Path: utzoo!utgpu!water!watmath!clyde!att!osu-cis!tut.cis.ohio-state.edu!mailrus!purdue!decwrl!nsc!voder!cullsj!gupta
From: gupta@cullsj.UUCP (Yogesh Gupta)
Newsgroups: comp.databases
Subject: Re: Object Oriented DB Articles ?
Summary: What is an OODBMS?
Message-ID: <408@cullsj.UUCP>
Date: 29 Aug 88 23:10:45 GMT
References: <3560019@wdl1.UUCP> <37@calmasd.GE.COM>
Organization: Cullinet Software, San Jose, CA
Lines: 31

In article <37@calmasd.GE.COM>, wlp@calmasd.GE.COM (Walter L. Peterson, Jr.) writes:
> [...]  There are, currently, few 
> papers on the subject (as compared to say, relational systems). 
> [...]
> Part of the problem is simply defining just what an object-oriented 
> database management systems is supposed to be.

The fact that the relational model was defined before relational DBMSs
were built may have something to do with.  I agree that the fact that
people can not agree on the definition of an OODBMS demonstrates the
need for one (definition).

> [...]
> So, perhaps we can get a discussion going here on the net
> about OODBMSs?
> 
That would be great!  Here are some specific questions:

What do people think of when they think of an OODBMS?  Is it an Object
Oriented System with the ability to have persistent objects?  Shared
Objects?  Transactions?  Recoverability?  Authorization and Security?
What is the interface to it? Is an OODBMS a complete environment, or
not? ...

I believe that the question of the interface is very important because
it defines the behaviour of the system.

OOPSLA 88 should be interesting...
-- 
Yogesh Gupta                    | If you think my company will let me
Cullinet Software, Inc.         | speak for them, you must be joking.