Object-Relational DBMSs

Introduction to Object-Relational DBMSs

• Several major software companies including

IBM, Informix, Microsoft, Oracle, and Sybase
have all released object-relational versions of
their products.
• It’s an extended version of relational database
technology called object-relational database
management systems also known as
ORDBMSs.
 Introduction to Object-Relational DBMSs
(Cont)
• This Chapter we will try to compare and
contrasts
• Relational databases, RDBMS and object-
oriented databases, OODBMSs, also known as
object databases, ODBMSs.
 Does a database supporting complex applications
have to be object-oriented?
• object-relational database systems is a combination and
merging of relational and object-oriented. These systems are
called object-relational database systems.
• The main advantages of ORDBMSs are massive scalability
( evolution) and support for object-oriented features.
 Advantages of ORDBMSs
• The main advantages of extending the relational data
model come from reuse and sharing.
• Reuse comes from the ability to extend the DBMS
server to perform standard functionality centrally,
rather than have it coded in each application.
• If we can embed the functionality in the server, it
saves having to define it in each application that
needs it, and consequently allows the functionality
to be shared by all applications.
 Disadvantages of ORDBMSs
• The ORDBMSs approach has the obvious disadvantage of
complexity and associated increased costs.
 RDBMSs
• RDBMSs use Structured Query Language (SQL,
currently SQL2) as the data definition language (DDL)
and the data manipulation language (DML).
• SQL includes statements for:
• data definition, modification, querying and
constraint specification.
• The types of queries vary from simple single-table
queries to complicated multi-table queries involving
joins, nesting, set union/differences, and others.
disadvantages of Relational Databases
• The main disadvantages of Relational Databases
include their inability to handle application areas like
• Spatial databases (e.g. CAD),
• applications involving images, special types
databases (e.g. complex numbers, arrays, etc.)
• and other applications that involve complex
interrelationships of data (BLOB, CLOB).
 Object-Oriented DBMS (OODBMS)

• The concept of abstract data types

(ADTs) in which the internal data
structure is hidden and the external
operations can be applied on the object
that is specified led to the concept of
encapsulation.
 Object-Oriented DBMS (OODBMS)
• The main features of OO programming
languages are encapsulation, inheritance and
polymorphism.

• Encapsulation can be thought as a protective

layer that prevents the code and the data
from being accessed by other code defined
outside the layer.
 Object-Oriented DBMS (OODBMS)

• The process in which one object inherits the

properties of a previously defined object is called
inheritance. Inheritance aids in the reuse of existing
definitions for creating new objects.

• Polymorphism allows the same operator or symbol

to have different implementations, depending on the
type of objects to which the operator is applied.
 object-oriented database management
systems (OODBMSs)
• The strong connection between application
and database results in less code, more
natural data structures, and better
maintainability and reusability of code.
• OO languages, such as C++ or Java, are able to
reduce code size by not having to translate
code into a database sublanguage such as
SQL.
 Consists
• The Object Data Management Group (ODMG)
has proposed a standard known as ODMG-93
or ODMG 2.0.
• The standard consists of the object model, the
object defining language (ODL), the object
query language (OQL), and the bindings to OO
programming languages.
• The ODL and OQL are based on the ODMG
data model.
 Data Model
• The data model consists of data types, type
constructors, etc., and is similar to the SQL report
that describes the standard model for relational
databases.

• The ODL is designed so as to support semantic

constructs of ODMG 2.0 object model. It is
independent of any programming language. The ODL
is used to create object specifications.
 Data Model (cont.)
• The OQL is designed to work closely with the
programming languages for which an ODMG binding
is defined such as C++ and Java.

• The syntax of the OQL queries is similar to the

syntax of SQL (a query language for relational
databases) with some additional features such as
object identity, complex objects, inheritance,
polymorphism and relationships.
 OODBMSs
• An object-oriented language is the language
for both the application and the database.
OODBMSs have been integrated with C++, C,
Java and LISP.

• The primary interface in an OODBMS for

creating and modifying objects is directly via
the object language (C++, Java, etc.) using the
native language syntax.
 OODBMSs Problems
The main drawback of OODBMSs has been poor
performance.
Unlike RDBMSs, query optimization for OODBMs is
highly complex.
 Object-Relational DBMS (ORDBMS)
• The ORDBMS has the relational model in it because
the data is stored in the form of tables having rows
and columns and SQL is used as the query language
and the result of a query is also table or tuples
(rows).
• ORDBMSs supports ADT's (abstract data types)
characteristics of an ORDBMSs
• Base datatype extension,
• Support complex objects,
• Inheritance
 Users define datatypes

Object-Relational Database Managerment

Systems (ORDBMSs) allow users to define
datatypes, functions and operators. As a
result, the functionality of the ORDBMSs
increases along with their performance.
 An example schema of a student relation
which ORDBMS supports

• STUDENT(fname,lname,ID,sex,major,address,dname,
location,picture)

• Notice : extra attributes "location" and "picture"

which are not present in the traditional EMPLOYEE
relation of RDBMS. The datatype of "location" is
"geographic point" and "picture" is "image".
 The differences between the three
approaches
Criteria RDBMS ODBMS ORDBMS
Defining standard SQL2 ODMG-2.0 SQL3 (in process)

Support for object- Does not support; Supports extensively Limited support; mostly
oriented features It is difficult to map to new data type
program object to the
database
Usage Easy to use OK for programmers; Easy to use except for
some SQL access for end some extensions
users
Support for complex Does not support Supports a wide variety Supports Abstract
relationships abstract datatypes of datatypes and data datatypes and complex
with complex inter- relationships
relationships
Performance Very good performance Relatively less Expected to perform very
performanc well
 The differences between the three
approaches
Criteria RDBMS ODBMS ORDBMS
Product maturity Relatively old and so very This concept is few years Still in development stage
mature old and so relatively so immature
matur feature
The use of SQL Extensive supports SQL OQL is similar to SQL, but SQL3 is being developed
with additional features with OO features
like Complex objects and incorporated in it
object-oriented features
Advantages Its dependence on SQL, It can handle all types of Ability to query complex
relatively simple query complex applications, applications and ability to
optimization hence good reusability of code, less handle large and complex
performance coding applications
Disadvantage Inability to handle complex Low performance due to Low performance in web
applications complex query application
optimization, inability to
support large-scale
systems
Support from It is considered to be highly Presently lacking vendor All major RDBMS vendors
vendors successful so the market size support due to vast size are after this so has very
is very large but many of RDBMS market good future
vendors are moving towards
ORDBMS
 Conclusion
• In spite of many advantages, ORDBMSs
also have a drawback (inconvenient).
• The architecture of object-relational
model is not appropriate for high-speed
web applications. However, with
advantages like large storage capacity,
access speed, and manipulation power of
object databases