Due to changing internal and external requirements, adjustments to the database schema are mandatory to successfully use a system over a long period of time. Therefore, my main research topic focuses on schema evolution for graph databases in particular. We invented the technology- independent evolution language GEO (Graph Evolution Operation) to describe what each evolution operation does in an easy-to-understand way, filling the gap of a missing evolution language for graph databases. In addition, GEO can be used to directly write executable Cypher code by using our domain-dependent SMOs (Schema Modification Operations). Based on this, GEO-X was designed, capable of describing conditional as well as classical schema evolution, specializing in de- and increasing heterogeneity in schema-less databases.
Besides performing schema evolution, the evolutionary history between different versions provides rich insights into how a system is used and allows for reconstructing requirement changes during the lifetime of the system. Thus, as a second topic, I will present our model-driven approach to perform schema transformation for property graphs. The approach's benefits lie in its accordance with the GQL standard, its high level of abstraction due to our meta model, as well as its technology independence. In addition, our new approach also considers possible ambiguities and how to resolve them.
Short biography:
I completed both my bachelor's and master's degrees at the University of Regensburg, where I am now pursuing my PhD. The Faculty of Informatics and Data Science at the University of Regensburg was only recently established. As a result, I completed my bachelor's degree in linguistics. For my master's, I pursued a double degree in digital humanities and linguistics, with a focus on computational linguistics and data analytics.
Due to the pandemic, I worked as a teacher at an elementary school and a middle school. With my background in linguistics and additional qualification in German as a second language, I was assigned my own class to teach German to Ukrainian refugees. This was before starting my PhD in the Data Engineering Group of Meike Klettke in March 2023. My research focuses on schema evolution in graph databases and inter-model linkages.
