tauJSchema: A framework for managing temporal JSON-based NoSQL databases

Although NoSQL databases are claimed to be schemaless, several NoSQL database vendors have chosen JSON as agile data representation format and provide a JSON-based API or query facility to simplify the life of application developers. Whereas many applications require the management of temporal data, the JSON Schema language lacks explicit support for time-varying data. In this paper, for a systematic approach to the management of temporal data in NoSQL databases, we propose a framework called Temporal JSON Schema (τJSchema), inspired by the τXSchema framework defined for XML data. τJSchema allows defining a temporal JSON schema from a conventional JSON schema and a set of temporal logical and physical characteristics. Our framework guarantees logical and physical data independence for temporal schemas and provides a lowimpact solution since it requires neither modifications of existing JSON documents, nor extensions to the JSON format, the JSON Schema language, and all related tools and languages.