Object-Oriented Databases

Week 6

2/12/13

Databases – Object Oriented Databases

                An object oriented database is a particular type of database that is most commonly used when CAD software is being utilized.  When the database is used alongside some kind of computer program that functions on object-oriented programming (C++, Java), it becomes a object-oriented database management system (OODBMS).  This acronym is common because a object oriented database is only relevant when being utilized in this way.

                The easiest way to explain the difference between an OODBMS and a traditional relational database is that the “data” is stored as objects rather than large columned lists.  These objects are created when multiples data sets have defined relationships and characteristics.  In this sense, data can be given specific attributes that allow these defined relationships between the data to be taken advantage of.  In this sense, an object is something that will contain strings of data input along with a functioning code that manipulates and presents this data in a meaningful way.  As Kayleigh points out, large MEP manufactures like TRANE and Touzer can use OODBMS to provide accurate representations of their systems from large sets of data and create realistic “models” of their products.

                This characteristic allows for data to be much more useful and relevant because it can be manipulated and altered in order to analyze various design options.  The data is no longer “2-D” and can be used easily as a visual object in some kind of GUI program.  Instead of looking at a list of thousands of temperature differences resulting from window angles in a building and trying to deduce a reasonable design, someone can take an object in a OODBMS that represents a window and apply multitudes of different designs and implementations to that window.  Data is being simultaneously called up from multiple points and put through en executable code that reflects that change in the design.  A real world example of this is provided by Jeanine in her post.  She explains how people like aircraft carriers can use OODBMS to manage, organize and enhance the thousands of small parts used in an airplane.  Instead of gathering tensile stress on a component and throwing it in a list, someone can use OODMBS to understand the effects of the data, designs something better and implement in the real world.

                I want to close this by saying that I am no extremely computer savvy and am especially challenged by the world of programming.  The information above is what I was able to take out of what I read while trying to make sense of a lot of programming language.  I am open to comments and corrections from someone less confused by the subject matter.  

SOURCES:

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Object_database

http://www.comptechdoc.org/independent/database/basicdb/dataobject.html