View updates and constraint validations in collaborative design environments

Abstract

In collaborative designs that are either intracompany or intercompany, data security and integrity validation are two major concerns. Even though design views can be used effectively for access controls, view updates may cause violation of integrity constraints defined for the base designs. This article focuses on the validation of integrity constraints after view updates. Following standard for the exchange of product model data methodologies, information model is defined by EXPRESS and views are defined by EXPRESS-X. Shared design data are stored in a relational database system (e.g. Oracle 11g XE). The integrity constraints defined in EXPRESS schema are translated into UNIQUE and CHECK and triggers in SQL. Then, they are automatically validated after view updates. Because the paradigm presented in this article is based on open standards such as EXPRESS, EXPRESS-X, and SQL, it is independent from any proprietary system and suitable for collaborative design environments that consist of heterogeneous systems.