Data modeling was hypothesized to be the "salvation" of an organization"s data problems. This book aims to analyze the problems encountered and to present a comparative philosophical study of the various approaches. On the philosophical level, the authors explore the epistemology, ontology, and rationality of each modeling approach. While on the theoretical computer science level, a systematic study of the history and development of three major strands of data modeling is presented. This book will be of great interest to all computer scientists using information systems as well as philosophers with an interest in computing applications.