Building an Integrated Information System that Mergethe Databases of Companies Providing Cargo Carriers

The task of integrating information contained in databases of various companies that providecargo carriers is considered in the article. It is assumed that these companies are independentand each of them maintains its own database about its employees, customers, number and pa-rameters of carries, services and orders. The article simulates three such independent databases(information sources) and describes a scheme for constructing an integrated system based onthem, in particular, for the convenience of customers when searching for carriers with the neces-sary parameters (dimensions and load-carrying capacity). To solve this problem, it is proposedto use an approach combining the advantages of mediator and data repository technologies. Itis assumed that all sources have similar conceptual schemes, but they have their own specificcharacteristics. In particular, there may be different names of tables and attributes in differ-ent sources and different distribution of attributes throw tables. Certain attributes may alsobe absent at some sources. We construct correspondence tables and a mediator that translateuser queries to the sources. To identify the necessary sources, a small auxiliary repository ismaintained that contains information about the parameters of the carriers that each source has.The user of the integrated system enters data on the weight and dimensions of his cargo, then,using the information of the repository, the system determines the appropriate trucking compa-nies to which the user request is broadcast. After combining all the answers that came from thesources, the client receives full information with a list of suitable companies, prices and otherconditions for the execution of the order.