INTERNATIONAL ISO/IEC

STANDARD 1 0027
First edition
1 990-06-1 5

Information technology - Information Resource

Dictionary System (IFIDS) framework

Technologies de I’information - Cadre pour le gestionnaire de ressources du

syst&me d’information IIRDSJ

Reference number
ISO/IEC 1 0027 : 1 990 (E)
I SOh EC 1 0027 : 1 990 (E)

Tabl e of Contents
Pag e

1 1
Scope

2 Normati veReferen ces 1

3 Defi ni ti ons 1

4 Con ven ti ons 2

5 Th e Stru ctu reof the I RDS Stan d ards

5. 1 Pu rposeof the I RDS Stan d ards

5. 2 Th e I RDS fami l y of Stan dard s
5. 3 Su pportfor di fferent fi el ds of appl i cati on
5. 4 Mean sof su pportu si ng I nternati onalStan d ards

6 I RDS Data Con ten t

6. 1 DataLevel s 5

6. 2 Con ceptof types an d i nstances 5

6. 3 Data Con tai n ers 5

6. 4 I denti fi cati on of Data Level s 6

6. 5 Level Pai rs 8

6. 6 Rol e of data model l i n g faci l i ti es 9

6. 7 Extensi bi l i ty 10

7 I RDS faci l i ti es 10

7. 1 Cl assi fi cati on of I RDS faci l i ti es 10

7. 2 Gen erald atabase

man ag emenfaci
t l i ti es 10

7. 3 Faci l i ti es speci fi c to i nformati on resou rceman ag emen t 10

I RDS I nterfaces 11
8

8. 1 Posi ti oni ng of I nterfaces 11

8. 2 I RDS I nterfacesOvervi ew 12

8. 3 Descri pti onof I nterfaces 12

8. 4 U se of I RDS Servi cesby Databaseservi ces 14

8. 5 Export an d I mport of I RDS Data 14

8. 6 RemoteI RDS Access 14

8. 7 Servi cesProvi dedat I nterfaces 15

9 Con forman ce 15

0 I SO/I EC 1 990
Al l ri ghts reserved. N o part of thi s pu bl i cati on may be reprod u ced or uti l i zed i n an y form or by
an y mean s, el ectroni c or mech an i cal , i ncl u di ng ph otocopyi n g an d mi crofi l m, wi thou t permi ssi on
i n wri ti ng from th e pu bl i sh er.

I SO/I EC Copyri g h t Offi ce . Case postal e 56 . CH - 1 21 1 Gen tve 20 . Swi tzerl an d

Pri n ted i n Swi tzerl and

ii
 ISO/IEC 1 0027 : 1 990 (E)

Foreword
IS0 (the International Organization for Standardization) and IEC (the International
Electrotechnical Commission) form the specialized system for worldwide standardiz-
ation. National bodies that are members of IS0 or IEC participate in the development
of International Standards through technical committees established by the respective
organization to deal with particular fields of technical activity. IS0 and IEC technical
committees collaborate in fields of mutual interest. Other international organizations,
governmental and non-governmental, in liaison with IS0 and IEC, also take part in the
work.
In the field of information technology, IS0 and IEC have established a joint technical
committee, ISOAEC JTC 1 . Draft International Standards adopted by the joint
technical committee are circulated to national bodies for voting. Publication as an
International Standard requires approval by at least 75 % of the national bodies casting
a vote.
International Standard ISOAEC 1 0027 was prepared by Technical Committee
ISOAEC JTC 1 , Information technology.
International Standard ISOAEC 1 0027is one of a seriesof International Standards on
Information Resource Dictionary Systems.

...
111
 INTERNATIONAL STANDARD
Information technology - Information Resource Dictionary
System (IRDS) framework
1 Scope
This International Standard describes the framework for a
number of International Standardsthat specify a specialised
information system, called an Information Resource
Dictionary System (IRDS). An IRDS is used to control and
documentan enterprise’sinformation resources.
This International Standarddefines the data levels relevant
to an IRDS. It defines the IRDS interfaces which are
prescribed by other International Standards in the IRDS
family of standards.It also defines the kinds of datacontent
that are prescribed by other International Standardsin the
family.
2 Normative references
The following International Standards contain provisions
which, through reference in this text, constitute provisions
of this International Standard. At the time of publication,
the editions indicated were valid. All International
Standardsare subject to revision, and parties to agreements
based on this International Standard are encouraged to
investigate the possibility of applying the most recent
editions of the International Standards listed below.
Members of IEC and IS0 maintain registers of currently
valid InternationalStandards.
IS0 7498 : 1 984, Information processing systems - Open
Systems Interconnection - Basic Reference Model.
ISO/IEC 9075: 1 989 Information processing systems
Database Language SQL with integrity enhancement.
3 Definitions
Definitions in this clause are those IRDS definitions used
in this Framework. Thesedefinitions are referencedin other
International Standards where they are used. Further
International Standardsmay define additional terminology.
When each term listed in this clause is introduced in a later
clause of this International Standard, it is printed in bold
we.
3.1 Term defined in IS0 7498 and used in
this International Standard
The following term is defined and usedin the OS1 Reference
Model. It is used in the same way in this IRDS
FrameworkInternational Standard.
ISO/IEC 1 0027 : 1 990 (E)
3.1 .1 real system.
3.2 Terms originally defined in IS0 7498
and adapted for use in this International
Standard
The following terms were originally defined and used in the
OS1 ReferenceModel and other OS1 International Standards.
Their use in this IRDS Framework is based on that in the
OS1 International Standards, but a revised definition is
preferred.
Some terms are prefixed in OS1 with “(N)-” to indicate the
layer. Since the IRDS Framework does not have a formal
layer conceptthe prefix is omitted.
3.2.1 server: A role filled by a processor when it
provides servicesto anotherprocessor.
3.2.2 service: A capability provided by a processor
to other processors.
3.3 Terms defined in this International
Standard
For the purposeof this International Standardthe following
terms apply.
3.3.1 access control: A capability to restrict the
use of services accessing data to users who have been
previously author&d.
3.3.2 application level: The data level on which
instancesof applicationdataare recorded.
3.3.3 application level pair: The term used to
describe both the application level and its schema at the
IRD level.
3.3.4 application schema: A set of definitions
which control what may exist at any time in an
application.
3.3.5 auditing: A process of checking that
previously made changesto a collection of data have been
madecorrectly and by an appropriatelyauthor&d userat an
appropriatetime.
3.3.6 client: A user requesting the services provided
at an interfaceof a server.
3.3.7 constraint: A statement of one or more valid
states of some part of a database,based on the conditions
which values in the databasemust satisfy at any time.
3.3.8 data container: A conceptual area of storage
in which datainstancescan be recorded.
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I SOAEC 1 0027 : 1 990 (E)

3. 3. 9 data l evel : A stratu m i n a mul ti -l evel data 3. 3. 2 8 l evel pai r: Two adj acentdata l evel s, the u pper
archi tectu reon wh i ch obj ects may be record edcon formi n g l evel of whi ch wi l l al ways contai n the “type” i nformati on
to a type defi ni ti on on th e next h i g h er d atal evel . rel evant to the “i nstances”on th e l ower l evel .

3. 3. 1 0 data model l i ng faci l i ty: A set of data 3. 3. 29 l i fe cycl e: A conceptu al framework u sed to
structuri ngrul es an d an associ atedset of dataman i pu l ati on trace the evol u ti on of obj ects over ti me.
rul es.
3. 3. 30 l i fe cycl e ph ase: A sub-di vi si on of a l i fe
3. 3. 1 1 database: A col l ecti on of i nterrel ated data cycl e.
stored tog eth erwi th control l ed red u n d an cyaccordi n g to a
sch emato serveon e or more appl i cati ons. 3. 3. 3 1 parti ti on: A l ogi cal su b- set of th e obj ects i n
ei ther an I RD or an I RD Defi ni ti on.
3. 3. 1 2 d atabase i ntegri ty: Th e consi stency of a
coke ti on of datai n a database. 3. 3. 3 2 processor: An abstract conceptual i sati on of
an execu tabl e
pi eceof code.
3. 3. 1 3 export: Th e functi on of extracti ng i nformati on
from an I RDS an d packag i n gi t to an export/i mport fi l e. 3. 3. 33 status of di cti onary content: A status of
a col l ecti on of data i n a di cti onary i ndi cati ng wh eth er the
3. 3. 1 4 export/i mport fi l e: A fi l e created by an datamay be freel y modi fi ed, n ot modi fi ed, or i s reg ard edas
export functi on an d acceptedby an i mport functi on. arCh i Ved.

3. 3. 1 5 i mport: Th e functi on of recei vi ng data from an 3. 3. 34 storag e med i u m: A devi ce on whi ch data of
export/i mport fi l e i nto an I RDS. an y ki nd may be record ed.

