Dual Deep Instantiation and Its ConceptBase Implementation

Application integration requires the consideration of instance data and schema data. Instance data in one application may be schema data for another application, which gives rise to multiple instantiation levels. Using deep instantiation, an object may be deeply characterized by representing schema data about objects several instantiation levels below. Deep instantiation still demands a clear separation of instantiation levels: the source and target objects of a relationship must be at the same instantiation level. This separation is inadequate in the context of application integration. Dual deep instantiation (DDI), on the other hand, allows for relationships that connect objects at different instantiation levels. The depth of the characterization may be specified separately for each end of the relationship. In this paper, we present and implement set-theoretic predicates and axioms for the representation of conceptual models with DDI. Keywords: Conceptual Data Modeling, Metamodeling, Deep Characterization, Powertypes