An OODBMS manages independent programs as objects, responding quickly to requests for information. It’s best used in complex business applications, and the increased use of object-oriented programming languages has increased its popularity. The Object Data Management Group aimed to create a standard for object-oriented programs but disbanded in 2001.
An object-oriented database management system (OODBMS) helps programmers to make objects created in a programming language behave like a database object. Object-oriented programming is based on a set of work objects. Each object is an independently functioning application or program that is assigned a specific task or role to perform. An object-oriented database management system is a relational database designed to manage all of these independent programs, using the data produced to respond quickly to requests for information from a larger application.
To illustrate an OODBMS, we can use a simple commercial kitchen with three staff members: head chef, cook and second cook. The cook is responsible for the steak and the second cook is responsible for the fries and salad. Both are busy performing their duties, even without any orders. The head chef is the object oriented database management system, the cook and the second cook are both objects. A customer orders a steak, fries and salad which the waiter hands to the chef. The head chef calls the order. The cook quickly delivers the cooked steak to the plate, at the same time the second cook adds the fries and salad and tells the chef the order is done. Both are able to deliver exactly what is required immediately, because they were performing their individual tasks ahead of time.
Each element could have been performed by a single application or by the head chef, but would have taken more time and would have split resources in multiple directions, further reducing response times. Objects or cooks can be used as separate programs, but the response time is faster and information is delivered in one cohesive package when coordinated by the chef or OODBMS.
The increased use of object-oriented programming languages such as Python, Java, C#, Visual Basic, .Net, C++, Objective-C, and Smalltalk have all increased the popularity of OODBMS.
An object-oriented database management system is generally best used in business applications where high performance computing is required in a complex environment. Industries with high demand for this type of programming are typically in the engineering, telecommunications, specialized financial services, and scientific research sectors.
The Object Data Management Group is a group of object database and map vendors, academics, and others who have come together to create a set of standard specifications for object-oriented programs. Such a standard could potentially improve the portability of applications written for the object-oriented database management system and thus reduce the costs incurred in creating new code each time. The group disbanded in 2001, but various groups and initiatives are still trying to define a standard to enable cross-functional applications.
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