Until recently, information systems have been designed around different business functions, such as accounts payable and inventory control. Object-oriented modeling, in contrast, structures systems around the data--the objects--that make up the various business functions. Because information about a particular function is limited to one place--to the object--the system is shielded from the effects of change. Object-oriented modeling also promotes better understanding of requirements, clear designs, and more easily maintainable systems. This book focuses on recent developments in representational and processing aspects of complex data-intensive applications. The chapters cover "hot" topics such as application behavior and consistency, reverse engineering, interoperability and collaboration between objects, and work-flow modeling. Each chapter contains a review of its subject, followed by object-oriented modeling techniques and methodologies that can be applied to real-life applications. Contributors: F. Casati, S. Ceri, R. Cicchetti, L. M. L. Delcambre, E. F. Ecklund, D. W. Embley, G. Engels, J. M. Gagnon, R. Godin, M. Gogolla, L. Groenewegen, G. S. Jensen, G. Kappel, B. J. Kr�mer, S. W. Liddle, R. Missaoui, M. Norrie, M. P. Papazoglou, C. Parent, B. Perniei, P. Poncelet, G. Pozzi, M. Schreft, R. T. Snodgrass, S. Spaccapietra, M. Stumptner, M. Teisseire, W. J. van den Heuevel, S. N. Woodfield.

About the Author

Michael P. Papazoglou is Professor of Computer Science and Director of INFOLAB at the University of Tilburg in the Netherlands. Stefano Spaccapietra is Professor and Director of the Database Laboratory in the Computer Science Department at L'Ecole Polytechnique F�d�rale de Lausanne. Zahir Tari is Senior Lecturer and project leader of the Distributed Object Research Group at Royal Melbourne Institute of Technology.

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