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Table of contents:

Object Oriented Database vs Relational Database

• Introduction
• The Wall: Where an RDBMS breaks down
• Programming Time and Cost
• Integrity Loss
• Performance
• Information Model Issues
• Architecture Issues
• Benchmark
• Benchmark Parameters
• Benchmark Execution
• Parts Creation
• Updates
• Deletes
• Selects
• Summary
• Examples
• Cimskil (Manufacturing)
• Exxon (Configuration and FEA)
• CERN (Data Gathering and Analysis)
• Decision•ism (Decision Supportware)
• QUALCOMM (Telecommunications)
• COM21 (Cable Modem)
• Nortel, Sprint (Cell Phone Base Station Management)
• Nousoft (Library Document Management, Web)
• Iridium (Telecommunications)
• BBN (Military Logistics and Control)
• Intraspect (Knowledge Management)
• Fisher-Rosemount (Manufacturing, Process Control)
• A Brief Overview of Our Development
• ODB Selection
• Introduction
• Performance
• Scalability
• Productivity
• Fault Tolerance
• Additional Features and Benefits
• Summary
• Kintetsu (Transportation, Logistics)
• Siemens (Process Control)
• SEH (Semiconductor Manufacturing)
• NEC (Semiconductor Manufacturing)
• American Meter (Process Control)
• Sloan Digital Sky Survey (Geographic Information System)
• LMS (Healthcare, Fetal Monitoring)
• Synthesis (Healthcare, Record Management)
• Daikin (Multi-Media CD-I Authoring)
• How to Avoid the Wall

Object Oriented Database vs Relational Database

Additional Features and Benefits

OODBMS commonly support certain features that are not available in a RDBMS. These features would be exploited by any FRSI application to offer additional value and benefits to customers.

• Versioning: This feature allows the OODBMS to manage multiple versions of the same object. In its simplest form, linear versioning makes a sequential series of the same object available to an application. Each subsequent version represents the increment change in the object from the previous version to the next. The idea of a "current" version is also supported. These features would be used by many of the entities in FRSI applications. Good candidates for versioning include: [batch recipes + process graphics + alarm configurations + block configurations].
  
  
• Schema Evolution: This feature allows the OODBMS to deal with objects as they evolve from one release of FRSI software to the next. Procedures to upgrade an "old" object to a "new" object are handled by the OODBMS.
  
  
• Off-Line Data Bases: OODBMS offer the concept of online and off-line databases. To FRSI this means a single application may be written to handle both off-line and online configuration. To our customers this means that they may run their plants with the online data base, but prepare for future plant expansions with off-line databases. The configuration work with the off-line database may actually be performed at a different site. The resulting off-line database containing the "new" configuration for the plant expansion may be transported to the site via network, floppy or laptop. A simple menu selection could merge the off-line database with the customer's online database.
  
  
• Long Term Transactions: CAD applications were some the first users of OODBMS. These applications as well as FRSI applications require transaction models that are not supported by conventional RDBMS. A user may require long term access to information managed by the database.
  

As an example, consider a process graphic that may take days to be finished by a configurer. The database must provide exclusive access to the graphic until the configurer is finished and decides to check the graphic back into the database. Only then would the graphic be available to the rest of users.

OODBMS provide this type of long term transaction in addition to the conventional locking strategy supported by RDBMS.