A formal approach to object-oriented databases

Catriel Beeri*

*Corresponding author for this work

Research output: Contribution to journalArticlepeer-review

117 Scopus citations

Abstract

Object-oriented database systems are the focus of current research and development efforts. Yet, there is no commonly accepted object model, nor is it clear whether such a model can be developed. This paper reports on efforts to develop a formal framework that contains most features found in current object oriented database systems. The framework contains two parts. The first is a structural object model, including concepts such as structured objects, identity, and some form of inheritance. For this model, we explain the distinction between values and (abstract) objects, describe a system as a directed graph, and discuss declarative languages. The second part deals with higher-order concepts, such as classes and functions as data, methods, and inheritance. This part is a sketch, and leaves many issues unresolved. Throughout the paper, the emphasis is on logic-oriented modeling.

Original languageEnglish
Pages (from-to)353-382
Number of pages30
JournalData and Knowledge Engineering
Volume5
Issue number4
DOIs
StatePublished - Oct 1990

Keywords

  • Declarative languages
  • Formal model
  • Higher-order logic
  • Methods
  • Object-oriented database systems

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