Athena: A Database-Independent Schema Definition Language

While relational databases are still predominant, there is a growing interest in NoSQL, and many database systems are evolving to accommodate several NoSQL paradigms. Moreover, polyglot persistence is envisioned as the database architecture of complex modern applications. In this heterogeneous scenario, the existence of a paradigmindependent language to specify schemas is of paramount importance. Here we present Athena, a database-independent schema declaration language. Athena is a textual domain specific language based on a generic metamodel able of representing NoSQL and relational schemas. Along this paper, we will describe the requirements of the language, constructs, and some applications of Athena.