Packaging Knowledge into Metaobjects

TL;DRAbstract

The use of reflection [ Mae87, HY88, Pae90 ] is particularly applicable to multi-database systems and to cooperating systems in general. We view such systems as (1) being distributed over a common communication network, and (2) working towards some common goal. Cooperation is achieved by coordinating and exchanging information and expertise. Conventional database systems are not cooperative: the knowledge they contain is inaccessibly buried within application code. In [ EPT95 ] , we discuss the R-OK Model and suggest that this problem may be overcome by surrounding each local database system with a layer of special reflective metaobjects. The term meta object is used only to indicate the relation of such an object to the object it describes. A metaobject is just another object, with structure and behaviour. These objects are used to capture domain and operational knowledge, and to describe, at least in part, remote systems and to monitor task-oriented activities. In this way, we can tu

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