3. 3. 1 6 I nformati on Resou rce Di cti onary 3. 3. 35 u ser: A person or an appl i cati on prog ram
(I RD) : A part of a reposi tory man ag edby an I RDS i n whi ch requ estsservi cesfor dataman ag emen t.
whi ch th e i nformati on resou rcesof an enterpri se may be
3. 3. 36 val ue: An abstracti on wi th a si ngl e
characteri sti cwhi ch can be comparedwi th oth er val ues,an d
3. 3. 1 7 I nformati on Resou rce Di cti onary may be represen ted
by an en codi n gof th e val ue.
System (I RDS) : A software produ ct wh i ch mai ntai ns
4 Con venti on s
I RDs an d I RD defi ni ti ons.

4. 1 Processors
3. 3. 1 8 i nformati on resou rce man ag emen t: Th e
task of mai ntai ni ng an d control l i ng i nformati on processi n g
Thi s I nternati onal Stan d ardcontai ns d i ag rams i l l ustrati ng
systems.
the processors
an d i nterfacesprescri bedby th e Stan dard.

3. 3. 1 9 i nterface: A defi ned set of servi ces mad e

A processor i s an abstract conceptual i sati on of an
avai l abl eby a processor.
execu tabl e
pi eceof code.

3. 3. 20 I RD defi ni ti on: A set of obj ects whi ch

Each processori s represen ted
by a n amedi con as i l l ustrated
col l ecti vel y defi nesthe datawh i ch may be h el d i n an I RD.
i n fi gu re 1 .

3. 3. 2 1 I RD defi ni ti on l evel : Th e d ata l evel at

wh i ch potenti al I RDS contenti s defi ned.

3. 3. 22 I RD defi ni ti on l evel pai r: Th e term u sed

to descri beboth the I RD defi ni ti on l evel an d i ts sch emaat
the I RD Defi ni ti on Sch emal evel .

3. 3. 23 I RD defi ni ti on sch ema: A set of

defi ni ti ons whi ch control wh at may exi st at an y ti me i n an Fi g u re 1 - Notati on for a processor an d i ts
I RD defi ni ti on. i nterface

3. 3. 24 I RD defi ni ti on sch ema l evel : A data l evel Th e n ame i n the i con i s th e n ameof the processor.

on whi ch the types of obj ect that may be record ed i n an

4. 2 I nterfaces
I RD defi ni ti on are prescri bed.

Au i nterface i s a defi n ed set of servi ces mad e avai l abl e by

3. 3. 25 I RD l evel : Th e data l evel at wh i ch th e
a processor.
i nformati onresou rces
of an en terpri searedefi ned.

Each processori s defi ned as h avi n g on e i nterface at whi ch

3. 3. 26 I RD l evel pai r: Th e term u sed to descri be
servi cesare mad e avai l abl e. Th e i nterface i s represen ted
by
th e I RD l evel an d i ts sch emaat the I RD defi ni ti on l evel .
the rectan g u l ar part of the i con sh own i n fi gu re 1 . Th e

3. 3. 27 I RD sch ema: A set of defi ni ti ons whi ch n u mberi denti fi es th e i nterfacewhi ch i s n amedan d descri bed

control wh at may exi st at an y ti me i n an I RD. i n accompan yi n gtext.

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 I SOAEC 1 0027 : 1 990 (E)

4. 3 Person 5 Th e Stru ctu re of th e I RDS Stan dard s

00
A personi s represen ted
by the i con sh own i n fi gu re 2. 5. 1 Pu rpose of the I RDS Stan d ards

Th e pu rpose of the fami l y of I nternati onal Stan d ardsfor

I nformati on Resou rceDi cti onary Systems i s to provi de a
common basi sfor the devel opmen tof I nformati on Resou rce

a
Di cti onari es. Thi s I RDS FrameworkI nternati onal Stan d ard
defi nes the context wi thi n whi ch th e oth er parts of th e
I RDS fami l y of I ntemati onal Stan d ards
am prescri bed.

Fi g u re 2 - I con for a person An I n formati on Resou rce Di cti onary i s a sh areabl e

reposi tory for a defi ni ti on of th e i nformati on resou rces
4. 4 Storag e med i u m rel evant to al l or part of an enterpri se. Thi s may i ncl u de
i nformati on abou t an y or al l of th e fol l owi ng:
A storag e med i u m i s a devi ce on wh i ch data of an y ki nd
may be record edsu ch as a h ard di sc, a fl oppy di sc or tape. a) datan eed edby the enterpri se;
A storag e med i u m i s represen tedby th e i con sh own i n
fi gu re 3. b) the compu teri zed an d possi bl y n on -
compu teri zedprocesses
whi ch are avai l abl efor
Data wi l l be h el d on some storag emed i u m. presen ti n gan d mai ntai ni ngsu ch data;

Th e n ame wi thi n th e i con i denti fi es th e content of th e c) the avai l abl e physi cal h ard wareen vi ron men t
storag emed i u m. on whi ch su ch datacan be represen ted;

(9 the org ani zati on of h u man an d physi cal

PI
resou rces whi ch can make u se of the
i nformati on;
N ame
e) the h u man resou rces responsi bl e for
g en erati n gthat i nformati on.

Fi g u re 3 - I con for a storag e med i u m

An I nformati on Resou rce Di cti onary System

Cl i ent - (I RDS) i s a system whi ch provi des faci l i ti es for creati ng,
4. 5 Server associ ati on
mai ntai ni ng an d accessi ng an I nformati on Resou rce
Users of servi ces provi ded at an i nterface are termed Di cti onary (I RD) an d i ts I RD defi ni ti on.
cl i ents.
I t mu st be emph asi zed that thi s fami l y of I nternati onal
Th e processorthat provi des th e servi ces at an i nterface i s Stan dard s
doesnot provi de a stan d arddefi ni ti on for al l of th e
termed the server. A processormay fi l l th e rol e of cl i ent aboveki nds of i nformati on. I t d oesprovi de a frameworkfor
an d the rol e of server. A processorcan be the serverto on e defi ni ng such i nformati on an d i n wh i ch the i nformati on can
i nterface. A processormay be a cl i ent of man y i nterfaces. be represen ted
an d man ag edTh
. e defi ni ti on of th oseki nds of
i nformati on to be represen tedi n an I nformati on Resou rce
A cl i ent may be a personor a processord epen d i n gu pon the Di cti onary, that are sui tabl e for standardi sati on, are a
n atu reof th e i nterface. subj ect for oth er I nternati onal Stan d ardsi n thi s fami l y.

Use of an i nterface by a cl i ent i s sh own by a l i ne Th e content of an I nformati on Resou rceDi cti onary can be
connecti ngth em. U se of a storag emed i u m by a processor comparedwi th th e contentof a typi cal appl i cati on database.
i s sh own by a l i ne betweenth em as i l l ustrated i n fi gu re 4. An appl i cati ond atabase
contai nsd ataof rel evan ceto the d ay
to d ay operati on of an enterpri se. Su ch data may refer to
thi ngs su ch as empl oyees, suppl i ers, cu stomers an d
pu rch ase
orders.

Th e data i n an I nformati on Resou rceDi cti onary i s i n man y

ways si mi l ar to that i n an appl i cati on database,bu t i t i s on
Fi g u re 4 - Conven ti on s to sh ow Cl i ent -
a h i g h er l evel . Su ch data may refer to thi ngs su ch as data
Server associ ati ons
i tem types, d atafi l es, compu terprog ramsan d sub-systems.

4. 6 Di ag rammi n g conventi ons

5. 2 Th e I RDS fami l y of Stan dard s

Al l fi gures u si ng the conventi onsdescri bedaboveare d rawn

Thi s I nternati onal Stan d ard for an I RDS Framework
so that the cl i ent i s sh own to the l eft of th e server. Thi s
speci fi es the overal l archi tectu rei n wh i ch each memberof
conventi on i s i l l ustrated i n fi gu re 4.
th e I RDS fami l y of I nternati onal Stan d ards sh ou l d be
posi ti oned. Th e Frameworki denti fi es, i n g en eralterms, th e
ki nds of data tog eth er wi th th e maj or processorsan d thei r

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I SO/I EC 1 0027 : 1 990 (E)

associ atedi nterfaces an d th e broad n atu re of the servi ces b) Con cretesyntax;
provi dedat eachi nterface.
c) Graph i cs.
Some, bu t not al l , of th e i nterfaces i denti fi ed i n thi s
I nternati onalStan d ardare candi datesfor standardi sati onas A pan el styl e of i nterface defi nes a g rou pi n g of servi ces

membersof the I BDS fami l y of I nternati onalStan dards. whi ch may possi bl y h ave been defi n ed u si n g some oth er
styl e.
More th an on e stan dard may be d evel oped for a gi ven
i nterface. Two I nternati onal Stan d ards for th e same A concrete syntax (su ch as a co mman d l an g u ag e) i s the

i nterface may di ffer accordi n g to an y mi x of the fol l owi ng tradi ti onal way of defi ni ng i nterfaces for persons. I t i s

i 3SpXt. 9: i mportant to n ote that u si ng a syntacti c l an g u ag eto defi n e

an I nternati onal Stan d ard d oes n ot i mpl y that the same
4 Prog rammi n gl an g u ag e
d epen d en ce; concrete syntax mu st be u sed by a person u si ng the
i nterface.
b) I nterfacestyl e;
A g raph i c i nterface styl e may be u sed i n conj u ncti on wi th
d Data model l i n g faci l i ty u sed ei ther a pan el i nterfaceor wi th an abstractsyntax.

