db4object - the object oriented database not only for embedded

db4o is recommended by Rubing Zheng from Nortel for my embedded application yesterday night. Now after reading introduction, I believe in it will be great help my me as a novice in DB design, as a matter of fact, I was a layman two days ago. Thanks a Bing. And for me, I think its Java version will be situable because Java background in embedded. Now copy introduction from the official webpage of db4o.

source http://www.db4o.com/about/company/backgrounder/  Object-oriented database technology was first introduced in the early 1990s with great fanfare. However, its promise to displace relational database technology remained unfulfilled, partly because of technical deficiencies (most products were "non-native" and hence couldn't realize the true benefits of object-oriented software development), but more so even due to the lack of an appropriate market focus and business model.

Today's consequence is that nearly all market entrants have consolidated and focused on "vertical" target niches such as defense and healthcare. These proprietary object-oriented databases (ODBMS) tend to be expensive and usually require heavy vendor support for their complicated, proprietary interfaces. On average, 70% of these companies' revenues stem from professional services rather than licensing. Among these are Versant (VSNT, consolidated with POET); ObjectStore, now the Real-Time division of Progress (PRGS); and Objectivity. As a result, most IT decision makers have ceased to consider the object database a mainstream technology.

Yet developers continue to love object database technology because it is the ideal match with object oriented (OO) environments like Java and .NET, and overcomes one of developers' biggest hurdles: the inherent incompatibility between OO languages and current mainstream relational databases (RDBMS) - the so-called "object-relational (OR) mismatch."

The OR mismatch has become enormously significant over the past four years, as most programming languages are now fully based on OO methodology - especially since Microsoft shipped C# in 2002 and thus validated Java's OO concept - while datacenter legacy and a lack of affordable ODBMS solutions largely forces developers to continue using RDBMS (e.g., from Oracle, IBM, or MySQL) for data persistence.

An undeniable indicator of this growing pain is the emergence of so-called object-relational mappers (ORM), such as Toplink and Hibernate. This solution "cures" the symptoms of the OR mismatch by adding a layer into the software stack that automates the tedious task of linking objects to tables. However, this approach creates a huge drain on system performance, drives up software complexity, and increases the burden on software maintenance, thus resulting in higher cost of ownership. While the mapper solution may be feasible in large, administered datacenter environments, it is prohibitive in distributed and zero-administration architectures such as those required for embedded databases in client software, mobile devices, middleware or real-time systems.

db4objects, Inc. was founded in 2004 to fill this OO database gap and give developers a genuine choice when it comes to persisting data in OO environments. While OR mappers can be helpful in server-side applications, db4o's native object database provides for zero-administration and lean implementation of embedded object-oriented persistence. This harnesses the power of OOP to offer added flexibility and the ability to create more feature-rich, competitive products while slashing development time and cost.

db4o is designed to be a universal product platform that is easy to learn and easy to implement. db4object's open source dual-license business model combines the power of the open source development community with servicing commercial customers' needs for product roadmap predictability, indemnification, single point of contact, and full tech support with fast response times.

As a result, db4o is now one of the most popular object databases in the world. If anyone has ever told you that object databases were a dead end, it is now time to think again. This paper will provide an eye-opening look at db4o's market focus and open source business model, and will illustrate why db4o's native object database technology is here to stay.

Object orientation is not just a technology but a methodology for structuring and representing data in a more "naturalistic" way than the methods used in early architectures, i.e. hierarchical and relational models. The industry has recognized the value of this methodology, and moved to make OO the mainstream programming paradigm, with Java (pushed by IBM via Eclipse) and .NET (Microsoft) technologies competing head-to-head for the lead. db4o not only runs under both platforms, but has also proven strong and efficient in cross-platform deployment.