ABSTRACT
In this chapter, we look at adapting proven tools used in designing database systems to the problem of designing deductive database systems: both advanced information systems and expert systems.
The readers of this text are assumed to be familiar with conventional database technology, and also with modelling techniques enabling them to apply database technology to the design of information systems. The material in this and the following chapters is independent of the particular information modelling technique employed, but we will use examples drawn from the variety known as entity-relationship modelling (ERA). This text so far has concentrated on the technology of deductive databases, so that the reader should have a clear idea of how deductive database technology relates to and differs from conventional relational database technology. We now turn our attention to design methods to assist in applying deductive database technology to the design both of information systems and also to a large class of knowledge-based systems, including expert systems.
