Nested Ordered Sets and their Use for Data Modelling

Abstract: In this paper we present a new approach to data modelling, called the concept-oriented model (CoM), and describe its main features and characteristics including data semantics and operations. The distinguishing feature of this model is that it is based on the formalism of nested ordered sets where any element participates in two structures simultaneously: hierarchical (nested) and multi-dimensional (ordered). An element of the model is postulated to consist of two parts, called identity and entity, and the whole approach can be naturally broken into two branches: identity modelling and entity modelling. We also propose a new query language with the main construct, called concept, defined as a pair of two classes: identity class and entity class. We describe how its operations of projection, de-projection and product can be used to solve typical data modelling tasks.