The syntax of BLOOM99 schemas

The BLOOM (BarceLona Object Oriented Model) data model was developed to be the Canonical Data Model (CDM) of a Federated Database Management System prototype. Its design satisfies the features that a data model should have to be suitable as a CDM. The initial version of the model (BLOOM91) has evolved into the present version, BLOOM99. This report specifies the syntax of the schema definition language of BLOOM99. In our model, a schema is a set of classes, related through two dimensions: the generalization/specialization dimension, and the aggregation/decomposition dimension. BLOOM supports several features in each of these dimensions, through their corresponding metaclasses. Even if users are supposed to define and modify schemas in an interactive way, using a Graphical User Interface, a linear schema definition language is clearly needed. Syntax diagrams are used in this report to specify the language; an alternative using grammar productions appears as Appendix A. A possible graphical notation is given in Appendix B. A comprehensive running example illustrates the model, the language and its syntax, and the graphical notation.