(9 Data i n terch an g e
format. 5. 2. 2. 3 Abstract syntax

Each aspectwi l l be con si deredi n turn. An i nterface styl e whi ch can be u sed to defi ne both
i nterfacesto processorsan d i nterfaces to person si s that of
5. 2. 1 Prog rammi n g l an g u ag e d epen d en ce
an abstract syntax. An abstract syntax i s th e speci fi cati on

N u merou sprog rammi n gl an g u ag ed epen d en ci es

are possi bl e of a servi ce by u si ng notati on ru l es wh i ch are i n d epen d en t

an d th ere exi st man y I nternati onal Stan d ards for of th e en codi n gtechn i qu esu sedto represen tth em.

prog rammi n gl an g u ag es.

An abstract syntax emph asi ses th e semanti cs of the

5. 2. 2 I nterface styl es i nterface an d a person may i ni ti ate a stan dardservi ce i n a

n u mber of di fferent ways su ch as sel ecti ng from a men u ,
5. 2. 2. 1 I nterface styl es for processors tou ch i ng a screenor u si ng a speci al keyboard. Si mi l arl y, a
processori nterface can al so be i mpl emen tedu si ng an y on e
Possi bl eal ternati ve i nterface styl es wh i ch may be u sed by
of severali nterfacestyl es as requ i red.
processors
are the fol l owi ng:
An I nternati onalStan d ardu si ng an abstractsyntax defi nesa
a) Prog rammati c- proced u recal l ;
set of servi ceswi thout prescri bi ng an y l i ngui sti c form to be
u sedby a person wh en each servi ce i s i ni ti ated or i nvoked.
b) Syntax (execu ti onti me i nterpretati on) ;
Su ch an I nternati onal Stan d ardal so i ncl udes th e semanti cs

d Servi ceconventi ons(as u sed wi th OS1 of the servi ces.

servi ces) .
5. 2. 3 Data model l i ng faci l i ty

A proced u re cal l i nterface defi nes a seq u en ced set of

A data model l i n g faci l i ty i s a set of ru l es for defi ni ng
parametersan d th e associ atedbi n di ng rul es for th e CALL
th e structu re of d ata (i ncl u di ng constrai nts) an d th e
statemen t of an I nternati onal Stan d ard prog rammi n g
semanti csof th e associ atedd atamani pu l ati onservi ces.
l an g u ag e. A proced u re cal l may al so be i mpl i ci t wh i ch
mean s that a statement i s u sed whi ch i s transl ated i nto a
Each I nternati onal Stan d ard for ei ther an i nterface to a
CALL statementpri or to compi l ati on.
personor an i nterfaceservi ng an oth erprocessori s d epen d en t
on on e or more datamodel l i n g faci l i ti es.
A syntax for execu ti on ti me i nterpretati oni s si mi l ar to that
provi ded for a h u man u ser wi th the di fference that th e
Exampl es of ki nds of d ata model l i ng faci l i ti es i ncl u de
l i ngui sti c forms are i nterpreted at execu ti on ti me by a
those:
processorspeci fi c to an I nternati onalStan d ardprog rammi n g
l an g u ag e. a) Based on an I nternati onal Stan d ard Database
Lan g u ag e(su ch as N DL or SQL) ;
A servi ce conventi on i s a stan d ard set of prog rammi n g
l an g u ag ei n d epen den conventi
t onsfor speci fyi ng parameter b) Basedon a n on - stan d ard
database
l an g u ag e;
l i sts an d servi ce pri mi ti ves for u se i n an open system
en vi ron ment. 4 Speci fi c to an I nternati onal Stan d ardprog rammi n g
l an g u ag e(su ch as COBOL or PLPI ) ;
5. 2. 2. 2 I nterface styl es for person s
9 Speci fi c to a n on - l an g u ag eI nternati onal Stan d ard
Possi bl eal ternati ve styl es for i nterfaces to person sare th e (su ch as OS1 Di rectory Servi ces) ;
fol l owi ng:
4 Wh i ch are n on - stan d arddata model l i n g faci l i ti es
a) Panel s(abstractscreenformats) ; (su ch as enti ty rel ati onshi p model l i ng) .

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 I SOAEC 1 0027 : 1 990 (E)

Each data model l i ng faci l i ty i s an i ntri nsi cal l y i n d epen d en t categori es. Th e faci l i ti es to be descri bedi n cl ause8. 5 rel ate
mean sof represen ti n gdata an d possi bl y th e servi ceswh i ch to th e fi rst an d l ast of th esecategori es.
may be speci fi edfor su chdata.
6 I RDS Data Con ten t
5. 2. 4 Data I n terch an g e formats
6. 1 Data Level s
I f an I nternati onalStan d ardi n the I RDS fami l y i s con cern ed
wi th the transfer of data from on e real system to an oth er, Th e corn erston eof th e I RDS Framework i s the con cept of

th en a datai nterch an g eformat mu st be ad optedor defi n edi n fou r data l evel s an d the associ atedth ree “l evel pai rs”. Th e

i t. Th e transfermay be ei ther by mean sof commu n i cati ons pu rposeof these fou r data l evel s i s to make i t possi bl e to

faci l i ti es or by physi cal transportati on of data from on e exten d the types of d ata that can be h el d i n th e I RD.

l ocati on to an oth eru si ng a transportabl estorag emed i u m.

An u n derstan di n gof the l evel s an d l evel pai rs i s cri ti cal to

5. 3 Su pport for di fferent fi el ds of an u n derstan di n gof h ow an I RD rel ates to i ts en vi ron men t

appl i cati on an d of h ow an I RDS provi des servi cesto i ts users.

Thi s I RDS Framework is i n ten ded to su ppl emen t 6. 2 Con cept of types an d i nstances

standardi sati on work in su ch g en eral areas as data

Th e i dea of types an d i nstances (often referred to as
i nterch an g e formats an d to faci l i tate the d evel opmen t of
occu rrences) i s wel l establ i shed i n man y prog rammi n g
consi stentI nternati onal Stan dard si n man y speci fi c fi el ds of
l an g u ag esan d i n d atabaseman ag emen tsystems, al th ou g h
appl i cati on.
these two h ave a di fferent approach to the separati on of

Th e u se of an I nternati onal Stan d ardi n the I RDS fami l y i s prog ramfrom data.

useful n ot onl y wi thi n each fi el d of appl i cati on, bu t al so as

A “type” of data, su ch as an EMPLOYEE, i s defi ned, ei ther
a bri d g e between th em. Thi s i s en abl ed by al l owi ng th e
i n a prog ram or, i n the case of a d atabaseman ag emen t
rul es accordi ng to whi ch data i s represen tedat on e real
system, i n a separatel an g u ag eu sed for defi ni ng data. Thi s
system themsel ves to be defi ned, ch an g ed an d exten ded
defi ni ti on of a type of d ataessenti al l ycreatesan open - en d ed
accordi n gto speci fi c requ i remen ts.
data contai ner. Someti mesi t i s i denti fi ed as a record type,

5. 4 Mean s of su pport u si n g I nternati onal someti mesas a tabl e, an d someti mesi n oth er ways.

