TABLE OF CONTENTS Aside from standard data processing, the relational database has found varied application. For example, it has provided support for graphics and CAD, and much interest has been shown in interfacing CAD packages with database systems. The relational database has also been used in other database applications, for example multimedia databases, knowledge bases, and environment modelling (Korth and Silberschatz, 1991).
For knowledge bases, the aim is to represent facts and rules expressed in logic, which can then be used to answer queries that cannot be handled by basic query languages. The rule processor can interact with the database, thus combining the efficiency of a DBMS and the extended query resolution properties of a knowledge-based system.
One important application of databases is the interfacing with MRP systems. The purpose here is to be able to provide the MRP system with a bill of materials for each component that is scheduled to be produced. Interfacing with a CAD database has historically not been possible as the CAD database does not hold information in a meaningful way, i.e., simply as lines and co-ordinates, whereas a fully integrated system would, at least theoretically, be able to convert incoming orders for products into outgoing orders for the materials and components necessary for those products.
There have been encouraging signs in the development towards integrated databases. Relational databases have a lot to offer to design applications. The use of a relational DBMS for managing graphical data provides several advantages...
