Standardization on bitemporal information representation in BCDM

Abstract

For conveniently analyzing semantic and updating data, it is urgent to unify the expression forms of bitemporal information in Bitemporal Conceptual Data Model (BCDM). In this paper, we firstly summary three typical forms about bitemporal information expression and extract temporal characteristics of entity attributes; then we present the transfer conditions between any two of the three forms and corresponding transfer methods; finally we propose a simple and unified form of bitemporal information expression and offer necessary proofs. Experimental study indicates that this unified standardization form favors the continuity and repeatability meaning of entity within the valid times, and effectively decrease the information storage space and operation response time.