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A Better Connection
Relational data source transparency for object-oriented developers Object-oriented (00) programming speeds up development and improves maintenance, reusability, and modifiability of software. As a result, object technologies (such as Java and COM) have carved a niche for themselves in today's computing environment. However, most organizations store their data in relational databases. There is a fundamental mismatch between the two technologies.
The object paradigm is based on software engineering principles such as inheritance and encapsulation, whereas relational theory is based on predicate calculus concepts, particularly set theory. Objects consist of both data and behavior, while relational databases are primarily concerned with storing data in tables and retrieving it using a query language.
This impedance mismatch creates a need for tools that can map objects to relational databases. ObjectSpark from Ontos Inc. is a tool that lets users define mappings between an object interface and data sources, and generate a data services layer that 00 languages can use. ObjectSpark provides developers with a data abstraction layer, which lets them write applications that manipulate the underlying data without using SQL.
Distributed Object Technologies
ObjectSpark data components can be deployed on any Microsoft Transaction Server (MTS) or COM+ server. ObjectSpark was originally designed for developers building distributed applications in the Microsoft Windows DNA application framework. The current general release, ObjectSpark 4.1.1, uses COM as the interface for distributed object communication. However, in February 2001, Ontos released the 4.5 beta version of ObjectSpark, which can generate both COM and JavaBeans components from the same object model.
The only real competitors of ObjectSpark in the COM world are development shops that use hand coding to access relational databases from 00 applications. But ObjectSpark speeds up development significantly compared to hand coding, because it frees developers from needing a detailed understanding...