June 7, 2018
Conference Paper

A Topological Approach to Representational Data Models

Abstract

As data accumulate faster and bigger, building representa- tional models has turned into an art form. Despite sharing common data types, each scientific discipline often takes a different approach. In this work, we propose representational models grounded in the mathematics of algebraic topology to understand foundational data types. We present hypergraphs for multi-relational data, point clouds for vector data, and sheaf models when both data types are present and interrelated. These three models use similar principles from algebraic topology and provide a domain-agnostic framework. We will discuss each method, provide ref- erences to their foundational mathematical papers, and give examples of their use.

Revised: February 12, 2020 | Published: June 7, 2018

Citation

Purvine E., S.G. Aksoy, C.A. Joslyn, K.E. Nowak, B.L. Praggastis, and M. Robinson. 2018. A Topological Approach to Representational Data Models. In International Conference on Human Interface and the Management of Information (HIMI 2018): Human Interface and the Management of Information. Interaction, Visualization, and Analytics, Jully 15-20, 2018, Las Vegas, NV. Lecture Notes in Computer Scien, edited by S. Yamamoto and H. Mori, 10904, 90-109. PNNL-SA-132253. doi:10.1007/978-3-319-92043-6_8