Abstract
The process of resolving conflicts between local integrity specifications is an important part of heterogeneous database schema integration. However, previous research in this area has not addressed this problem. ?he aim of this paper is to present the work undertaken in extending a software tool that integrates heterogeneous schemas to cater for heterogeneity in integrity specifications, while producing a single homogeneous federated schema. Our prototype system is being used as a testbed for the development of a more generic tool to integrate different types of integrity rules and to investigate a wider range of related problems, such as integrity rule context. The novelty of our approach lies in its practicality and extensibility to incorporate various types of constraints. So far as we know, the taxonomy we have developed as a basis for the merging process is the first comprehensive taxonomy in the literature. The result of this work will be used to assist the operation of a global query processor which is being developed for an Object-Oriented multidatabase environment.