About Object-Oriented Databases

The article discusses the importance of using databases and highlights the shortcomings of relational databases when processing large volumes of data. It is noted that one way to overcome these limitations is through the use of object-oriented databases. The essence of such databases is defined by the object-oriented approach. This approach involves object-oriented design and object-oriented programming. The article outlines the key concepts of object-oriented design and programming.

To construct databases using the object-oriented approach, the following are essential:

1. Data encapsulation, i.e., the definition of classes and objects;
2. Specification of the structure of tables;
3. Creation of class inheritance for data;
4. Ensuring polymorphism, among other aspects.

It is noted that only those databases in which all structural elements are implemented using the object-oriented approach are considered object-oriented databases. If even one structural element does not use the object-oriented approach, the database is classified as an object-relational database.

The paper presents the advantages of object-oriented databases (OODB) compared to relational databases. These include:

1. Better system modeling capabilities;
2. Easier structural extensibility enabled by the creation of new data types (attributes), inheritance, establishing new relationships, and method modification capabilities;
3. The ability to use recursive methods when accessing large datasets via navigational methods;
4. 3 to 20 times or more performance improvement;
5. A wide range of applications (e.g., in multimedia systems, graphics), among others.

It is worth noting that object-oriented databases require 4 to 5 times more memory compared to relational databases.

In object-oriented databases, data access and query execution are performed using program code written in an object-oriented programming language (e.g., Java, C++, Python). Some modern object-oriented databases provide an extended version of the SQL language.

The article also describes several widely used object-oriented database management systems available today. Code fragments are provided for one of the most popular systems-Versant Object Database.