Object Design Inc says the latest release of its object database, ObjectStore 5.1, will pose a challenge for the traditional database vendors because its is optimized for distributed component-based systems, the next major trend in the software industry according to the company. ObjectStore 5.1 uses the company’s Cache-Forward database architecture, which establishes local data caches for any component that connects to an ObjectStore server. Object Design claims that components achieve dramatic performance improvements because they access data from their local caches instead of queuing up at the server. It says this reduces network traffic and eliminates server bottlenecks. The company also says its Cache-Forward architecture eliminates up to 60% of the programming code usually needed when using a relational database with an object-oriented language. Usually, it says, the developer needs to create and maintain complex mapping code to convert object data in the application to rows and columns in the relational tables. It says some development teams reckon these mapping routines account for between 40-60% of their total source code. ObjectStore delivers objects rather than rows and columns, which eliminates mapping code and shortens development time. The end result is a faster development cycle and quicker database execution. The new release includes a component framework feature which optimizes the Cache-Forward architecture by providing load balancing, cache affinity, transaction services and co-ordinates and manages the multiple ObjectStore components distributed across a multi-tier system. Object Design’s chief operating officer Justin Perreault says the convergence of the internet, Java and standards such as ActiveX/COM and JavaBeans/CORBA is transforming the computing landscape towards component-based systems, and he says these systems put new demands on data management which ObjectStore and Cache-Forward has set out to cater for. ObjectStore 5.1 is supported by the company’s new Active Toolkit, a suite of tools for integrating ObjectStore applications and components into Microsoft Corp Windows systems. It ships next month on Windows 95, NT and Sun Solaris, with support of X/Open’s XA standard, which co-ordinates transactions between ObjectStore and other databases, and will ship with an enhanced ODMG Object Data Management Group Java interface. Prices from $3,300.
