On formal models for object-oriented databases

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Abstract
While object-oriented database management systems are already arriving in the marketplace, their formal foundations are still under development. In this paper, one central aspect of such foundations, formal models for object-oriented databases, is considered. It is discussed why a formal model is desirable, what it is supposed to comprise in this context (a structural as well as a behavioral part), and how this can be achieved; to this end, the central ingredients which are shared by many proposed models are presented in some detail. This carries over to design issues for database descriptions in an object-oriented model, for which two distinct strategies are outlined. Finally, the question is discussed whether the modeling concepts described are indeed the ones that the applications which originally triggered the merger of database technology with object-oriented concepts need. Our argument is that this is only partially the case, and two promising directions for future work are sketched.

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