The case for mesodata: An empirical investigation of an evolving database system

Database evolution can be considered a combination of schema evolution, in which the structure evolves with the addition and deletion of attributes and relations, together with domain evolution in which an attribute’s specification, semantics and/or range of allowable values changes. We present the results of an empirical investigation of the evolution of a commercial database system that measures and delineates between changes to the database that are (a) structural and (b) attribute domain related. We also estimate the impact that modelling using the mesodata approach would have on the evolving system.