LOCAL-AREA NETWORKS AND INFORMATION-SYSTEMS

Local Area Networking is an enabling technology for effective (office) Information Systems. Yet, in conceptual information modelling, communication aspects are mostly treated as implicit elements that are to be specified in the implementation stage only. Arguments are presented for explicitly introducing a communication function as part of the higher abstraction also, notably the need to have an integrated reference whenever network implementation lead to changes in the lowest level system specification. The corersponding high level modelling may be achieved through a ''messaging functionality'' model, which is the dual of the customary modelling expressions - links becoming actions and actions links. The extension is found to clarify the overall model, thus providing a flexible basis for software requirement specification.