Complex view support for a library database system

摘要

This article describes an interface mechanism called “complex view support,” to be used with a relational database system (RDBS) in supporting an increasingly complex distributed environment in automated library systems. Until now, an RDBS has not been suitable for library management work such as cataloging and retrieving because of the restriction that the data should be in the form of flat tables. However, the RDBS potential, which provides flexibility in sharing, recovery, and security, in addition to storing and managing large data banks efficiently, has become even more attractive in the modern library system. Thus, an interface system is proposed that refers queries to multidimensional tables as well as to flat tables on RDBS. It is shown that the system is efficient for a library with a distributed environment and growing operations.