computer science

ObjectStore

ObjectStore is a computer science topic covered in the lgStudy science library. This page brings together a partial reference excerpt, illustrations, worked examples, real-world applications and a short study plan, so you can understand ObjectStore rather than just read about it. In short: ObjectStore is a commercial object database, a specialized type of NoSQL database designed to handle data created by applications that use object-oriented programming techniques, avoiding the object–relational mapping overhead required when using object-oriented data with a relational database. It is inspired by the Statice database originally developed at Symbolics.

Key takeaways

ObjectStore belongs to computer science; place it in that map before memorising details.
Learn the definition first, then one example that makes the definition concrete.
Connect ObjectStore to a quantity you can measure, compute or draw — that is where exam questions come from.
Reproduce the core statement of ObjectStore from memory before moving on to harder problems.

Reference excerpt

ObjectStore is a commercial object database, a specialized type of NoSQL database designed to handle data created by applications that use object-oriented programming techniques, avoiding the object–relational mapping overhead required when using object-oriented data with a relational database. It is inspired by the Statice database originally developed at Symbolics. ObjectStore is innovative in its use of the C++ language to make database access transparent. Objects can be created in a database by overloading the operator new(). In this way, one can create new C++ objects directly in the database yet these persistent objects look and behave just like normal C++ objects. Data is mapped into memory as operating system pages. When data is referenced in a different page, by making use of signals, ObjectStore traps the pointer exception and transparently brings objects in from the database by bringing in the required page(s). In addition, by use of a technique called swizzling, the database can be accessed from different platforms, with pages being 'swizzled' as they are brought into memory on page faults to correct big endian versus little endian platform issues as well as virtual function table layout. The design of ObjectStore is described in a 1991 paper in the Communications of the ACM. ObjectStore was originally created in 1988 by Object Design, Incorporated, which was based in Burlington, Massachusetts and founded by several former Symbolics employees, including Daniel Weinreb. In 2002 the product was acquired by Progress Software, which continued to develop the technology, expanding its use beyond the object database market to target uses as a database for real-time computing, specifically designed for RFID data management, and as a cache for relational databases. In 2013, Progress Software sold off many of its non-core products to Aurea Software, Inc., a newly formed operating subsidiary of ESW Capital, the investment arm of Trilogy Enterprises. As part of the deal the ObjectStore product line moved to a separate operating subsidiary of ESW Capital.

The ObjectStore product is used in many fields, including telecommunications, financial services, travel, GIS, and the government. One of the early successful applications of the product was with Telstra to handle 13 and 1300 numbers in Australia - similar to 1800 numbers in the US. The product enabled the real time mapping of those numbers to a number closest to the caller - for example a local taxi company or the nearest open Pizza Hut.

See also Object database Object-oriented programming Database Real-time computing RFID

References

External links ObjectStore

Worked examples

Example 1 — a first encounter with ObjectStore

Start with the simplest possible case. Write down what ObjectStore claims or describes in one sentence, then invent the smallest concrete situation in which that sentence is true. In computer science, the smallest case is usually a single object, a single equation or a single measurement. Check that every symbol or term in your sentence has a meaning in that case.

Example 2 — changing one variable

Take the situation from Example 1 and change exactly one quantity: double it, halve it, or set it to zero. Predict what should happen to ObjectStore before you calculate. Comparing your prediction with the result is the fastest way to find out whether you understand the idea or only the words.

Example 3 — an exam-style question

Typical questions about ObjectStore ask you to (a) state it precisely, (b) apply it to given data, and (c) explain a limitation. Practise writing all three answers in under five minutes; the third part is what separates a full-mark answer from an average one.

Applications of ObjectStore

In research: ObjectStore appears in computer science research whenever the underlying quantities have to be modelled precisely. Papers usually cite it as a starting assumption and then explore where it breaks down.
In technology and industry: Engineering practice reuses ObjectStore in design rules, simulations and safety margins. Knowing the idea lets you read a specification sheet and understand why the numbers look the way they do.
In the classroom: ObjectStore is common in secondary-school and first-year university syllabi. It links to neighbouring topics Object-oriented database management systems, Proprietary software, Radio-frequency identification, so understanding it makes those chapters shorter.
In everyday life: Look for ObjectStore outside the textbook — in sport, cooking, traffic, electronics or the sky above you. An example you found yourself is remembered far longer than one you were given.

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How to study ObjectStore in 20 minutes

Read the reference excerpt below once, without taking notes.
Close the page and write down what ObjectStore means in your own words.
Compare your version with the excerpt and mark what you missed.
Work through the three examples above with pen and paper.
Explain ObjectStore out loud to somebody else — or to Teacher Smith in the lgStudy chat.

Frequently asked questions

What is ObjectStore in simple terms?

Why does ObjectStore matter?

Because it connects several computer science ideas at once: it gives you a definition you can apply, a quantity you can calculate, and a way to check whether a result is plausible.

How should I study ObjectStore?

Read the excerpt, restate it from memory, then work through the examples and applications listed on this page. The five-step study plan above takes about twenty minutes.

What does this page cover?

It gives you a compact reference excerpt plus original lgStudy explanations, examples, applications and study material on ObjectStore.