Stan d ards
Appl i cati on prog rams, whi ch may be separatefrom the

Th e su pportth rou g hI nternati onalStan dard s

can be provi ded above d ata defi ni ti on or may contai n i t, refer to

i n di fferent ways, d epen d i n gon the technol ogi esi nvol ved EMPLOYEE i n thei r execu tabl ecode. Wh en su ch prog rams
are executi ng, they wi l l su bsequ entl y cau se d ata abou t
an d on th e fi el d of appl i cati on. Exampl es are th e
fol l owi ng: speci fi c EMPLOYEES ( each of wh i ch i s someti mescal l ed
an i nstance or an occu rren ce) to be stored i n a fi l e or i n a
a) Stan dardi sed
servi cesat an i nterface; database.

b) Data contentu si ng gen eral i sed

servi ces; Wh en data abou t a speci fi c EMPLOYEE n eed s to be
accessed,i t i s n ecessaryto refer to th e type of d ata i n a
c) Data i n terchan g eformats. prog ram an d su bsequ en tl yto pi ck ou t the speci fi c i nstance
of that type.
An I nternati onalStan d ardfor servi cesat an i nterfacedefi nes
in g en eral terms th e contents of some part of an Th e I RDS con cept of d ata l evel s i s an extensi on of thi s
I nformati on Resou rce Di cti onary an d an I RD Defi ni ti on, basi c type an d i nstance concept whi ch on e can reg ard as
an d th e servi ces by whi ch those contents may be accessed h avi n g two l evel s an d on e l evel pai r. Th ese two l evel s are
an d man i pu l ated. i n fact the bottom two of th e fou r i denti fi ed i n thi s I RDS
I nternati onalStan dard.
A data content stan d arddefi nes i n preci seterms th e content
of somepart of an i nformati on resou rcedi cti onaryaccordi n g Th e concept of an appl i cati on prog ram, whi ch i n i ts sou rce
to some prescri bed d ata model l i n g faci l i ty. Th e servi ces form referen ces
a defi n edtype of data, su ch as EMPLOYEE,
wh i ch may be performed on that d ata (i ncl udi ng the an d wh en execu ti ng accesses an i nstance of that type,
semanti csof su ch servi ces) may or may n ot be i mpl i ci t i n provi des th e basi s for u n derstan d i n gh ow an I RDS servi ce
the g en eral d ata mani pu l ati on servi ces associ atedwi th that rel atesto a l evel pai r.
datamodel l i n g faci l i ty.
6. 3 Data Con tai n ers
An I nternati onal Stan d ardfor a data i n terch ang eformat i s
on e desi g n edto faci l i tate the i nter-operabi l i tyof severalreal Th e concept of a d ata contai nermu st be di sti ngui shedfrom
systemsby standardi si ngthe formats of th e vari ou ski nds of that of a type or sch ema. A data con tai n er is a
messag esent from on e real system to an oth er. A data conceptu al area of storag e i n whi ch data i nstancescan be
i nterch an g eformat may be speci fi c to a fi el d of appl i cati on. recorded. At an y poi nt i n ti me, a data contai ner may
contai n datai nstancesor i t may be empty.
Th e faci l i ti es to be descri bed in cl au se 7 of thi s
I nternati onal Stan d ardrel ate to th e fi rst two of these th ree Data types are descri bed i n some ki nd of data defi ni ti on
l an g u ag e. Th e creati on of a contai ner i n whi ch i nstances

5
ISOAEC 1 0027 : 1 990 (E)
can be recordedmay be a separateevent from the definition
of the associatedschemain which the datatypesare defined.
Instancesof a type can only be recordedafter a containerhas
beencreated.
The set of rules which governs how the data instancesin a
datacontainermust conform to the typesof datawith which
they are associatedis collectively called a data modelling
facility. One or more data modelling facilities may be
associatedwith eachlevel pair.
The semanticsof each service provided for a level pair are
necessarilyspecific to one datamodelling facility.
6.4 Identification of Data Levels
The IRDS functionality is associatedwith three data levels,
but it is useful for expository reasonsto cover four data
levels.
The four datalevels describedare as follows:
IRD Definition SchemaLevel;
4
IRD Definition Level;
b)
4 IRD Level;
0 Application Level.
These levels, while being inter-related, exist to serve
different purposes,as will be describedlater. The levels are
illustrated in Figure 5.
6.4.1 IRD Definition Schema Level
The purpose of the IRD Definition Schema level is
to prescribe the types of object about which data may be
recordedon the IRD Definition Level.
The definition of the types of data that can be storedon the
IRD Definition level is called the IRD Definition
Schema.
6.4.2 IRD Definition Level
The purpose of the IRD Definition Level is to contain
IRD definitions.
The types of data whose instances are recorded in IRD
Definitions are defined on the IRD Definition Schema
Level.
There may be any number of IRD Definitions existing, all
describedby one IRD Definition Schema.
A part of an IRD Definition, referred to as an IR D
Schema, prescribesthe types of object about which data
may be storedin one or more IRDs.
An IRD Definition may contain one or more IRD Schemas.
Some of the content of the IRD Definition may be under
developmentand intendedto replacethe content of an IRD
Schema or to add to the definitions in an IRD Schema.
Otherdefinitions may havepreviouslybeenreplacedand ate
categorisedas “archived”. This is illustrated in figure 5.
6
The content of an IRD Schema may be defined in three
ways:
a) by InternationalStandards;
b) by a supplier of IRD definitions;
c) by a user.
At any point in time an IRD Schemais a subsetof an IRD
Definition, consisting of a part of the IRD definition that
the dictionary administratorhas chosento make active.
An IRD Definition includes data to support added value
facilities such as thosedescribedin 7.3.
6.4.3 IRD Level
The purposeof the IRD Level is to contain IRDs.
There may be any number of IRDs existing, all described
by one IRD Schema. There may also be other IRDs
describedby otherIRD Schemas.
Some, but not all. of the content of an IRD defines types at
the application level.
For example, an IRD would contain the information that
EMPLOYEE and PURCHASE ORDER are two record
types. An IRD might also contain information about which
programsusetheserecordtypes.
Figure 5 shows that some of the information in an IRD
will define the currently active application schcmas.Other
information in an IRD will include non-active application
schemasand other analysis, design and control information
about the applications.
The purposeof the data in an IRD is to enablean IRDS to
support the design, construction and operation of
computer&d information systems, and any other functions
for which the IRDS is seenas an appropriatetool.
Most data instances in an IRD are placed there by a
business analyst, an information systems designer or an
information systems builder. This may be done explicitly
and consciously, as part of the activity involved with
planning, analysing and designing information systems to
support the running of the enterprise. In some cases, the
recordingof datain an IRD may be doneautomatically by a
softwareproduct (for example, a languagecompiler) which
supportsa particular developmentactivity. Someof the data
in an IRD makesit possiblefor the dictionary administrator
to carry out the activities for which he is responsible.
The types of data in an IRD are completely defined by the
data held in the applicable IRD Schema. Some of these
types will be defined in one or more International Standards
in the IRDS family or possibly in other standards.
Furthermore,the types of data in an IRD may be extended
by an implementorof a product, an installer of a product or
by a dictionary administrator.
 I SOAEC 1 0027 : 1 990 (E)

Defi ni ti on of concepts u sed to defi ne di cti onari es

RD Defi ni ti on Sch ema Level

I RD

Defi ni ti on

Level Pai r

I RD Defi ni ti on Level

I RD Level

Pai r
Resu l tof Anal ysi s,

Level

Appl i cati on

Level Pai r

Level

Fi g u re 5 - Level s an d th e I RDS

An I RD Defi ni ti on speci fi es fu rther types of data i n an bu si nessacti vi ti es of an en terpri sei n some way. Th u s, the
I RD, necessary for d ay to d ay admi ni strati on by a d ata abou t speci fi c i nstances of EMPLOYEE wi l l be
di cti onary admi ni strator. record edon the Appl i cati on Level .

So me of the data i nstancesi n an I RD may be defi n ed i n an For exampl e, the d ata perti nent to J oh n Smi th wh o
I nternati onal Stan dard . Oth er content of an I RD may be h appen sto be an empl oyee wou l d be on the Appl i cati on
Level , as wou l d d ata abou t PU RCH ASE ORDER 738942,
as i ssu edon 1 7 May 1 989.
Th ere i s n o restri cti on on th e types of d ata whi ch may be
h el d on the I RD l evel , provi ded that th e i nstancesof thi s Data abou t th e type, n amel y abou t the g en eral concept of
d atacorrespon dto types i n the appl i cabl eI RD Sch ema. EMPLOYEE wi l l be record ed i n an I RD. Thu s, the types
of d ata are record ed i n an I RD an d the correspon d i n g
6. 4. 4 Appl i cati on Level i nstancesare on th e Appl i cati on Level . Appl i cati on sou rce
prog ramsrefer to th e data types whi ch are speci fi ed at th e
Th e Appl i cati on Level i s the l evel on whi ch i nstances
I RD Level . Wh en su ch prog rams are execu ted, th en data
of bu si nessd ataarerecorded .
i nstances on the Appl i cati on Level are retri eved an d

Th e dataassoci atedwi th th e appl i cati on l evel i s for the u ser possi bl y al so u pd ated .

