What is the Object-Relational Model?

The object-relational model is designed to provide a relational database management that allows developers to integrate databases with their data types and methods. It is essentially a relational model that allows users to integrate object-oriented features into it.

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This design is most recently shown in the Nordic Object/Relational Model. The primary function of this new object-relational model is to more power, greater flexibility, better performance, and greater data integrity then those that came before it.

Some of the benefits that are offered by the Object-Relational Model include:

• Extensibility - Users are able to extend the capability of the database server; this can be done by defining new data types, as well as user-defined patterns. This allows the user to store and manage data.
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• Complex types - It allows users to define new data types that combine one or more of the currently existing data types. Complex types aid in better flexibility in organizing the data on a structure made up of columns and tables.
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• Inheritance - Users are able to define objects or types and tables that procure the properties of other objects, as well as add new properties that are specific to the object that has been defined.
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• A field may also contain an object with attributes and operations.
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• Complex objects can be stored in relational tables.

The object-relational database management systems which are also known as ORDBMS, these systems provide an addition of new and extensive object storage capabilities to the relational models at the center of the more modern information systems of today.

These services assimilate the management of conventional fielded data, more complex objects such as a time-series or more detailed geospatial data and varied dualistic media such as audio, video, images, and applets.

This can be done due to the model working to summarize methods with data structures, the ORDBMS server can implement complex analytical data and data management operations to explore and change multimedia and other more complex objects.

What are some of the functions and advantages to the Object-Relational Model?

It can be said that the object relational model is an evolutionary technology, this approach has take on the robust transaction and performance management aspects of its predecessors and the flexibility of the object-oriented model (we will address this in a later article).

Database developers can now work with somewhat familiar tabular structures and data definition but with more power and capabilities. This also allows them to perform such task all the while assimilating new object management possibilities. Also the query and procedural languages and the call interfaces in the object relational database management systems are familiar.

The main function of the object relational model is to combine the convenience of the relational model with the object model. The benefits of this combination range from scalability to support for rich data types.

However, the relational model has to be drastically modified in order to support the classic features of the object oriented programming. This creates some specific characteristics for the object-relational model.

Some of these characteristics include:

• Base Data type extension
• Support complex objects
• Inheritance (which we discussed in more detail above.)
• And finally Rule systems

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Object-relational models allow users to define data types, function, and also operators. As a direct result of this the functionality and performance of this model are optimized. The massive scalability of the object-relational model is its most notable advantage, and it can be seen at work in many of today’s vendor programs.

Next Page: The History of the Object-Relational Model