Meta-model Based Information Mediation

Abstract

INTRODUCTION Information mediation is a research area that deals with integrating information from different, usually heterogeneous, information sources, including regular databases, XML source, record files, email systems, etc. The software that handles or masks data heterogeneity from end users is called a mediator. ABSTRACT Information mediation is one of the major approaches to solve interoperability problems related to heterogeneous information integration. This paper first discusses the concept of information mediation and typical mediation architecture. Two major mediation research projects, TSIMMIS and MIX, and their limitations, are discussed. Meta-model, a way for exchanging metadata, is then introduced for the purpose of improving information mediation. Finally, a meta-model based mediation approach is proposed. 701 E. Chocolate Avenue, Hershey PA 17033-1240, USA Tel: 717/533-8845; Fax 717/533-8661; URL-http://www.idea-group.com IDEA GROUP PUBLISHING