of th e i nformati on system. Su ch data hel ps to ru n th e

7
I SOAEC 1 0027 : 1 990 (E)

Appl i cati on Level I RD Defi ni ti on

I RD Level Pai r
Pai r Level Pai r

I RD Defi ni ti on
I RD Defi ni ti on
Sch ema
Sch ema
Level

I RD
I RD I RD Defi ni ti on
Defi ni ti on
Sch ema
Level

I RD
I RD Appl i cati on

Level Sch ema

Appl i cati on
9ppl l cati on
Level

4ppl i cati on I RD I RD Defi ni ti on

servi ces Servi ces Servi ces

\, /
On e or more data
model l l ng faci l i ti es

Th e same data modei l i n g faci l i ty

Fi g u re 6 - Use of data modei i i ng faci l i ti es an d servi ces

Th e d ata on the Appl i cati on Level i s processed u si ng I f a sch emai s ch an g ed , for wh i ch d ata exi sts at th e l ower
prog ramsbui l t by or g en eratedby an i nformati on systems l evel , consi stencymu st be mai n tai nedbetweenthat data an d
bui l der. Gen eral - pu rpose
prog rams sui tabl y ad aptedby the th e sch ema.
i nformati on systems bu i l der may be u sed. Th eseprog rams
I t i s i mportant to n ote that th e u pper l evel of a l evel pai r
may be wri tten i n an I nternati onal Stan d ardprog rammi n g
may al so contai n i nformati on wh i ch is not type
l an g u ag e, or bui l t i n some oth er way, perh aps u si ng a
h i g h er l evel appl i cati on g en erati on faci l i ty. I n ei ther case i nformati on associ atedwi th l ower l evel i nstances.

the prog ramsor h i g h er l evel l an g u ag efaci l i ti es wi l l al ways

Th e th reel evel pai rs are i denti fi ed as fol l ows (abbrevi ati ons
i ncl udereferen ces
to typesof datadefi n edi n an I RD.
i n paren th eses) :

6. 5 Level Pai rs
a) I RD Defi ni ti on Level Pai r ( I RDD- LP)

An I RDS provi des servi ces at two l evel s: the I RD

b) I RD Level Pai r (I RD- LP)
Defi ni ti on Level an d th e I RD Level . I n each case the
servi ces may be th ou g h t of as operati n g on a l evel pai r. c) Appl i cati on Level Pai r ( AP- LP)
A l evel pai r consi stsof two adj acentd ata l evel s. Th e u pper
l evel of th e two wi l l al ways contai n th e “type” of On l y the fi rst two l evel pai rs are the subj ect of th e I RDS
i nformati on rel evant to the “i nstances”on th e l ower l evel of fami l y of I nternati onal Stan dards.Each servi ce rel ates to a
the two. Th at part of the d ata at th e u pper l evel of th e two l evel pai r an d n ever to a si ngl e l evel . Fi g u re 5 sh ows the
wh i ch defi nes types for the l evel bel ow, i s termed th e l evel s an d l evel pai rs an d h ow they i nter-rel ate. Fi g u re 6
sch emafor th e l ower l evel . i l l ustrates th e termi n ol ogy associ atedwi th th e data l evel s
an d l evel pai rs. Fi g u re 7 gi ves exampl es of obj ects at the
Th e successful operati on of an I RDS requ i res th e data on fou r l evel s as they are i nterpreted i n the context of the
th e l ower l evel of an y l evel pai r to be consi stent wi th a rel evantl evel pai rs.
speci fi ed versi on of i ts sch ema at the h i g h er l evel of the
l evel pai r. Each l evel pai r i s n ow descri bedi n turn.

8
 I SO/I EC1 0 0 2 7: 1 9! 3 0 ( E)

I RD

Defi n i ti on

Sch e m a

Level

I RD

Defi n i ti on

Level

I RD

Level

Appl i cati on

Level

I RD Defi n i ti on Level Pai r

I
Appl i cati on Level Pai r I RD Level Pai r

Fi g u re 7 - Exampl es of d at a types an d d at a at d at a l evel s

6. 5. 1 I RD Defi n i ti on Level Pai r provi d e fu n cti on al i ty wh i ch i s n ormal l y associ atedwi th t h e

appl i cati on l evel pai r.

Th e I RD defi n i ti on l evel pai r con si sts of th e I RD

Defi n i ti on Sch e m aLevel an d t h e I RD Defi n i ti on Level . Al t h ou g h t h e I RDS fami l y of I n tern ati on al St an d ard sd o e s

n ot provi d e expl i ci t servi ces for t h e appl i cati on l evel pai r,

Th e I RDS fami l y of I n tern ati on al St an d ard sd efi n e I RD
t h ere i s a cl ear possi bi l i ty th at o t h e r I n tern ati on al St an d ard s
Defi n i ti on Servi ces wh i ch ope rat e o n t h e I RD Defi n i ti on .
d efi n ed for ot h er servi ces associ atedwi th t h e Appl i cati on
Th e s e servi ces o pe rat eby ref ere n ceto t h e I RD Defi n i ti on
Level Pai r ( for e xampl e q u ery l an g u ag es ) mi g h t req u i re
Sch e m ao n t h e I RD Defi n i ti on Sch e m aLevel .
access to d at a associ ated wi th t h e I RD l evel , su ch as a

re cordd escri pti ono r a s creenformat d escri pti on .

A di cti on ary ad mi n i stratorwi l l u s e I RD Defi n i ti on Servi ces

to d efi n e t h e types of d at a th at su bseq u en t l y

may b e u s e dat
6. 6 Rol e of d at a mod el l i n g faci l i ti es

t h e I RD Level by an appl i cati on d esi g n er.

On e d at a mod el l i n g faci l i ty i s u s e d at t h e I RD Defi n i ti on

6. 5. 2 I RD Level Pai r
Sch e m a Level to d efi n e t h e d at a at t h e I RD Defi n i ti on

Level . Th e s am ed at a mod el l i n g faci l i ty i s al so u s e d at t h e

Th e I RD l evel pai r con si sts of t h e I RD Defi n i ti on Level
I RD Defi n i ti on Level to d efi n e t h e d at a at t h e I RD Level .
an d t h e I RD Level .
On e o r m o r e d at a mod el l i n g faci l i ti es m ay t h en b e u s e d at

Th e I RDS fami l y of I n t ern at i on al St an d ard sd efi n es I RD t h e I RD Level to d efi n e d at a at t h e appl i cati on l evel . Th i s

Servi ces wh i ch o pe rat e o n an I RD. Th e I RD Servi ces al l ows t h e I RDS to s u pport t h e defi n i ti on of appl i cati on

d at abase u
s si n g an y d at a mod el l i n g faci l i ty.
o pe rat eby ref e ren ceto t h e appl i cabl e I RD Sch e m ao n t h e

I RD Defi n i ti on Level .
Fo r exampl e, t wo d at a mod el l i n g faci l i ti es m ay b e d efi n ed

i n t h e I RD Defi n i ti on , an d e ach wo u l d b e i n cl u d ed as part of

Wh e n t h e d es i g n erof an appl i cati on systemi s evol vi n g an d
an I RD s ch ema. Fo r t h e s am e g i ven are a of i n terest, t wo
d o cu men t i n g t h e d esi g n of a d at abas e o r of a set of
appl i cati on s ch e mas may t h en be d evel oped , on e
appl i cati on pro g rams , h e/sh e wi l l u s e t h e I RD Servi ces
corres po n d i n gto e ach d at a mod el l i n g faci l i ty. On e of t h ese
provi d ed o n thi s l evel pai r.
appl i cati on s ch emas may b e su ch th at n o appl i cati on

6. 5. 3 Appl i cati on Level Pai r d at abas e con t ai n er wo u l d be i n stan ti ated, wh e re as a

con t ai n er wo u l d b e i n stan ti ated for t h e ot h er. Th e f o rme r

Th e Appl i cati on Level an d I RD Level t og et h errepres en t h e
d at a mod el l i n g faci l i ty wo u l d b e o n e for wh i ch n o d at a
appl i cati on l evel pai r.
man i pu l at i on servi cesh ave be e nd efi n ed , wh e re ast h e l atter

mi g h t b e th at provi d ed i n an I n tern ati on alSt an d ardd at abas e

N o fu n cti on al i ty i s prescri bedfor t h e appl i cati on l evel pai r
l an g u ag e .
i n t h e I RDS fami l y of I n tern ati on al St an d ard s.
Fu rt h e rmo re ,

t h e servi cesprescri bedi n t h e fami l y of I RDS I n tern ati on al

Th i s Fr ame wo rk d o e s n ot prescri be a l i mi t o n th e n u mber
St an d ard s
d o n ot i mpi n g e o n th i s l evel pai r i n an y way.
of d i fferen t d at a mod el l i n g faci l i ti es wh i ch m ay b e d efi n ed

i n an I RD Defi n i ti on .
It is i mport an t to n o t e th at I n tern ati on al St an d ard s for

