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Object-Oriented Database Model
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According to the article "So What the Hell is OODBMS?", the key difference between a relational database and an object-oriented database lies in the way that an object-oriented database stores data and manages the relationships among data elements. Is an object-oriented database best suited for use with complex data? Can it describe simple relationships or complex relationships? Are object-oriented databases particularly good at handling certain kinds of data? Are object-oriented databases beginning to replace other kinds of databases in the business world? This article, which you can find at www2.computerworld.com/
home/print9497.nsf/All/SL1106rev, will help you answer these questions and understand the key differences between object-oriented databases and relational databases.

The classic book, Object Databases: The Essentials, by Dr. Mary E. S. Loomis (Addison-Wesley, 1995), can help you understand the differences between object-oriented databases and relational databases. It explains the basic concepts of object-oriented databases, compares OODBMS features with relational database management system features, and illustrates how to use an OODBMS on a project. The end of the book has a more technical emphasis because it describes using object-oriented languages such as Smalltalk and C++ to program an OODBMS. You can read a DBMS Online interview with Dr. Loomis at www.dbmsmag.com/int9412.html, where she explains what an object-oriented database is, discusses the differences in philosophy between traditional database systems and object databases, and describes some of the differences between relational database models and object-oriented models.

"Object DBMSs: Now or Never," at www.dbmsmag.com/9707d13.html from DBMS Online, can give you a less technical view of the differences between traditional databases and object-oriented databases. It vividly describes an example of a database that contains image, audio, and animation data and contrasts this information with the typical transaction data found in traditional databases.


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Additional Links

Object-Oriented Database Design: What is the Difference with Relational Database Design?   Although somewhat technical, this paper explains how object-oriented concepts extend the relational database model.

The Object-Oriented Database System Manifesto   Some people consider this paper, written by Malcolm Atkinson and colleagues, to have launched the concept of an object-oriented database. It describes the mandatory and optional features of an object-oriented database system, outlining the necessary components of such a system.
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