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Multiple inheritance and genericity for the integration of a database management system in an object-oriented approach

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Advances in Object-Oriented Database Systems (OODBS 1988)

Part of the book series: Lecture Notes in Computer Science ((LNCS,volume 334))

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Abstract

Experience in designing and writing application programs using an object-oriented method reveals problems in connecting application programs to Database Management System (DBMS) services. This is due to the difference between the declarative description of data assumed in a DBMS and the behavioral, encapsulated format in an object-oriented language. To overcome this problem, the integration of DBMS services with an object-oriented language must be improved. A method is proposed to achieve seamless integration of DBMS functionality with application code using inheritance. The language must provide 1) multiple inheritance, allowing the objects to be stored in the database to inherit the necessary methods, and 2) genericity, in order to document what operations each object to be stored in the DBMS must export for use by the DBMS (eg. access operations). Most current object-oriented languages do not provide both features and thus make it difficult to add a DBMS package.

Using multiple inheritance and generic classes, a DBMS package can be written in the same language as the application program, and can be added to an object-oriented programming system. The method is also suitable for integrating other packages than DBMS (geometric data handling, graphics, user interface etc.) in an object-oriented environment.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Computer Science & Surveying Engineering, University of Maine, 04469, Orono, ME

    Andrew U. Frank

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  1. Andrew U. Frank
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Klaus R. Dittrich

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© 1988 Springer-Verlag Berlin Heidelberg

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Frank, A.U. (1988). Multiple inheritance and genericity for the integration of a database management system in an object-oriented approach. In: Dittrich, K.R. (eds) Advances in Object-Oriented Database Systems. OODBS 1988. Lecture Notes in Computer Science, vol 334. Springer, Berlin, Heidelberg. https://doi.org/10.1007/3-540-50345-5_23

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/3-540-50345-5_23

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  • Publisher Name: Springer, Berlin, Heidelberg

  • Print ISBN: 978-3-540-50345-3

  • Online ISBN: 978-3-540-45981-1

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