Dat abas eLan g u ag e san d for Pro g ram mi n g Lan g u ag e sd o

9
ISOAEC 1 0027 : 1 990 (E)
6.7 Extensibility
The types of datawhich can be maintainedat the IRD Level
are themselvesdefined at the IRD Definition Level in the
IRD Schema.It is possible to add new types of data at the
IRD level and also to modify existing typesof data.
An extension may be specified in the form of an
International Standard, which may belong to the IRDS
family of International Standardsor to someother family of
standards. Alternatively, an extension may be specified
either by a National Standard, an IRDS implementor, a
vendorof IRDS extensionsor by a user.
7 IRDS facilities
7.1 Classification of IRDS facilities
A definition of an IRDS is given in 5.1 above. Since an
IRD is a databasecovering data in a particular data subject
area, that of information resource management, it is
convenientto classify the facilities of an IRDS accordingly.
Thosefacilities which an IRDS shah provide becauseof its
role as a databasemanagementsystemare describedin 7.2;
thosewhich arise from the natureof the datasubjectareaare
coveredin 7.3.
Throughout this clause the emphasisis on the facilities as
perceived by the user. Where possible this Framework
specifies only facilities as perceivedby usersof an IRDS,
and does not concern itself with the mechanismsused to
provide thosefacilities. SubsequentInternationalStandards
in the IRDS family will provide such detailed
specifications.
7.2 General database management facilities
Other International Standards,particularly thoseconcerned
with databaselanguages,specify general-purposedatabase
managementfacilities. While an IRDS is not a general-
purposedatabasemanagementsystemin this sense,it does
have to provide to its users many of the samefeatures, as
detailedbelow. It may well do this using a general-purpose
databasemanagementsystem,but is not requiredto do so.
In addition to the facilities mentionedexplicitly below, an
IRDS shahprovide servicesto insert, updateand deletedata
underits control, and to selectandretrievedata.
7.2.1 Enforcement of constraints
An IRDS shall provide means of specifying constraints
on the values associated with objects, and on the
associations between objects. These constraints shall
include, but are not limited to, validation of individual
values, and cardinality constraints on named types of
association between objects. When a constraint is
specified, it shall be possible to state under what
circumstancesit shall be enforced.
An IRDS shall ensure that all data within an IRD or an
IRD Definition is consistent with such constraints at all
times when the data is generally available to suitably-
authorisedusers,and when indicatedby the definition of the
constraint. It shall be permissible for the enforcementof
10
constraintsto be switched off under certain circumstances,
such as during any period when the relevant data is
accessibleonly to a single user.
7.2.2 Access Control
An IRDS shall provide meansof limiting accessto data in
an IRD or an IRD Definition, or operationson that data, to
suitably author&d users. Such authorisation may be in
terms of types of data, development status of the data
concernedor other relevant criteria. It is therefore to be
understoodthat all facilities specified in the remainderof
clause7 are availableonly to suitably-authorisedusers.
An IRDS may also provide means to limit access to
individual objects within an IRD or an IRD Definition, or
even to individual attributesof thoseobjects.
The process of authentication of the identity of a user is
outsidethe scopeof the IRDS Framework.
7.2.3 Audit trail
An IRDS shall provide means of optionally auditing
changesto an IRD or an IRD Definition. The application
of auditing facilities shall be optional at least at the
installation level.
7.2.4 Limits and defaults
An IRDS shah allow the specification of limit and default
values for the values of specified attributes, and shall then
apply thesewhen objectsarecreatedor modified.
7.2.5 Database integrity
An IRDS shall ensure that the integrity of the data in an
IRD or an IRD definition is preservedin both a single-user
and a multi-user environment (if such an environment is
supported). The mechanism for achieving this is
implementor-defined.
Such support shall include the ability to recover from
system or program failure, by automatic rollback, or to
processa userinitiated rollback.
7.2.6 Query and reporting facilities
In addition to any specific implementor-definedreports, an
IRDS shall provide general-purposequery and reporting
capabilitieson an IRD or an IRD Definition, either directly
or by providing access for general-purpose query and
reporting facilities.
7.2.7 Remote data access
There is no assumptionin this Framework that the user of
IRDS services, at any of the IRDS interfaces defined in
clause 8, shall be required to be located at the same real
system as the IRDS.
7.3 Facilities specific to information
resource management
A large part of the task of information resource
managementis concernedwith controlling the development,
 I SO/I EC 1 0027 : 1 990 (E)

i ntroducti on an d u se of i nformati on processi ng systems. versi ons of th e same i nformati on resou rce may exi st i n
Th e fol l owi ng I RDS faci l i ti es are those whi ch assi st i n thi s oth er parti ti ons.
task, an d whi ch g o beyon d the scope of a g en eral - pu rpose
d atabase
man ag emensystem.
t 7. 3. 6 Su bsetti ng

7. 3. 1 N ami n g To control u ser access an d provi de each u ser wi th a

conveni entcontext, i t shal l be possi bl e to defi ne su bsetsof
An I RDS shal l provi de faci l i ti es for an y obj ect wi thi n an an I RD or an I RD Defi ni ti on. Each su bset shal l provi de
I RD to be i denti fi ed external l y by a u n i q u e n ame, i f th e u pd ateaccessto n o more th an on e parti ti on, an d opti onal l y
defi ni ti on of th e obj ect type so speci fi esor the u sercreati ng read- on l y access to oth er parti ti ons. Su ch a subsetti ng
the obj ect so chooses. I f an I RDS i mpl emen torprovi des a mech an i smmay al so be u sed to constrai n accessto onl y a
u n i qu ei denti fi er for an obj ect wh erethe u serdi d n ot provi de speci fi edversi on or versi ons.
on e, n o u ser shal l n eed to be aware of an y su ch system-
g en erated
i denti fi er. 7. 3. 7 Copy creati on

Th e n ame spacesfor each I RD an d for each I RD defi ni ti on To en abl e u sers to create si mi l ar obj ects an d g rou ps of

sh ah be di sti nct. obj ects wi thout u n n ecessary

dupl i cati on of i nput, an I RDS
shal l provi de faci l i ti es for a u ser to make a copy of an
Th e abi l i ty shal l be provi ded to i mpose constrai nts on th e obj ect or g rou p of obj ects. Th esefaci l i ti es may or may not
n ami n g at each l evel , ei ther gl obal l y or by obj ect type. exten dto th e su bsequ enman
t ag emenof
t i denti cal copi es.

7. 3. 2 Statu s of di cti onary content 7. 3. 8 I mpact anal ysi s

Data that i s n ot stabl e i s termed “u ncontrol l ed”. Data that i s An I RDS shal l provi de mean sfor an sweri n gqu eri essu ch as
stabl e i s termed “control l ed”. Data that i s n o l on g er u sed i s those con cern ed wi th i mpact anal ysi s. I n parti cul ar, the
termed “archi ved”. An I RDS shal l en abl e th e u ser to concepts of i mpact d epen d en cyan d q u ery path shal l be
di sti ngui sh betweenth esestates. su pportedat both I RD an d I RD Defi ni ti on l evel s.

7. 3. 3 I nformati on system l i fe cycl e An i mpact d epen d en cyof an obj ect A on an obj ect B i n an
man ag emen t I RD or an I RD Defi ni ti on i ndi cates that i f B i s modi fi ed, A
i s con si deredto h avebeenmodi fi ed.
To assi st i n control l i ng th e devel opmen t,i ntroducti on an d
u se of i nformati on processi n g systems, an I RDS shal l A q u ery path i s a predefi n edmean sof accessi nga col l ecti on
su pport th e con cept of a l i fe cycl e spl i t i nto a n u mber of of rel atedobj ects, potenti al l y of mo re th an on e obj ect type.
ph ases.
8 I RDS I nterfaces
Th e concept of l i fe cycl e ph ases shal l appl y at both
I RD an d I RD Defi ni ti on l evel s. 8. 1 Posi ti oni ng of i nterfaces

7. 3. 4 Fi g u re 8 sh ows di agrammati cal l y the maj or i nterfaces

Versi on con troi
covered i n thi s Framework. Each processor i n the fi gure
I n the devel opmen t, i ntrodu cti on an d u se of i nformati on may act as a serverto on e or more cl i ents, sh own to the l eft
processi ng systems th ere i s common l y a n eed for two or of th e processor.
more versi ons of an obj ect or col l ecti on of obj ects to be of
i nterest concurrentl y. An I RDS shal l th erefore provi de Th e fi gure i s di vi ded i nto two parts by a d ash ed l i ne. To
the l eft of the di vi di ng l i ne are sh own th e processorswhi ch
mean sfor u sers to create an d mai n tai n versi ons of obj ects
col l ecti vel y compri seth e I RDS Framework.
or u ser- defi n ed g rou ps of obj ects, an d to i ndi cate wh en
n ecessarywhi ch versi on i s of i nterest.
To the ri ght of th e di vi di ng l i ne are sh own two processors
an d storag e medi a. Th ese two processors an d thei r
7. 3. 5 Parti ti oni ng
i nterfaces are n on - n ormati ve for the I RDS Framework
For con ven i en ceof i nformati on resou rceman ag emen an
t d I nternati onal Stan dard,bu t are i ncl u ded h ere to i ndi cate that
control , both an I RD an d an I RD Defi ni ti on may be di vi ded u se may be mad e of some ki nd of Database Servi ces
i nto parti ti ons. A parti ti on i s a l ogi cal subdi vi si on of an i nterfaceto accessthe dataman ag edby the I RDS .
I RD or an I RD Defi ni ti on. An y obj ect shal l be i n onl y on e
su ch parti ti on; h owever, oth er obj ectsrepresen ti ngdi fferent Each storag e med i u m represen ts on e of th e d ata l evel s
di scussedi n cl ause6.

