A strategy for adding fuzzy types to an object-oriented database system

Fuzzy types have been developed as a new way of managing fuzzy structures. With types of this kind, properties are ordered on different levels of precision or amplitude, according to their relationship with the concept represented by the type. In order to implement this new tool, two different strategies can be followed. On the one hand, a new system incorporating fuzzy types as an intrinsic capability can be developed. On the other hand, a new layer that implements fuzzy types can be added to an existing object-oriented database system (OODB). This paper shows how the typical classes of an OODB can be used to represent a fuzzy type and how the mechanisms of instantiation and inheritance can be modeled using this kind of new type on an OODB. (C) 2001 John Wiley & Sons, Inc.