ISO/IEC 19763-12:2015

INTERNATIONAL ISO/IEC
STANDARD 19763-12
First edition
2015-03-15
Information technology — Metamodel
framework for interoperability (MFI) —
Part 12:
Metamodel for information model
registration
Technologies de l’information — Cadre du métamodèle pour
l’interopérabilité (MFI) —
Partie 12: Métamodèle pour l’enregistrement du modèle
d’information
Reference number
©
ISO/IEC 2015
© ISO/IEC 2015
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Published in Switzerland
ii © ISO/IEC 2015 – All rights reserved

Contents Page
Foreword .iv
Introduction .v
1 Scope . 1
2 Conformance . 2
2.1 General . 2
2.2 Degree of conformance . 2
2.2.1 General. 2
2.2.2 Strictly conforming implementation . 2
2.2.3 Conforming implementation . 2
2.3 Implementation Conformance Statement (ICS) . 2
3 Normative references . 2
4 Terms, definitions, and abbreviated terms . 3
4.1 Terms and definitions . 3
4.2 Terms for concepts used in this part of 19763 . 3
4.3 Abbreviated terms . 8
5 Structure of MFI Information model registration . 9
5.1 Overview of MFI Information model registration . 9
5.2 Association between MFI Information model registration and MFI Core and mapping .10
5.3 Metaclasses in MFI Information Model Registration .12
5.3.1 Attribute .12
5.3.2 Attribute_Unique_Identifier_Element .13
5.3.3 Described_Domain .13
5.3.4 Diagram.14
5.3.5 Domain .14
5.3.6 Entity_Specialisation_Hierarchy .15
5.3.7 Entity_Specialisation_Hierarchy_Foreign_Key_Attribute .16
5.3.8 Entity_Type .16
5.3.9 Enumerated_Domain .18
5.3.10 Foreign_Key_Attribute .18
5.3.11 General_Constraint . .18
5.3.12 Information_Model .19
5.3.13 Information_Modelling_Language .19
5.3.14 Key_Attribute .19
5.3.15 Native_Key_Attribute .20
5.3.16 Non_Key_Attribute.20
5.3.17 Relationship .20
5.3.18 Relationship_End .21
5.3.19 Relationship_End_Foreign_Key_Attribute .22
5.3.20 Relationship_End_Group .23
5.3.21 Relationship_End_Unique_Identifier_Element .23
5.3.22 Unique_Identifier .24
5.3.23 Unique_Identifier_Element .24
5.3.24 Valid_Value .25
Annex A (informative) Description of the metamodel .26
Annex B (informative) Relationship of metaclasses to the MDR Metamodel .33
Annex C (informative) Applicability of information modelling concepts to techniques .34
Annex D (informative) Examples of information model registration .36
Bibliography .61
© ISO/IEC 2015 – All rights reserved iii

Foreword
ISO (the International Organization for Standardization) and IEC (the International Electrotechnical
Commission) form the specialized system for worldwide standardization. National bodies that are
members of ISO 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. ISO and IEC technical committees collaborate in fields of mutual interest. Other international
organizations, governmental and non-governmental, in liaison with ISO and IEC, also take part in the
work. In the field of information technology, ISO and IEC have established a joint technical committee,
ISO/IEC JTC 1.
The procedures used to develop this document and those intended for its further maintenance are
described in the ISO/IEC Directives, Part 1. In particular the different approval criteria needed for
the different types of document should be noted. This document was drafted in accordance with the
editorial rules of the ISO/IEC Directives, Part 2 (see www.iso.org/directives).
Attention is drawn to the possibility that some of the elements of this document may be the subject
of patent rights. ISO and IEC shall not be held responsible for identifying any or all such patent rights.
Details of any patent rights identified during the development of the document will be in the Introduction
and/or on the ISO list of patent declarations received (see www.iso.org/patents).
Any trade name used in this document is information given for the convenience of users and does not
constitute an endorsement.
For an explanation on the meaning of ISO specific terms and expressions related to conformity
assessment, as well as information about ISO’s adherence to the WTO principles in the Technical Barriers
to Trade (TBT) see the following URL: Foreword - Supplementary information
The committee responsible for this document is ISO/IEC JTC 1, Information technology, SC 32, Data
management and interchange.
ISO/IEC 19763 consists of the following parts, under the general title Information technology — Metamodel
framework for interoperability (MFI):
— Part 1: Framework
— Part 3: Metamodel for ontology registration
— Part 5: Metamodel for process model registration
— Part 6: Registry Summary
— Part 10: MFI Core model and basic mapping
— Part 12: Metamodel for information model registration
The following parts are under preparation:
— Part 7: Metamodel for service registration
— Part 8: Metamodel for role and goal registration
— Part 9: On demand model selection
— Part 13: Metamodel for forms registration
iv © ISO/IEC 2015 – All rights reserved

Introduction
There is an increasing demand for systems to interoperate by exchanging data. For these data exchanges
to be meaningful, it is essential that the business information requirements that are met by the data
stored in these systems are understood so that suitable data exchange mechanisms can be developed.
Business information requirements, including the semantic meaning of the information, are often
represented by information models before the databases that are an integral part of the systems are
designed. These models are often called logical models. The subsequent design of the database structure
can also be considered to be another form of information model.
Where there is an overlap of the universe of discourse of two systems, the information models for these
two systems can be registered using the facilities specified by this part of ISO/IEC 19763. The mappings
between these two models can then be registered using the facilities specified by ISO/IEC 19763-10. An
interface between the two systems can then be designed, enabling the two systems to interoperate by
exchanging information.
© ISO/IEC 2015 – All rights reserved v

INTERNATIONAL STANDARD ISO/IEC 19763-12:2015(E)
Information technology — Metamodel framework for
interoperability (MFI) —
Part 12:
Metamodel for information model registration
1 Scope
The primary purpose of the multipart standard ISO/IEC 19763 is to specify a metamodel framework for
interoperability. This part of ISO/IEC 19763 specifies a metamodel for registering information models.
This metamodel was developed taking into account two distinct types of information models such as
— those that are used to document the information requirements of a particular area of interest, and
— those that represent the structure of a database which are often expressed using a Database
Definition Language (DDL).
Information models that represent information requirements can be developed using a number of
different common diagramming techniques and notations. The metamodel specified in this part
of ISO/IEC 19763 was developed to cover the registration of models expressed using the following
techniques and notations:
— Express-G, an ISO standard entity-relationship modelling notation, as described in Reference [8];
— IDEF1X, a US Federal standard entity-relat
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