Data Structure Extraction in Database Reverse Engineering

摘要

Database reverse engineering is a complex activity that can be modeled as a sequence of two major processes, namely data structure extraction and data structure conceptualization. The first process consists in reconstructing the logical - that is, DBMS-dependent - schema, while the second process derives the conceptual specification of the data from this logical schema. This paper concentrates on the first process, and more particularly on the reasonings and the decision process through which the implicit and hidden data structures and constraints are elicited from various sources.