An active database model for representing engineering design, simulation and monitoring applications is described. The physical aspects of these applications are modeled by structural objects. The functions of the application are modeled by functional objects. The interaction between structures and functions is modeled by interaction objects. Events relate structures and functions such that any state change will cause the functional model to compute the new consistent state of the application. Ways to model event correlation, event recall, and ways to define schemas for continuous systems are presented. A parallel computing architecture and a set of guidelines on task distributing that make the model applicable to real-time application are discussed.>

A presentation is made of a structure-function (S-F) paradigm for representing engineering designs. The S-F paradigm treats structures and functions as first-class objects by modeling the physical configuration of the design as structural objects and the behavior of the design as functional objects. The paradigm supports engineering designs by using the associative knowledge between structures and functions to help in the design process and to support simulation by providing for a run-time interaction between structures and functions. The S-F paradigm would be generally applicable to model the passive and active information in any complex system. It may be implemented as a layer on top of any object-oriented model.>

An interactive tool has been developed to assist database designers and administrators (DDA) in integrating schemas. It collects the information required for integration from a DDA, performs essential bookkeeping, and integrates schemas according to the semantics provided. The authors present the capabilities of this tool by discussing the integration methodology and the user interface of the tool.>