this article addresses the application layer, the integration among ERP packages Heterogeneity. Due to theind"HH"T[" dnd"HH mentand dTH5jjOT of component systems, heterogeneity occurs at various levelsand for various reasons. On a technical level, heterogeneity comes fromdomTH5"j hardH5" platforms, operating systems, dstems, management systems,and programming languages. On a conceptual level,
... [Show full abstract] heterogeneity comes fromdomTH5"j programmingand dd modgr as well as dT""FHFT undFHFT["H/F and modFHF of the same real-world concepts, for example, the use of the same name todTH"" dTH""H"T concepts (homonyms) and the use ofdTH/jUOT names for the same concept (synonyms). Bridony heterogeneity is one of the mostdstT5O5O tasks of SI. Typical techniques for overcoming heterogeneity are the use of common programmingand dd modgra and similar structuring of information. Domain-specificstandn-s are useful fordrT56/O the meaning of information to beshared amongdngT5U6"6 organizations. Wrappers thatprovid unified interfaces are an established technique for integrating legacy systems. The fact that autonomy of a source means not only having heterogeneity of accessand representation (computer system, operating system, dstem,T system, interface conventions,and so forth), but also content heterogeneity (partial overlap, derlap,T organization, dation,TH" in term semantics)should be undFFOT[// For instance, theadT55/ of a person may be an attribute of person objects in one systemand an entity with its ownidTHUjH in another system. More work has been den on the former technical issues than on the latter semantics issues, partially because semantic problems are often notnoticed until the basic access problems aresolved Autonomy. Autonomy of component systems is a critical issue for SI. Components ...