure: layered proxy frame

(AccessPath.QueryExpression, TransformExpression, ResultForm)

ConcreteDataAccessor(DataAccessor(operationSet(Params)), PhysicalDBDriver)

Interactions: sequence diagram with objects(AnApplicat, AConcreteDBAcc, APhysDBDriver)

ControlBlock(StartOpA; StartPhysOpA; ReturnPhysResA; ReturnOpA)

Consequences: (-) limits application control of data access;(+) independence, optimization, swappable

Strategies: α-rule (GenFct � MVC grid), β-rule(MVC grid � Program)

define versatile logical operations; incorporate enhancements and optimization points;guard against inefficient application usage; guard for errors and exceptions

Related Pattern: JDBC, ODBC access pattern; adapter pattern, actract factory

pattern

20

GBGenericity

November 2006

B. Thalheim

SurveyGenericity

Generic workflows

Generic functions

Development

Implementation

Finally

Story Actor

Media types

WIS

Examples of Basic Generic Workflows�� ��Active Media Type Object

Description: encapsulate data model and access details within media types

container object relieve application code of any db interaction

Context: schema matching; initialize, refresh, save, list; ETL

Applicability: mask legacy, hide complexity, grouping into combined objects,

containers supporting sessions

Structure: application(activeContainerObject (Structure,QueryAnswerForm(MediaTypeObject)))

specific logging facilities

Interactions: MSC between applications, containers and media objects depen-

ding on policies for data modification and bindings

through protocols and workflows

Consequences: (-) spreads access across, limits application control(+) clean application code, application code independence,

grouping data access

Strategies: α-rules: db schemata and procedures, domain logic,separate collections from objects

β-rules: connection management, state maintenance

Related Pattern: XML exchange documents, EJB, bean-managed persistence

21

GBGenericity

November 2006

B. Thalheim

SurveyGenericity

Generic workflows

Generic functions

Development

Implementation

Finally

Story Actor

Media types

WIS

Examples of Basic Generic Workflows�� ��Media Type Collaborator

Description: encapsulation of media type collaboration

Context: schema matching; determine appropriate media types, issue the queries,

parse the query results, deliver the results

Applicability: versatility of schemata mappings

Structure: application(OwnMediaTypes, MediaObjectSuiteManager)MediaObjectSuite(MediaObjectSuiteManager, Profiler, CollaboratingMe-

diaObjectSuite)

Interactions: application.read(MediaObjectSuite);mediaObjectSuite.find(Profiler);mediaObjectSuite.collaborate(CollaboratingMediaObjectSuite);mediaObjectSuite.create(CollaboratingObjects)

Consequences: (-) limits application control of access(+) clean application code, database independence

Strategies: α-rules: profiling, suite workspace creation

β-rules: identity matching, aggregation detection,inheritance orchestration

Related Pattern: Java data object (JDO), container-managed persistence

22

GBGenericity

November 2006

B. Thalheim

SurveyGenericity

Generic workflows

Generic functions

Development

Implementation

Finally

Story Actor

Media types

WIS

Examples of Basic Generic Workflows�� ��Service

Description: stack orthogonal features that address data access issues with in-

creasing level of abstraction

Context: abstraction in terms of less abstract objects; domain object mapping;

data conversion; data operation mapping; resource management; distribution;

caching; authorization; logging

Applicability: separatability of features, incremental levels, build gradually

Structure: application(...., ImportServiceMediaType);

service(ExportMediaTypes, ImportServiceMediaTypes) with competences

accessService(ExportMediaTypes)

functional expression on services with access service as basic service

Interactions: delegation to inner services with semaphores

Consequences: (-) layer interaction and initialization complexity(+) functional decomposition, feature modularization,feature detail encapsulation, layer pluggability

Strategies: α-rules: top-down understanding,sequentialization/algorithmication

β-rules: stub layering, isolation of layer initializations

Related Pattern: architecture pattern, abstraction pattern

23

GBGenericity

November 2006

B. Thalheim

SurveyGenericity

Generic workflows

Generic functions

Development

Implementation

Finally

Story Actor

Media types

WIS

Applicable?

• Internet and cable net information-intensive services

• Cottbusnet and 35 other website projects

Codesign of structuring, functionality, and interacti-

vity

Content-on-interest + Content-on-profile-and-portfolio +

Delivery-on-context !!! + Adaptation-on-context !!!

• Intelligent personalized internet in set-top-box-based TV

Codesign of structuring, functionality, distribution

and interactivity

TV/Radio-on-interest + Cinema-on-demand + Internet-on-

profile + Internal-communication-among-users

24

GBGenericity

November 2006

B. Thalheim

SurveyGenericity

Generic workflows

Generic functions

Development

Implementation

Finally

Story Actor

Media types

WIS

Our achievements and contribution

Development of database and information systems based on step-

wise refinement and intensions of already specified content

Background of genericity: linguistics (government and binding)

linguistics and Web IS (word fields, media types)

programming languages (higher-order functions)

Genericity during database and information systems development

based on abstraction and refinement

based explicit interpretation and implicit meaning

of concepts to be used

Generic workflows derived from our background and commonsense

knowledge

Theoretical basis through generic functions, generic composers

Application in practice based on specification templates

25