Amazon.com Review
Object-oriented databases should get a big boost with the emergence of the new Object Data Management Group (ODMG) 3 standard. Written by its inventors,
The Object Data Standard: ODMG 3.0 provides an up-to-the-minute reference on this important new way of working with databases through objects. Any C++, Java, or Smalltalk programmer can benefit from this compact yet very useful reference work.
With ODMG 3 you can program databases using your favorite object-oriented programming language, and objects can be saved to an underlying database transparently.
After some material on the philosophy and design principles behind ODMG, the book delivers a practical reference to important aspects of this new standard, beginning with data types and the Object Definition Language (ODL) for defining objects. One of the best parts of this text has to be its nicely comprehensive guide to types of query operations available using the Object Query Language (OQL). (The examples show you how to start exploring the capabilities of OQL, with samples that use a hypothetical college course registration database.)
The most immediately useful chapters here look at the bindings for C++, Smalltalk, and Java in ODMG 3. Each section lists the data types, database operations, and collection classes in each language used to communicate with object databases. (Working programmers should be able to use these chapters as a reference once ODMG 3 support arrives in actual products.) Overall, this text provides a necessary source of vital information on the latest in programming strategies for object-oriented databases. --Richard Dragan
Topics covered: Object Data Management Group (ODMG) 3 standard for object-oriented databases, history of ODMG specifications, object model, types, literals, properties, operations, metadata, locking, transactions, database operations, Object Definition Language (ODL), Object Interchange Format (OIF), Object Query Language (OQL), polymorphism, query tips and syntax, C++, Smalltalk and Java bindings for ODMG, ODMG 3 vs. OMG Object Model, formal syntax with EBNF notation, and sample ODMG code.
From the Back Cover
This isn't a book about the Object Data Standard; it's the complete,
fully authoritative version of the standard itself, presented by the
researchers who developed it. This book provides all the details
comprising ODMG 3.0, making the latest version of the specification
the most mature and most flexible yet.
When it comes to storing objects in databases, ODMG 3.0 is a
standard with which you need to be familiar-whether you design,
develop, or implement object database products, object-to-relational
database mapping products, or applications based on these products.
Features
- Presents authoritative, completely up-to-date information not available anywhere else.
- Documents all the changes found in version 3.0, including enhancements to the Java language binding, greater semantic precision, and various improvements and corrections throughout the standard.
- Pays special attention to the broadening of the standard to support recent developments in object-to-database mappings (ODMs) that allow objects to be stored in relational databases.
- Provides a way to write Java, C++, or Smalltalk code that works with the entire spectrum of database products, while taking full advantage of your organization's preferred platform.
- Continues to cover everything retained from version 2.0, including key details relating to C++, Smalltalk, and Object Query Language.
- Establishes a level of stability for this increasingly important specification.
