A Universal Framework for Data Transformation

Organization of information manipulated by applications vary widely in their representation. However, there does exist some commonality in the way these differences are realized. A better understanding of such commonality will allow for the development of tools that will simplify the task of reconciling those differences, thereby making it easier for applications to share information. In an effort to achieve this understanding, we have proposed a Universal Framework for Data Transformation. This framework dissects the task of transforming data into three individual components. These three components are steps common to all transformation efforts. Furthermore, individually each of these three steps can be generalized to some degree.