The author describes how the extended non-first-normal-form (ENFNF) data model in combination with a recursion mechanism based on functions with implicit termination is a promising vehicle for the database part of software engineering systems. Functions have been used primarily as a tool for implementing recursive queries. It is shown how dependencies between software objects can be modeled by objects of the ENFNF data model in a convenient and natural way. Moreover, arbitrary dependencies can be queried by functionally recursive queries in a natural way. Nevertheless, the method is not limited to software engineering systems. Implementation techniques are presented.
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