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I SOAEC 1 0027 : 1 990 (E)

Fi g u re 8 - Maj or I RDS Processor I nterfaces

8. 2 I RDS I nterfaces Overvi ew g) th e I RDS Co mman d Lan g u ag e H u man

I nterface;
Fi g u re 8 posi ti ons several of th e i nterfaces rel evant to th e
fami l y of I nternati onalStan dard s
for an I RDS. h) a cl ass of i nterfaces, provi ded by oth er I RDS
man - mach i n e
i nterfaceprocessors;
Th esei nterfacesam

0 a cl ass of i nterfaces, provi d ed by appl i cati on

a) th e I RDS Servi cesI nterface;
prog ramsu si n g the I RDS Servi cesI nterface.

b) a database
servi cesi nterface;
Th e i nterfacesl ettereda) , d) , e) an d g ) are descri bedi n more
detai l i n 8. 3. Certai n of th ese i nterfaces are prescri bed i n
c) an operati n g system I npu t/Ou tpu t processor
compl etedetai l i n oth er I nternati onal Stan d ardsi n the I RDS
i nterface;
fami l y of I nternati onal Stan dards. Th e di sti ncti on between
d) th e Co mman dLan g u ag eAppl i cati on Prog ram i nterfacesf) , h ) an d i ) , i s for i nformati ve pu rposesonl y.
I nterface, su pported by th e Co mman d
An appl i cati on prog ramor a ven d or provi ded produ ct i s n ot
Lan g u ag eSyntaxProcessor;
precl u ded by thi s I nternati onal Stan d ard from accessi ng
e) th e I RDS Pan el I nterface; mo re th an on e I RDS i nterfaceconcurrentl y.

0 a cl ass of i nterfaces, provi ded by appl i cati on 8. 3 Descri pti on of I nterfaces

prog rams u si ng Co mman d Lan g u ag e syntax
8. 3. 1 I RDS Servi ces I nterface
th rou g h the Co mman dLan g u ag eAppl i cati on
Prog ramI nterface;
Th e I RDS Servi ces I nterface i s a processor to processor
i nterface.

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 I SOAEC 1 0027 : 1 990 (El

I nterfaces an d processors sh own to th e ri ght

of thi s l i ne are n on - n ormati ve

I RDS

a Servi ces

Processor -

Fi g u re 9 - A Database Servi ces processor u si ng th e I RDS Servi ces I nterface

Th e I RDS Servi ces I nterface provi des al l th e servi ces Th e I RDS Servi ces Processor may make u se of th e
n eed edby an y processorwi shi ng to accessan d man i pu l ate servi ces provi ded at the Database Servi ces I nterface to
I RDS data. Thi s i nterface cou l d be u sed by processors accessth e data on appropri atedata l evel s, as i l l ustrated i n
su ch as Pan el I nterface Processors,Co mman d Lan g u ag e fi gu re 8. Al ternati vel y, th e I RDS Servi ces Processormay
Syntax Processors, oth er I RDS Man - mach i n e I nterface accessthi s data di rectl y or make u se of operati n g system
Processorsan d Appl i cati on Prog rams wi shi ng to access servi ces.
I RD Defi ni ti on Level an d I RD Level data.
Thi s Framework d oes n ot prescri be whi ch of th ese th ree
Thi s I nternati onal Stan d ard d oes not precl u de an al ternati vesshou l dbe u sed.
i mpl emen tati on of an I RDS offeri ng con cu rrent access
th rou g h a si ngl e I RDS Servi cesI nterfaceto more th an on e 8. 3. 2 I RDS Pan el I nterface

I RD.
A Pan el I nterface i s a styl e of i nterface for h u man u se. I t

Th e I RDS Servi ces I nterface i s provi d ed as th e pri mary consi sts of a set of pan el s or screen formats, each

mean sof accessto data on the I RD Defi ni ti on Level an d provi di ng accessto a prescri bedset of sevi ces defi n ed i n

on th e I RD Level . Al l accessto I RD Defi ni ti on Level an d terms u n derstan dabl eto h u man u sers wh o may be n on -

I RD Level d ata shal l be th rou g h th e I RDS Servi ces techni cal . Each pan el may referen ced ataon ei ther the I RD

I nterface. Defi ni ti on Level or on th e I RD Level .

Each servi ceavai l abl eat th e Servi cesI nterfacei s associ ated Th e data model l i ng faci l i ty u sedto defi ne th e data seenby

wi th ei ther the I RD Defi ni ti on Level Pai r or wi th th e I RD a u ser of a Pan el I nterface may di ffer from that u sedat th e

Level Pai r. Servi ces I nterface. I t i s al so possi bl e for a di fferent data

model l i ng faci l i ty to be u sed at eachof th e two d ata l evel s
Man y oth er processorsmay make u se of the servi cesat the for wh i ch servi cesare provi ded. Th ere may thu s be more
Servi cesI nterface. Several su ch processorsare sh own i n th an on e Pan el I nterface for the same Servi ces I nterface,
fi gures 8 an d 1 0. So me of these may rel ate to d epen d i n gon the data model l i n g faci l i ty whi ch i s fel t to be
prog rammi n gl an g u ag estandardsor to DatabaseLan g u ag e appropri ate.
standards.I n addi ti on, I nternati onalStan d ards
d evel opedto
su pport th e fi el ds of appl i cati on referred to i n 5. 2 may Each mappi n g betweend ata model l i ng faci l i ty u sed at the

i denti fy or requ i re processorswhi ch may make u se of the Servi ces I nterface on a data l evel an d a data model l i ng

servi cesprovi dedat thi s i nterface. faci l i ty u sed at a Pan el I nterface on the same d ata l evel

13
I SO/I EC 1 0027 : 1 990 (E)

shal l be performed by the rel evant Pan el I nterface Th e process of maki n g th e Export/I mport fi l e on th e
Processor. storage med i u m i s cal l ed “export” an d th e process of
transferri ng the data from th e Export/I mport fi l e to th e
8. 3. 3 I RDS Co mman d Lan g u ag e I nterface secon dI RDS at th e secon dreal system i s cal l ed “i mport”.

A Co mman d Lan g u ag e I nterface i s a styl e of i nterface Th e secon dmeth od i s for two I RDS’ s at two di fferent real
ori en ted towards u se by h u man users. I t defi nes a mean s systems to commu n i cate di rectl y u si n g OS1 protocol s to
of i nvoki ng I RDS Servi ces u si ng statements expressed transfer i nformati on between them. Thi s I nternati onal
accordi n g to a concrete syntax, consi sti ng of a set of Stan d ard d oes not prescri be i nterfaces for thi s type of
syntacti c rul es whi ch mu st be ad h ered to by a u ser commu n i cati on .
prepari n gthe statements. Each statemen tdefi nesa servi ce
i n terms u n d erstan d abl eto peopl e. Each statemen tmay I n both cases, th e processof “i mport” i nvol ves checki ng
referen ced ata on ei ther th e I RD Defi ni ti on Level or on th e th e consi stencyof the i mporteddata.
I RD Level .
Th e data whi ch i s exported or i mported may be on an y of
Th e data model l i n g faci l i ty u sedto defi n e the data seenby th e bottom th ree d ata l evel s. On l y data on th e I RD
a u ser of a Co mman dLan g u ag emay di ffer from that u sed Defi ni ti on Level an d on th e I RD Level i s covered by thi s
at th e Servi cesI nterface. I t i s al so possi bl e for a di fferent FrameworkI nternati onalStan dard.
data model l i n g faci l i ty to be u sed on each of the two data
l evel s for whi ch servi cesare provi ded. Th ere may thu s be
more th an on e Co mman dLan g u ag efor the sameServi ces
I nterface, d epen d i n gon th e datamodel l i n g faci l i ty whi ch i s
fel t to be appropri ate.

Each mappi n gbetweena d atamodel l i ng faci l i ty u sedat the

Servi ces I nterface on a d ata l evel an d a data model l i ng
faci l i ty u sed at a Co mman d Lan g u ag eon the same data
l evel shal l be performed by th e rel evant Co mman d
Lan g u ag eProcessor.

8. 3. 4 I RDS Co mman d Lan g u ag e Appl i cati on

Prog ram I nterface

Th e Co mman dLan g u ag estatements

may be cal l ed from or
embed d ed i n an I nternati onal Stan d ard prog rammi n g
l an g u ag e. Thi s possi bi l i ty i s depi cted i n Fi g u re 8 as
i nterface d ) wh i ch i s a separatei nterface from the h u man
Co mman dLan g u ag ei nterface.

