Object-Oriented Database Programming in Java

Typical Java applications involve access to a database system. Database systems store data according to their type system, even object-oriented databases generally have their own storage structures. It is therefore necessary to convert Java objects as they are stored in a database, and to re-convert them when they are read. Ideally, this should be done behind the scenes by a support package. This tutorial explores the issues involved: which database technology is available (legacy vs. relational vs. object-oriented) and which access mechanisms (JDBC, OPJ, TOPLink, etc.) are best suited. The tutorial has 2 parts: (1) accessing a relational database using the Java Database Connectivity (JBDC) package, and (2) storing Java objects in an object-oriented database directly. A complete program example will accompany both parts.