Overview
ISO/TR 9007:1987 is an ISO Technical Report (type 3) that establishes the fundamental concepts and terminology for the conceptual schema and the information base in information processing systems. Published in 1987 by ISO/TC 97, the report provides a conceptual framework - not a prescriptive language - intended to support discussion, design and eventual standardization of conceptual schema facilities in DBMS products. Appendices A–H present explanatory approaches and example languages (Entity‑Attribute‑Relationship, binary/n‑ary relationships, interpreted predicate logic, dynamic rules, etc.) to illustrate concepts; these appendices are illustrative rather than normative.
Key Topics
- Definitions and glossary: core terminology for entities, classes, rules, constraints, and the universe of discourse (Appendix A).
- Conceptual schema roles and requirements: purpose, scope and roles of a conceptual schema in data base systems; guidelines for content and composition.
- Static vs dynamic aspects: modelling of both state (static) and behaviour (dynamic) of information systems; expressing rules and constraints (Appendices G, H).
- Mechanisms for manipulation: basic concepts for actions on conceptual schemata and information bases, and coordination of permissible actions.
- Modelling approaches: overviews and examples of Entity‑Attribute‑Relationship, binary/elementary n‑ary relationships, and interpreted predicate logic (Appendices D–F).
- Architectural principles: endorsement of the ANSI/SPARC three‑level architecture (conceptual, external, internal) and discussion of the Information Resource Dictionary Systems (IRDS) model and mappings to implementation.
- Examples and syntax: an example universe of discourse, a Pascal syntax notation for grammar definition, and example conceptual schemata.
Applications and Users
ISO/TR 9007 is targeted to:
- Database designers and system architects designing conceptual schemata and mapping them to physical schemas.
- DBMS vendors and suppliers evaluating or implementing conceptual schema facilities and constraint/rule mechanisms.
- Systems analysts and data modelers who need a common vocabulary and framework for describing the universe of discourse.
- Researchers and educators teaching data modeling, schema design and DBMS architecture.
Practical uses include evaluating DBMS features, guiding conceptual schema language design, informing three‑level schema mappings, and documenting rules/constraints for shared information bases in distributed environments.
Related standards and frameworks
- ANSI/SPARC three‑schema framework (referenced and used as foundation).
- Reference Model for Open Systems Interconnection (discussed for correspondence with three‑level architecture).
- ISO/TR 9007 is a Type 3 Technical Report (state‑of‑the‑art guidance), intended to inform future standardization rather than to prescribe implementation.