OOP Features Added to Oracle Database - Assignment Example

?Table of Contents Table of Contents 1.Overview 2 2.Oracle Approach 2 a)Object-Relational Methodology 3 b)Mapping Objects and Tables 3 c)Mapping Objects Types and Data Types 4 d)Managing Very Large Objects into Oracle Data Types 4 e)Object-Relational Schema Features 5 3.Conclusion 5 References 6 OOP Features Added to Oracle Database 1. Overview All programming languages and particularly database programming languages need to be comprehensively stable and dynamic in adapting to ever changing developmental environments. Like any other programming language SQL*Plus has shown a lot of flexibility and strength to adapt to the features of Object Oriented Programming while keeping its own shape in tact and without losing the core strength of being an ideal structured query language. In the early 1990 the Object Oriented Programming model begin to gain accelerated acceptance as a major programming approach and most of the database and programming languages begin to extend features that support this model. Oracle Database were no exception to this fact. The overwhelming popularity of OOP modeling techniques had some solid grounds which bond other languages and techniques to extend their support for it and many contemporary writers have admitted this fact, “The object-oriented method promised to improve software quality and efficiency. One of the most enticing promise is that of real re-usability: re-usability of codes, programming portions, designs, formal specifications and also commercial packages.” (Wenny, Annier & Pardede , 2005, p. 1). 2. Oracle Approach The approach of extending SQL *Plus for Oracle Database was centered around the efforts to find ways and mean which can provide an integrated support for the objects, object identifiers and inheritance structures within relational language. The approach was followed rigorously but until the release and shipment of SQL3, the extensions of OOP model were not quite mature. The efforts of finding a better integration between OOP model and structured relational languages continued, “Another approach in this the category is an extension of a conventional SQL that is used to retrieve and manipulate data. For example POSTGRES (Stonebraker, 1986) provides an extended SQL called POSTQUEL query with the ability to capture the concept of abstract data types (encapsulated data structures and methods), inheritance structures and object identity. ” (Wenny, Annier & Pardede , 2005, p. 17). a) Object-Relational Methodology The extension of object oriented features in relational languages is commonly referred as the object-relational model. “A Persistence Layer connecting objects in an object-oriented system to data stored in a relational database”. (Object-Relational, 2012). The term, object - relational is not limited to the study of OOP features that can be mapped to SQL rather this section will focus the object - relational model as whole. b) Mapping Objects and Tables Objects are the core constructs of object oriented modeling, therefore, object-relational modeling for Oracle DBMS will require the definition of objects and methods to handle them. The objects will then be converted object tables (relations). So, this provides the basis on which we can formulate our object-relational for Oracle DBMS. However, it must be noted that this model does not necessarily require each object translated into a corresponding object table in SQL because, there can be alternatives to this approach. For an example, a solution may be designed on the object - relational model which may use SQL views (instead of tables) to simulate objects. Therefore, two possible strategies to accomplish the object-relational modeling includes the creation of object tables directly from the objects defined in OOP model, alternatively the object-relational model can also be built upon an existing relational database by defining SQL *Plus Views in terms of objects. c) Mapping Objects Types and Data Types Secondly the object types of an object oriented model can be utilized to define the user defined data types in the conventional relational model used by the SQL *Plus. These data types provide the basic structure for the object tables that have been discussed above. The use of object tables and object data types in object-relational model provides the basic infrastructure to build a whole new object-relational paradigm. It is important to note that in order to extend a reliable and efficient support to object-relational model Oracle offers a bunch of 26 useful categories for data types and each contain its multiple variable. These categories include Number, Date, Character, Timestamp, LOB, RAW, Long RAW, ANSI, DB2, SQL/DS, etc. In order to further extend the support for object-relational modeling requirements Oracle provides various collection data types like Varrays, Nested Tables etc. and a generic provision user-defined data types where user can define their own data types. VARRYS are specifically introduced in Oracle to extend the support for multivalued objects and entities of OOP Model. d) Managing Very Large Objects into Oracle Data Types Moreover, the Oracle has now extended the support of very large objects like videos, audios and extremely large documents through a bunch of new data types like BLOB, CLOB, and NCLOB. Objects in OOP model have methods and user defined data types in the Oracle Database can be used to represent these methods (deHann et al., 2009). The extension of these complex data types in the relational model is necessary to ensure the support for OOP modeling while keeping the strong relational structure in place. e) Object-Relational Schema Features Therefore an object-relational database schema will essentially carry the good features of relational databases and will additionally provide a sustainable support to the object oriented programming techniques. This schema design will help to lay the solid foundation on the relational database structures like Oracle databases using SQL *Plus while extending a convenient programming with object oriented environments to enable reusability of code, design, forms and the benefits of objects and their inheritance. Brown (2001) points out this fact, “Another difference between relational DBMSs and ORDBMSs is the way in which object-relational database schema supports features co-opted from object-oriented approaches to software engineering”. 3. Conclusion Above discussed extensions in Oracle Databases for Object Oriented modeling and programming can be used to construct the existing Northwind Northwind Trading Company Case Study database. This remodeling will require a study of various objects, their relations and interdependencies from object oriented programming perspective. The net impact of this remodeling may result in some new tables and views along with some restructuring of existing DB Schema through extended data types which are necessary to implement and support object oriented programming paradigm. References Brown Paul (2001), Object-relational database development:a plumber's guide, Prentice Hall, the University of Michigan, USA. deHaan Lex, Karen Morton, Tim Gorman, Inger Jorgensen & Daniel Fink (2009), Beginning Oracle SQL, Apress, USA. Object-Relational 2012, Object Relational Mapping, viewed 15 February, 2013, Wenny Johanna Rahayu, David Taniar, Eric Pardede (2005), Object-Oriented Oracle, Idea Group Inc (IGI), USA. Read More