Model-Driven NoSQL Data Engineering

Abstract

While the concept of database schema plays a central role in relational database systems, most NoSQL systems do not require having to formally define an schema. Instead, it is implicit in the stored data. This lack of schema definition offers a greater flexibility. More specifically, schemaless databases ease both the recording of non-uniform data and data evolution. However, this comes at the cost of losing some of the benefits provided by schemas, for instance, static checking that assure that stored data conforms to the database schema. We have started a research work aimed at inferring schemas from NoSQL databases, with the purpose of building database utilities able of automating tasks such as data validation, schema visualization, and data migration. This work has evidenced the benefits of using MDE techniques within the new “NoSQL Data Engineering” field.