An operational approach to the integration of distributed heterogeneous environments

The OIS (Operational Integration System) data model and query language are presented. The main goal of OIS is to provide the application environments with a uniform interface for accessing data managed by heterogeneous systems. Conceptually, OIS can be depicted as a three-level system. The integration data model level allows distributed applications to be coded in object-oriented style. The operational interface abstract level and the operational interface implementation level feature the operational mapping between application environments and distributed heterogeneous systems. It is shown how OIS features can be embedded in C++. The prototype of OIS has confirmed the modeling features of the operational integration technique adopted. Three test driving applications have been selected: (1) a file-based application for the management of textual data, using either indexed or sequential access files; (2) a graphic database related to a computer-aided-design management system; (3) a public data bank, with a TTY-oriented interface protocol accessed through telephone lines. The obtained results have encouraged the developers to enhance the OIS implementation