Institutions: integrating objects, XML and databases

A general model theory based on institutions is proposed as a formal framework for investigating typed object-oriented, XML and other data models equipped with integrity constraints. A major challenge in developing such a unified model theory is in the requirement that it must be able to handle major structural differences between the targeted models as well as the significant differences in the logic bases of their associated constraint languages. A distinctive feature of this model theory is that it is transformation-oriented. It is based on structural transformations within a particular category of models or across different categories with a fundamental requirement that the associated constraints are managed in such a way that the database integrity is preserved.