Generic Data Manipulation in a Mixed Global/Local Conceptual Model

Modern content management systems allow end-user schema creation, which can result in schema heterogeneity within a system. Building functionality to create and modify data must keep pace with this heterogeneity, but the cost of constant development is high. In this paper, we present a novel approach that extends our previous integration system that uses domain structures—global schema fragments—and local type and integration operators by introducing new local record operators and global insert and update operators. We present two widgets that use the new operators: (i) a generic clone widget that allows users to selectively clone records shown in a global widget while creating new local records; (ii) a generic clone exploration widget that allows users to browse the CloneOf relationships and reason about how different cloned records and structures have evolved. We demonstrate our system with a running example of the clone and exploration widgets in a robotics educational repository.