Integrating disparate databases for composite answers

The authors consider composite information systems, i.e. systems that require multiple independent databases to work together within and/or across organizational boundaries in order to increase productivity. They focus on logical connectivity, which deals with the process of accessing disparate databases in concert for composite answers. They present an approach to resolve the problems of contradiction, inconsistency, and ambiguity, which need to be overcome to attain logical connectivity. Their approach uses concepts drawn from frame-based knowledge representation and rule-based inferencing. An object-oriented prototype is presented to illustrate the process involved in formulating composite answers when different levels of abstraction are required.<>