8. 3. 5 Oth er i nterfaces Fi g u re 10 - I RDS Export/I mport Fi l e

Th e oth er i nterfaces sh own i n fi gure 8 may or may not be

candi dates
for standardi sati on.
Th e Export/I mport Fi l e provi des a commo n data format for
8. 4 Use of I RDS Servi ces by Database exch an g eof I RDS d atabetweendi fferent I RD’ s.
servi ces
Th e I RDS Export/I mport fi l e format i s prescri bed by a
Databaseservi ces processorsmay themsel vescal l I RDS separate
I RDS I nternati onalStan dard.
Servi ces as i l l ustrated i n fi gure 9. Thi s al l ows a d atabase
man ag emen t system to store i nformati on abou t the Fi l es i n thi s format can be created an d accessedby I RDS
structu re of databasesi n the I RD. Th u s the i ntegrati on of processors vi a operati n g system I npu t/Ou tpu t Servi ces.
d atabase
man ag emensystems
t an d the I RDS i s en abl ed. Thi s i s sh own i n fi gure 1 0.

8. 5 Export an d I mport of I RDS data 8. 6 Remote I RDS Access;

A copy of some or al l of the data man ag edby an I RDS I t i s necessaryto be abl e to accessthe I RD Defi ni ti on d ata
may be transmi tted from on e real system (i n the OS1 an d I RD data l ocated at on e real system from an oth erreal
sen se)to an oth er. Thi s may be d on e i n two ways. system.

Th e fi rst meth od i s by maki n g a copy, cal l ed an Thi s req u i remen tdi ffers from that of Export/I mport i n that
Export/I mport fi l e, on a storag e med i u m an d th en the amou n tsof d ata accessedare smal l an d OS1 protocol s
ei ther sen di n g the copy by a tel ecommu n i cati on sl i nk or wou l d be u sedi n al l cases.
by physi cal l y transferri ng th e med i u m from on e real
system to th e other. I n thi s case th e I RDS pl aces n o
constrai ntson h ow the Export/I mport fi l e i s transported.

14
 I SOAEC 1 0027 : 1 990 (E)

8. 7 Servi ces provi ded at I nterfaces Thi s I RDS Framework does not i denti fy each i ndi vi dual
servi ce as thi s i s the rol e of I nternati onal Standardsbased
Several servi ces are avai l abl e at each i nterface maki ng u p on thi s Framework.
the I RDS Framework.
The faci l i ti es descri bedi n cl ause7 are provi ded through the
Each servi ce rel ates to ei ther the I RD Level Pai r or to the I RDS Servi ces.
I RD Defi ni ti on Level Pai r. In some cases, si mi l ar
servi cesmay be provi ded for both of thesetwo l evel pai rs,
but for defi ni ti onal conveni ence they must be defi ned as
separateservi ces. 9 Conformance

Man y of the servi cesprovi ded at the i nterfacesdescri bedi n Conformance requi rements are not stated in thi s
the I RDS Framework are si mi l ar to those provi ded at a I nternati onal Standard. Rather, they are stated i n each of
typi cal DatabaseServi ces I nterface. Other I RDS servi ces the other Standards i n the I RDS fami l y of I nternati onal
are not typi cal of databaseservi ces. Standards.

1s
I SOAEC 1 0027 : 1 990 (E)

Al phabeti cal I ndex

Abstract syntax 4 I con for a person 3 Pan el s 4

accesscontrol 1, 10 I con for a storag emed i u m 3 parameterl i sts 4
AP LP 8 I denti fi cati on of DataLevel s 6 parti ti on 2, 1 1
appl i cati ond atabase 3 I mpact anal ysi s Parti ti oni ng 11
appl i cati on l evel 1 , 7, 9 i mport 2, :: Person 3
appl i cati on l evel pai r 1, 9 I nformati on Resou rce PI -/I 4
appl i cati on prog ram 5 Di cti onary 2, 3 Posi ti oni ng of i nterfaces 11
appl i cati on sch ema 1, 9 I nformati on Resou rceDi cti onary proced u re
cal l 4
Au di t trai l 10 System 2, 3 processor 2
audi ti ng 1, 10 i nformati on resou rceman ag emen2t prog rammi n gl an g u ag e 4, 599
I nformati on systeml i fe cycl e Prog rammi n gl an g u ag e
Cl assi fi cati on of I RDS faci l i ti es 1 0 man ag emen t 11 d epen d en ce 4
cl i ent 1, 3 i nterface 2 Pu rposeof the I RDS Stan d ards 3
Cl i ent - Serverassoci ati on 3 I nterfacestyl es 4
COBOL 4 I nterfacestyl es for person s 4 Qu ery an d reporti ng faci l i ti es 10
comman dl an g u ag e 4 I nterfacestyl es for processors 4
Con ceptof types an d i nstances 5 I RD 2 real system 14
Con cretesyntax 4 I RD defi ni ti on 2, 6 real system. 1
Con forman ce 15 I RD defi ni ti on l evel 2, 6, 9 Remotedataaccess 10
constrai nt 1, 10 I RD defi ni ti on l evel pai r 2, 9 RemoteI RDS Access 14
Con ven ti ons 2 I RD Defi ni ti on Level . 9 Rol e of data model l i ng faci l i ti es 9
Con ven ti ons to sh ow Cl i ent I RD defi ni ti on sch ema 2
- Serverassoci ati ons 3 I RD defi ni ti on sch emal evel 2, 6, 9 sch ema 8
Copy creati on 11 I RD Defi ni ti on Sch ema. 6 scope 1
I RD l evel 2, 6, 9 server 1, 3
datacontai ner 1, 5 I RD l evel pai r 2, 9 servi ce 1, 14
datacontentstan dard 5 I RD sch ema 2, 6, 9 Servi ceconventi ons 4
Data contentu si ng g en eml i sed I RD- LP 8 servi ce pri mi ti ves 4
servi ces 5 I RDD- LP 8 Servi cesprovi dedat I nterfaces 14
Data i n terch an geformat 4, 5 I RDS 2, 3 SQL 4
Data i n terch an geformats 5 I RDS Co mman dLan g u ag e Stan d ardi sed
servi cesat an
datal evel 2, 5 Appl i cati on Prog ramI nterface 1 4 i nterface 5
datamodel l i ng faci l i ti es 9 I RDS Co mman dLan g u ag e statusof di cti onary content 2, 1 1
datamodel l i ng faci l i ty 2, 4, 5 I nterl ace 13 storag emed i u m 2, 3, 5
datatype 6 I RDS Data Con ten t 5 Stru ctu reof the I RDS Stan d ards 3
datatypesan d dataat datal evel s 9 I RDS faci l i ti es 10 Su bsetti ng 11
d atabase 2, 5 I RDS fami l y of Stan d ards 3 Su pportfor di fferent fi el ds of
d atabase
i ntegri ty 2, 1 0 I RDS I nterfaces 11 appl i cati on 5
Database
Lan g u ag e 499 I RDS I nterfacesOvervi ew 12 Syntax 4
Database
Lan g u ag eSQL wi th I RDS Pan el I nterface 13
i ntegri ty en h an cemen t 1 I RDS Processor
I nterfaces 12 Term defi nedi n I S0 7498 an d u sed
d atabase
man ag emensystem
t 5 I RDS Servi cesI nterface 12 i n thi s I nternati onalStan d ard 1
Database
servi cesprocessors 14 Terms defi n ed i n thi s I nternati onal
Defi ni ti ons 1 l evel pai r 2, 5 Stan d ard 1
Descri pti onof I nterfaces 12 l evel pai r. 8 Terms ori gi nal l y defi ned i n I S0
Di ag rammi n gconventi ons 3 Level s an d th e I RDS 7 7498 an d ad aptedfor u se i n thi s
Di rectory Servi ces 4 l i fe cycl e 2, 1 1 I nternati onalStan d ard 1
l i fe cycl e ph ase 2, 1 1 type of d ata 5
En forcemen tof constrai nts 10 Li mi ts an d defaul ts 10 types an d i nstances 5
enti ty rel ati onshi p model l i n g 4 types of data 5
export 2, 1 4 Mean s of su pportu si ng
Export an d I mport of I RDS data 1 4 I nternati onalStan dard s 5 U se of I RDS Servi cesby Database
export/i mport fi l e 2, 1 4 servi ces 14
Extensi bi l i ty 9 Nami n g 11 u ser 2
N DL 4
Faci l i ti es speci fi c to i nformati on Normati vereferen ces 1 val u e 2
resou rceman ag emen t 10 Notati on for a processoran d i ts Versi on control 11
i nterface 2
Gen erald atabase
man ag emen t
faci l i ti es 10 open systemen vi ron men t 4
Graph i cs 4 Oth eri nterfaces 14

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U DC 681 . 3. 06

Descri ptors : data processi ng, i nformati on i nterchange, i nformati on network, computer assi sted management, l ayout.

Pri ce based on 16 pages